Netflix to Open Toronto Film Festival in Brush-Off for Cannes
- High-profile slot bolsters awards chances for ‘Outlaw King’
- Festival’s departing CEO embraces streaming while French fight
Photographer: Todd Oren/Getty Images
For his last year running the Toronto International Film Festival, Piers Handling made a bold choice. To kick off the annual movie showcase on Thursday, he picked a Netflix Inc. picture about Robert the Bruce, who led Scotland in its first war of independence against England.
While films about historical figures aren’t rare at festivals, the choice to open with a Netflix release was. In March, the Cannes Film Festival effectively banned the online giant from its competition by barring pictures not released in local theaters. Though it will lay out $8 billion this year for movies and TV shows, the streaming service is controversial on the awards circuit because management insists on releasing movies online and in theaters all at once.