The new documentary David Foster: Off the Record will have its World Premiere at Toronto International Film Festival. The film’s premiere will be followed with a special tribute to David Foster at the TIFF Tribute Gala.
With his latest film, award-winning Canadian director Barry Avrich (The Last Mogul, Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz) mixes rare archival footage, interviews, and unprecedented access to the Victoria, BC–born musician, producer, songwriter, and composer, charting Foster’s career to date and sharing what is next. Foster has helped sell more than a half-billion records. He has collaborated with such artists as Chicago, Barbra Streisand, and Andrea Bocelli and been credited with discovering and working with Celine Dion, Michael Bublé, and Josh Groban.
In addition to Streisand, Bublé, Dion, and Groban, the film features Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones, Clive Davis, Kristin Chenoweth, Peter Cetera, Diane Warren, Carole Bayer Sager, wife Katharine McPhee, and daughters Erin and Sara Foster. The film is produced by Lennox, Caitlin Cheddie, and Avrich, with Lennox, Avrich, Jeffrey Latimer, and Marc Johnston as executive producers.
“David Foster fills a frame with his greatest-showman-on-Earth style,” said Avrich. “He is a world-class combination of rule-breaker, game-changer, and complex genius.”
Throughout his career, Foster has won 16 Grammy Awards — including three for Producer of the Year — an Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe, and has been nominated for three Oscars for Best Original Song. His resume includes soundtracks for films such as Urban Cowboy (1980), St. Elmo’s Fire (1985), and The Bodyguard (1992). He is also avidly involved in charitable work; he started the David Foster Foundation in 1986 to provide financial support to Canadian families with children in need of life-saving organ transplants.
The 44th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 5 to 15, 2019.