Toronto/IBNS: The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2024 kicks off on Thursday with the World Premiere of Mike Downie's The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal.

Returning for its ninth year, TIFF’s Festival Street offers free entertainment and fun activities to thousands of film fans along King St. W. between Peter St. and University Ave.

This four-day celebration of food, drinks, art, and culture which is open to all, will take place from Sept 5-14 with free open-air screenings and activities will take place in David Pecaut Square.

Interweaving archival footage with new interviews with the band, family, friends, and famous fans include Will Arnett, Dan Aykroyd, Jay Baruchel, Sarah Harmer, Geddy Lee, and Justin Trudeau, throughout the series, Downie writes Canada’s history in words and music.

Alongside Rob Baker, Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, and Gord Sinclair, Downie went on to make music that defined Canada to the world, and more importantly, Canada to Canadians.

Presented by Prime Video, the Royal Alexandra Theatre onto Festival Street celebrates 40 years of The Tragically Hip.

Following the screening of the four-part docu-series, Choir! Choir! Choir! leads a giant outdoor singing.

Fans are invited to join the Amazon Music Bus on John St. (between King St. and Wellington St.) on Thursday, 4:30pm–5:45pm.

For movie lovers who can’t get enough films, Cinema Park is back with free open-air screenings in David Pecaut Square, featuring 40th-anniversary screenings of Ghostbusters (Sept 11), Footloose (Sept 12), and The Karate Kid (Sept 13); as well as screenings of Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (Sept 5), Ghost (Sept 6), Gattaca (Sept 7), Arrival (Sept 8), Drumline (Sept 9), The Outsiders (Sept10), and Pitch Perfect (Sept 14). These can’t-miss classics will be presented with open captions and screened nightly at 10pm.

In partnership with Toronto Film School, Festival Street Art Market will have booths along Simcoe St. and King St.

Toronto’s local film festivals and arts organizations will be on hand to share initiatives, activities, programming information, and more.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)