It’s a big news week for the 50th Toronto International Film Festival starting with announcement of their full Galas and Special Presentations section including world premieres of Aziz Ansari’s Lionsgate Keanu Reeves and Seth Rogen comedy "Good Fortune," Maude Apatow’s feature directorial debut "Poetic License," Isabel Coixet’s "Three Goodbyes," James McAvoy’s feature directorial debut "California Schemin’," Succession star Brian Cox’s feature directorial debut "Glenrothan," Romain Gavras’ "Sacrifice," David Michôd’s "Christy," Yeon Sang-ho’s "The Ugly," James Vanderbilt’s "Nuremberg," and Alice Winocour’s "Couture," as well as movies from Mamoru Hosoda, Zacharias Kunuk, Baz Luhrmann, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Jafar Panahi, Benny Safdie, and Gus Van Sant.
Before "Waiting for Godot" begins its Broadway run on September 13, both Bill and Ted will be in TIFF; Keanu Reeves starring in "Good Fortune" and Alex Winter with the world premiere of his Adulthood.
"Good Fortune," which first dropped a trailer at CinemaCon 2024, follows an angel named Gabriel, played by Reeves, who meddles in the lives of a struggling gig worker (Ansari) and a wealthy venture capitalist (Seth Rogen).
"Poetic License" stars Method Man, Nico Parker, Andrew Barth Feldman, Cooper Hoffman, Maisy Stella and Leslie Mann.
The movie follows Liz, a former therapist and soon-to-be empty nester, as she becomes the unexpected point of tension between two inseparable best friends and college seniors, Sam and Ari. Liz is forced to reexamine her life as the boys’ friendship unravels in a fierce competition for her affection.
Sony Pictures Classics’ "Nuremberg" chronicles the true story of the eponymous post-WWII trials held by the Allies against the defeated Nazi regime.
The pic centers on American psychiatrist Douglas Kelley (Rami Malek), who is tasked with determining whether Nazi prisoners are fit to stand trial for their war crimes. He finds himself in a complex battle of wits with Hermann Göring (Russell Crowe), Hitler’s right-hand man.
Michôd’s "Christy" stars Sydney Sweeney as 1990s female boxer Christy Martin. Merritt Weaver, Ben Foster, and Katy O’Brian also star.
Winocour’s "Couture" stars Angelina Jolie as an American filmmaker who arrives in Paris for Fashion Week on a life-and-death journey, facing challenges and self-discovery.
Jolie was at TIFF last year with the world premiere of "Without Blood," which she directed. The Oscar winner was also lauded at TIFF’s awards gala.
McAvoy’s "California Schemin" tells the story of two Scottish lads from Dundee who conned the music industry by pretending to be an established Californian rap duo, bagging a record deal and appearing on MTV until their scam unraveled.
"Glenrothan" also stars its director Cox, as well as Alan Cumming, Alexandra Shipp, and Shirley Henderson in a tale about two brothers, who following a violent exchange with their father on the day of their mother’s funeral, sees the younger of the two leaving their Highland home for America. After forty years they reunite in the land of their birth.
Rachel Lee Goldenberg’s world premiere of 20th Century Studios’ "Swiped" is inspired by the real-life story of the visionary founder of online dating platform Bumble.
It introduces recent college grad Whitney Wolfe (Lily James) as she uses extraordinary grit and ingenuity to break into the male-dominated tech industry, launching an innovative, globally lauded dating app – two, actually, and paving the way to becoming the youngest female self-made billionaire.
The movie was written by Bill Parker, Rachel Lee Goldenberg, and Kim Caramele.
It also stars Jackson White, Myha’la, Ben Schnetzer, Pierson Fodé, Clea DuVall, Pedro Correa, Ian Colleti, Coral Peña, and Dan Stevens. The movie is produced by Jennifer Gibgot, Andrew Panay and James. It premieres on Hulu on September 19.
"Train to Busan" filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho’s new movie, the mystery thriller, "The Ugly," centers around a man’s investigation into his long-lost mother’s death.
In a full reveal that other big fall and awards season movies are world premiering elsewhere, TIFF announced that Guillermo del Toro’s "Frankenstein," starring Jacob Elordi and Oscar Isaac, is getting a North American premiere as well as Dwayne Johnson's movie "The Smashing Machine" from Benny Safdie and starring the former WWE wrestler as mixed-martial arts and UFC champion Mark Kerr.
