Free movies under the stars are back at a huge downtown Toronto park this summer, and this year they're celebrating a theme of joyful community celebration.

Toronto Outdoor Picture Show, or TOPS for short, is returning to Fort York National Historic Site as part of TOPS & Friends, a multi-week film fest bringing some of the city's biggest cultural curators together. The large historic site ensures there's still enough space to physically distance.

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The festival kicks off with three free films starting on July 31 with The Birdcage, continuing with Monsoon Wedding on August 1 and Booksmart on August 2. 

Free advance tickets are available starting July 15 at noon, with more programming announced on July 13.

Throughout August there will be screenings guest-curated by local organizations and film festivals like Inside Out, Vector Festival, Toronto Palestine Film Festival, Regent Park Film Festival, Breakthroughs Film Festival, Goethe-Institut Toronto, Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival. 

As if that wasn't enough, the fest will close out Labour Day weekend with five nights of movies.

"In the two weeks since we announced the TOPS & Friends premise of our 2021 festival, we have seen community support like never before in our decade of outdoor public programming," says TOPS artistic and executive director Emily Reid.

"We've never before received so many enthusiastic and encouraging messages from residents from across the city. It's touching to hear that our community misses enjoying cinema together, and they are incredibly excited to do that safely again."

TOPS had its ten-year anniversary last year, and is known for pairing short Canadian films with iconic blockbusters.