Cast members of Mountains May Depart pose during a photo call in Cannes. [Photo provided to China Daily]

In 2013, a TIFF retrospective A Century of Chinese Cinema showcased more than 80 films, becoming a Chinese film sensation in North America.

"We were very surprised in the beginning that Chinese movies took leadership here when we did the 100 years of Chinese cinema, which was a fabulous piece of work," said William Marshall, one of the founders of the film festival.

"I think it really impressed people that (there was) a whole world they didn't know," Marshall said. "To me the important thing about Chinese new cinema is to stop doing the basic tales, like the red lantern story, and start doing a new story about new modern Chinese thoughts."

Canadian roots

As the film festival tries to go back to its Canadian roots at the age of 40, it also makes way for new creations. For the first time, a new competitive program was launched to champion artistic films from around the world.

The new section, Platform, was named after a movie by Jia Zhangke, who will lead the inaugural jury. The Promised Land is among the 12 films to run for the Platform jury prize, which will be announced at the closing ceremony of the film festival on Sept 20.

Meanwhile, for a fourth year in a row, TIFF's Asia Film Summit will highlight the Chinese filmmaking industry. Jia and producer Yu Dong with Bona Film Group were scheduled to give a presentation in Toronto.

Savine Wong, TIFF programmer for the Asian Film Summit, hopes these interactions will help international directors and companies working in and with China.