The guests of honour at this party, unlike the one thrown in the film, will definitely be in attendance. Thirty years after its world premiere at the 1983 Toronto International Film Festival, The Big Chill-and members of its cast and crew-is back.
To celebrate the The Big Chill's 30th anniversary, TIFF is hosting a reunion of its own for the cast and crew as part of this year's Toronto International Film Festival. In attendance at the film's anniversary screening: actors Glenn Close, Tom Berenger, Meg Tilly, Mary Kay Place and JoBeth Williams; director/writer Lawrence Kasdan; screenwriter Barbara Benedek; executive producer Marcia Nasatir; and producers Meg Kasdan and Michael Shamberg. The screening of a newly restored 4K version of the film will be followed by an extended Q&A with the cast and crew, moderated by Variety's chief film critic, Scott Foundas.
Following its opening night screening at the 1983 Festival, the film, about a group of college friends who reunite after the suicide of one of their own, went on to win the Festival's prestigious People's Choice Award and garner three Academy Award nominations (best film, screenplay and supporting actress). The Big Chill would go on to become a classic and spawn a massively popular soundtrack of sixties-era hits. It continues to resonate today, not only with the postwar generation, but with audiences of all ages.
"In addition to helping its stars break through and its influence on cinema generally, The Big Chill represents a landmark in TIFF's own history," says Piers Handling, Director and CEO, TIFF. "It showcased the Festival's ability to seek out and attract up-and-coming contemporary classics as well as our audiences' ability to predict hits through the People's Choice Awards, and helped the Festival move to the forefront of the international landscape."
"The story of how The Big Chill and the Toronto International Film Festival found each other is a fascinating one," says Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director, Toronto International Film Festival. "On this special night we'll reunite the creative team that made an American classic, and indulge in a little glorious nostalgia. With that soundtrack, there might even be dancing."
The Big Chill will screen on Thursday, September 5 at 7pm at the Princess of Wales Theatre.
