It has officially been announced today that the Toronto After Dark film festival has partnered with Cineplex Entertainment to hold the 8th edition of the festival at the Scotiabank Theatre in downtown Toronto. This marks the festival’s second departure from, longtime venue, the Bloor Cinema, after previously holding the 2011 edition of the festival at the (now closed) Toronto Underground Cinema. In addition to hosting the weeklong festival from October 17-25, Toronto After Dark will also be hosting some special presentation screenings at the Scotiabank Theatre on August 29 and September 26, details of which will be announced at a later time. While it’s definitely a shame that Toronto After Dark will be leaving the cinema that has been its home since the beginning, there are many advantages to having this year’s festival at the Scotiabank Theatre. For starters, partnering with Cineplex will allow for a lot more promotion of the festival than it received in the past. In addition, ticket and pass holders will receive SCENE points, including a whopping 2000 points for the $145 All Access Pass (good for two free movies). Another advantage of having Toronto After Dark at the Scotiabank Theatre is how the venue is already home to multiple high profile film events, including the Toronto International Film Festival and multiple red carpet premieres. In addition Cineplex has already been catering to genre fans for the past several months with their monthly Sinister Cinema series, held at the Cineplex Yonge and Dundas. Other than the venue, nothing is set to change with this year’s Toronto After Dark film festival. The festival will still feature 20 amazing films, many of which will feature Q&As with filmmakers and guests. There will be a continuation of Toronto After Dark’s popular Zombie Appreciation Night, as well as the nightly Pub After Dark, which this year will be held just down the street from the Socialbank Theatre at the Office Pub. Passes for Toronto After Dark are set to go on sale on Cineplex.com in early August and you can find more details about the festival and special presentation screenings at torontoafterdark.com.
