Keanu Reeves is urging the world to help TIFF protect and project film through its Save This Moment campaign, which aims to raise funds to cover storage, revision, and maintenance costs for 1,460 recently acquired prints from NBC Universal, Mongrel Media, eOne/Les Films Séville and Canadian filmmaker Peter Mettler.
Throughout TIFF's in-house produced "The Film Prayer", Keanu's signature voice embodies THE VOICE of film and gives advice on how to handle film carefully, so it doesn't break or burn as it goes through the projector, and so it can be preserved for future generations. The text used for the short film's voice over originates from a poem called "The Film Prayer", a cautionary tale for projectionists which is said to have been written by A.P. Hollis in 1920. This storied document was made available to all non-theatrical film distributors to promote better handling of film.
Watch and share the short film below:
"I love film and am honoured, grateful to TIFF for including me in their important efforts to preserve, project? and support this extraordinary medium", said Keanu Reeves.
"We are deeply grateful to Keanu for his gracious support of our campaign and for his passion for the art and technology of cinema" said Piers Handling, Director and CEO, TIFF. "As a cultural charity, we rely on the generous support of donors and members to help cover the associated costs to preserve these prints in all their cinematic integrity."
Running until December 31, the Save This Moment campaign had start-up support generously provided by the Ontario Arts Foundation (in celebration of their 25th anniversary). For more information visit tiff.net/savethismoment.
About TIFF TIFF is a charitable cultural organization whose mission is to transform the way people see the world through film. An international leader in film culture, TIFF projects include the annual Toronto International Film Festival in September; TIFF Bell Lightbox, which features five cinemas, major exhibitions, and learning and entertainment facilities; and innovative national distribution program Film Circuit. The organization generates an annual economic impact of $189 million CAD. TIFF Bell Lightbox is generously supported by contributors including Founding Sponsor Bell, the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, the City of Toronto, the Reitman family (Ivan Reitman, Agi Mandel and Susan Michaels), The Daniels Corporation and RBC. For more information, visit tiff.net.
