A Toronto Film Festival that straddles normal and virtual

By JAKE COYLE
AP Film Writer

The Toronto International Film Festival is uniquely reliant on crowds, which has made its 2021 edition particularly challenging during the pandemic. A year after turning largely to virtual screenings and drive-ins, the Toronto International Film Festival will be more fully in-person beginning Thursday with the premiere of the Broadway musical adaptation “Dear Evan Hansen.” But streets won’t be closed off as usual in downtown Toronto, some venues won’t be open, theater seating will be social distanced and the festival has brought back the virtual platform. TIFF has been downsized to about 100 films, roughly half of a typical year.