TIFF 2014 to Include 25th Anniversary Screening of Michael Moore's 'Roger & Me'

Michael Moore interviews 'The Bunny Lady' in Roger & Me

The first official title has been announced for the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. This year’s festival will include a special 25^th anniversary screening of Michael Moore’s landmark 1989 documentary Roger & Me. Roger & Me, which sees Moore explore his hometown of Flint, Michigan as the closure of the General Motors plant throws the city into economic downturn, premiered at the festival in 1989 and won the now-coveted People’s Choice. Last year’s festival included a retrospective screening of the 1983 People’s Choice Award winner The Big Chill, which was a festival highlight. No word exists on whether Moore will revisit the popular “Pets or meat” sequence from Roger & Me, but one assumes that this screening will be just as enlightening and entertaining. A special 25th anniversary Blu-ray™ edition, DVD and Digital HD will be released from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment on October 7, 2014.

“The 25th anniversary release of my first movie, Roger & Me, is definitely a bittersweet milestone. On the one hand, the film has  affected the millions who've seen it and it has strongly influenced what is a now-thriving documentary movement. I'm thrilled that a 25th  anniversary screening is being held at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it premiered and was awarded the Festival’s major  prize, the People's Choice Award,” said Moore in a press release released from TIFF. “The fact that Roger & Me is as relevant today as it was 25 years ago is a travesty.” Moore will be on hand to introduce Roger & Me at the festival and he’ll also kick off the TIFF Docs Conference with a keynote conversation with TIFF Docs programmer Thom Powers. Moore is one of several high-profile names announced today for the industry side of the event, which also includes Claire Denis (Bastards) and filmmaker/special effects Douglas Trumbull (Blade Runner).

The 2014 Toronto International Film Festival runs September 4-14.

Please visit www.tiff.net for more information.