2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the Toronto International Film Festival. From seasoned filmmakers to rising stars, this year’s programming is a showcase of the vibrant and ever-evolving landscape of Canada’s cinematic culture. Here’s what you need to know!
Visit the Canada Pavilion - Industry Centre Stand 2-3
The Canada Pavilion is back; a space for producers and filmmakers to network and connect with industry peers. If you’re interested in chatting with a Canadian producer, the Pavilion is the perfect meeting point.
Canadian and Indigenous films at #TIFF50
This year’s selection features an impressive lineup of international coproductions.
100 Sunset, the debut feature of Kunsang Kyirong, is the first coproduction with Tibet from Telefilm Canada’s Talent to Watch cohort. The mystery drama highlights the Tibetan community in Toronto.
Belgium also plays a key role in this year’s slate, with two compelling co-productions: Clement Virgo’s Steal Away, a drama filmed in Belgium about a bond between two girls that turns obsessive, and Sk+te’kmujue’katik (At the Place of Ghosts), a fantastical and moving ghost story from Bretten Hannam.
Hungary joins the mix with Gagne Ton Ciel (The Cost of Heaven) by Mathieu Denis, and Blue Heron by Sophy Romani (another Talent to Watch film). Blue Heron has already made waves internationally, winning the First Feature Award at the Locarno Film Festival. At the same festival, Follies, Éric K. Boulianne’s debut feature, was featured in Canada’s First Look Initiative. Catch this endearing romantic comedy in TIFF Centrepiece program.
Writer, actor and director Grace Glowicki’s Dead Lover, an expressionist dark comedy, is part of the festival’s Midnight Madness program. The film already turned heads at Sundance and SXSW, where it was acquired by Cartuna x Dweck. Glowicki also stars in Honey Bunch, an uncanny thriller from Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli that premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year and is also part of the Centrepiece program.
Also on the heels of its Berlinale premiere is UIKSARINGITARA (Wrong Husband), a love story set 4,000 years ago from acclaimed filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk, and Space Cadet, a heart-wrenching, futuristic animated film from Kid Koala.
Check out the full list of Canadian and Indigenous films at TIFF:
Gala Presentation:
- PEAK EVERYTHING, dir. Anne Émond
- LILITH FAIR: BUILDING A MYSTERY, dir. Ally Pankiw
Special Presentations:
- & SONS, dir Pablo Trapero
- DEGRASSI: WHATEVER IT TAKES, dir. Lisa Rideout
- MEADOWLARKS, dir. Tasha Hubbard
- MILE END KICKS, dir. Chandler Levack
- MILLE SECRETS MILLE DANGERS (LOVELY DAY), dir. Philippe Falardeau
- STEAL AWAY, dir Clement Virgo
- UIKSARINGITARA (Wrong Husband), dir. Zacharias Kunuk
Centrepiece:
- BLOOD LINES, dir. Gail Maurice
- BLUE HERON, dir. Sophy Romvari
- FOLICHONNERIES (Follies), dir. Éric K. Boulianne
- GAGNE TON CIEL (The Cost of Heaven), dir. Mathieu Denis
- HONEY BUNCH, dir. Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Dusty Mancinelli
- LITTLE LORRAINE, dir. Andrew Hines
- OUT STANDING, dir. Mélanie Charbonneau
- SPACE CADET, dir. Eric San (Kid Koala
- YOUNGBLOOD, dir. Hubert Davis
Midnight Madness:
- DEAD LOVER, dir. Grace Glowicki
- NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE, dir. Matt Johnson
Discovery:
- 100 SUNSET, dir. Kunsang Kyirong
- DINNER WITH FRIENDS, dir. Sasha Leigh Henry
- NIKA AND MADISON, dir. Eva Thomas
Wavelengths:
- FELT, dir. Blake Williams
- LEVERS, dir. Rhayne Vermette
TIFF Docs:
- AKI, dir. Darlene Naponse
- MODERN WHORE, dir. Nicole Bazuin
- NI-NAADAMAADIZ: RED POWER RISING, dir. Shane Belcourt
- STILL SINGLE, dir. Jamal Burger, Jukan Tateisi
- THERE ARE NO WORDS, dir. Min Sook Lee
- THE ROAD BETWEEN US: THE ULTIMATE RESCUE, dir. Barry Arvich
- WHILE THE GREEN GRASS GROWS, dir. Peter Mettler
Platform:
- SK+TE’KMUJUE’KATIK (At the Place of Ghosts), dir. Bretten Hannam
Prime Time:
- Wayward, dir. Mae Martin
Short Cuts:
- A SOFT TOUCH, dir. Heather Young
- AMBUSH (KAMEEN), dir. Yassmina Karajah
- BOTS, dir. Rich Williamson
- CE QU’ON LAISSE DERRIÉRE (WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND), dir. Alexandra Myotte, Jean-Sébastien Hame
- DEMONS, dir. Kelly Fyffe-Marshall
- DISH PIT, dir. Anna Hopkins
- HEALER, dir. Chelsea McMullan
- I FEAR BLUE SKIES, dir. Salar Pashtoonyar
- JAZZ INFERNAL, dir. Will Niava
- KARUPY, dir. Kalainithan Kalaichelvan
- KLEE, dir. Gavin Baird
- MARRIAGINALIA, dir. Hannah Cheesman
- NIIMI, dir. Dana Solomon
- PINK LIGHT, dir. Harrison Browne
- POSTER BOY, dir. India Opzoomer
- RAMON WHO SPEAKS TO GHOSTS, dir. Shervin Kermani
- RIPE, dir. Solara Thanh Bình Đặng
- SEA STAR, dir. Tyler Mckenzie Evans
- THE GIRL WHO CRIED PEARLS, dir. Maciek Szczerbowski, Chris Lavis
- YEAR OF THE DRAGON, dir. Giran Findlay-Liu
Industry Panels
TIFF’s panels offer valuable insights and practical strategies from industry leaders. Add these panels, supported by Telefilm Canada, to your agenda!
If you’re interested in navigating funding opportunities in Canada, understanding Telefilm Canada’s support programs, and learning how to craft a strong application for production financing, add the panel Microsessions: Are You Ready to Apply to Telefilm Canada? to your agenda.
- Where: Friday, September 5th 11:30am – 12:30pm
- When: CBC Glenn Gould Main Stage
- Who: Melissa Amer, Ayesha Husain, Shelley MacDougal, Erica Shallow
If you’re interested in making productions more inclusive for disabled creators, managing truly accessible productions, and learning actionable strategies from lived experiences, attend the panel PERSPECTIVES Accessible Productions: Best Practices.
- When: Friday, September 5th, 3:00pm to 4:00pm
- Where: CBC Studio
If you’re interested in audience-centered distribution strategies, and how the audiovisual industry is adapting to global shifts in movie-going here and abroad, check out the panel Microsessions: Exploring the Futures of Distribution.
- When: Friday, September 5th, 4:15pm to 5:15pm
- Where: CBC Glenn Gould Studio B
- Who: Tom Alexander (Mongrel Media), Samuel Cousineau-Cohen (Isuma Distribution), Frances-Anne Soloman (Carribean Tales Media Group), Tim Ringuette (Entract Films)
