In an exciting new expansion of its program, the Meaford International Film Festival (MIFF) is celebrating its 20th anniversary by presenting the inaugural TIFF to MIFF, a series of four films that will be shown this spring and summer at Meaford Hall as a lead-up to the popular film festival in September.
TIFF to MIFF is a new partnership with the TIFF Film Circuit, the Toronto International Film Festival’s national film outreach program that was established in 1989 to bring the best of world cinema to communities across the country through grassroots arts and culture networks.
The Meaford film series, to be held annually, will kick off Monday, May 11, at Meaford Hall & Culture Centre. The remaining three films will be shown June 15, July 13, and August 10. Tickets are $70 for the full series of four films or $20 for one film. All movies will be shown at 7 p.m.
Presented by the Meaford Culture Foundation (MCF), the TIFF to MIFF film series will precede this year’s MIFF event, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary. MIFF will open with a Gala on Thursday, September 24, followed by three afternoon matinees and three evening films, from September 25-27. The evening festivities will include an opportunity to experience a dinner by local well-known chefs before each movie, post-film interviews with special guests, and after-parties where theatregoers can mix and mingle.
The four TIFF to MIFF films being shown are:
Dancing on the Elephant (May 11)
A Canadian comedy-drama film, directed by Julia Neill and Jacob Z. Smith and released in 2025. Adapted from the stage play by Lisa Hagen, the film stars Sheila McCarthy as Nora, a woman involuntarily placed in a retirement home by her family, who meets fellow retiree Edna (Mary Walsh) and sets out to reclaim control of her life by embarking on an adventure with her new friend.
The Art of Adventure (June 15)
An inspiring and deeply human documentary about the extraordinary lifelong friendship between world-renowned wildlife artist Robert Bateman and fearless biologist Bristol Foster. Through their epic 1957 journey around the world – armed with a 16mm camera and an artist’s brush – the film opens a vivid window onto a planet once wild and unscarred and a bond formed through curiosity, courage, and love of nature.
Holy Days (July 13)
This comedy/drama film is directed and written by Nat Boltt, in her feature directorial debut. A Canadian-New Zealand co-production, the film features three elderly nuns who are trying to save their convent, and an unhappy young boy, who embark on a road trip.
The Choral (August 10)
This 2025 British historical drama film is co-produced and directed by Nicholas Hytner and written by Alan Bennett. Set in 1916 during World War I, in the fictional town of Ramsden, Yorkshire, the film follows the members of the local choral society which recruits a disparate group of townspeople for a performance of Edward Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, a work chosen because it was not written by a German. It stars Ralph Fiennes, Roger Allam, Mark Addy, Alun Armstrong, Robert Emms, and Simon Russell Beale.
To purchase tickets online for TIFF to MIFF, please visit www.meafordhall.ca. To purchase tickets by phone, contact the Meaford Hall Box Office at 877-538-0463.
The Meaford International Film Festival is the Meaford Culture Foundation’s flagship cultural event and fundraiser that generates funds for ongoing capital improvements to Meaford Hall, as well as supporting a wide range of local arts and culture initiatives through its Community Outreach programs. Since its inception in 2006, the Foundation has donated more than $700,000 to Meaford Hall renovations and enhancements, and more than $350,000 to local artists and arts and cultural activities.
