The PennZone

TORONTO - PennZone -- Created exclusively for TIFF at the festival's invitation, "The Tree of Cinema" by Toronto-based artists Yury Goncharov and Alina Tacmelova marked the opening of the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival. The installation appeared on Festival Street near Roy Thomson Hall from September 10–13.

Standing 11 feet tall with a nine-foot-wide canopy, the sculpture reimagines a tree through the materials and imagery of filmmaking. Its patinated steel trunk evokes cinema's industrial foundations. Hundreds of flowing strips resembling film combine recognizable cinematic moments with photographs of audiences watching, gathering, laughing, crying, and reflecting.

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Drawing on the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge, the work explores how stories and experiences pass between generations. It also takes inspiration from Agnès Varda's human approach to memory, everyday life, and filmmaking.

"We wanted to give physical form to something that usually remains invisible: what people carry with them after a film ends," the artists explain.

Visitors could walk around and beneath the canopy, entering a structure that celebrates cinema as a shared experience. As films are increasingly watched alone on personal screens, the installation highlighted the social ritual of strangers gathering around the same story. Festival Street audiences responded enthusiastically, while TIFF organizers noted its emotional connection with viewers.

Art critic and AICA member Julia Sysalova observed that placing spectators alongside film imagery gives audiences a visible role in cinematic history, turning the act of looking into a spatial encounter.

Goncharov contributed sculptural thinking, engineering, and material experimentation; Tacmelova brought research into memory, human connection, and participation. Toronto-area studio Custom Engineered Arts fabricated the installation, translating the concept into a large-scale sculpture. Following its Festival Street presentation, the work will move to TIFF Lightbox, the festival's year-round Toronto home.

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About the Artists

Yury Goncharov, born in Ukraine and based in Toronto, works across sculpture, collectible design, and public installation. His work has appeared at Isola Design Festival and Good Selection during Milan Design Week, the Interior Design Show Toronto, and DesignTO Festival.

Alina Tacmelova is a Toronto-based multidisciplinary artist and documentary filmmaker working across installation, moving image, and performance. Her film Pearls of Memories won Best Experimental Film at the 2026 Swedish International Film Festival and received an Honorable Mention in the Best Inspirational Film category at WSXA Paris in 2026.