Meanwhile, Edward Berger’s Colin Farrell, Tilda Swinton psychological drama thriller, "Ballad of a Small Player," is making its Canadian premiere at TIFF. It follows a high stakes gambler who is laying low in Macau whose past and debts start to catch up with him. He encounters a kindred spirit who might just hold the key to his salvation.
In addition, the closing night movie is "Peak Everything" from Canadian director Anne Émond playing on the last night of the fest on Saturday, September 13.
TIFF, presented by Rogers, takes place September 4–14. The festival invited movies from 30 countries.
2025 Galas (in alphabetical order):
*previously announced
*A Private Life | Rebecca Zlotowski | France
North American Premiere
Adulthood | Alex Winter | USA
World Premiere
Driver’s Ed | Bobby Farrelly | USA
World Premiere
Eleanor the Great | Scarlett Johansson | USA
North American Premiere
Eternity | David Freyne | USA
World Premiere
Fuze | David Mackenzie | United Kingdom
World Premiere
Glenrothan | Brian Cox | United Kingdom
World Premiere
Good Fortune | Aziz Ansari | USA
World Premiere
*Hamnet | Chloé Zhao | United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere
*Homebound | Neeraj Ghaywan | India
North American Premiere
*John Candy: I Like Me | Colin Hanks | USA
World Premiere
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery | Ally Pankiw | Canada
World Premiere | USA
Nuremberg | James Vanderbilt | USA
World Premiere
Palestine 36 | Annemarie Jacir | Palestine/United Kingdom/France/Denmark/Qatar/Saudi Arabia/Jordan
World Premiere
Peak Everything | Anne Émond | Canada | Closing Night Gala
Toronto Premiere
*Roofman | Derek Cianfrance | USA
World Premiere
*She Has No Name | Peter Ho-Sun Chan | Hong Kong/China
North American Premiere
Sholay | Ramesh Sippy | India | 50th Anniversary Restoration
North American Premiere
Swiped | Rachel Lee Goldenberg | USA
World Premiere
*The Choral | Nicholas Hytner | United Kingdom
World Premiere
Two Pianos | Arnaud Desplechin | France
World Premiere
2025 Special Presentations (in alphabetical order):
*previously announced
A Pale View of Hills | Kei Ishikawa | Japan/United Kingdom/Poland
North American Premiere
A Poet | Simón Mesa Soto | Colombia/Germany/Sweden
North American Premiere
Bad Apples | Jonatan Etzler | United Kingdom
World Premiere
Ballad of a Small Player | Edward Berger | United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere
California Schemin’ | James McAvoy | United Kingdom/USA
World Premiere
Calle Malaga | Maryam Touzani | Morocco/France/Spain/Germany/Belgium
North American Premiere
Charlie Harper | Tom Dean, Mac Eldridge | USA
World Premiere
Christy | David Michôd | USA
World Premiere
Couture | Alice Winocour | USA/France
World Premiere
Dead Man’s Wire | Gus Van Sant | USA
North American Premiere
Degrassi: Whatever It Takes | Lisa Rideout | Canada
World Premiere
Easy’s Waltz | Nic Pizzolatto | USA
World Premiere
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert | Baz Luhrmann | Australia/USA
World Premiere
Eternal Return | Yaniv Raz | United Kingdom/USA
World Premiere
Frankenstein | Guillermo del Toro | USA
North American Premiere
*Franz | Agnieszka Holland | Czech Republic/Germany/Poland
World Premiere
*Good News | Byun Sung-hyun | South Korea
World Premiere
*Hedda | Nia DaCosta | USA
World Premiere
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You | Mary Bronstein | USA
Canadian Premiere
It Was Just an Accident | Jafar Panahi | Iran/France/Luxembourg
Canadian Premiere
It Would Be Night in Caracas | Mariana Rondón, Marité Ugás | Mexico
World Premiere
Kokuho | Lee Sang-il | Japan
North American Premiere
Ky Nam Inn | Leon Le | Vietnam
World Premiere
Lovely Day | Philippe Falardeau | Canada
World Premiere
Meadowlarks | Tasha Hubbard | Canada
World Premiere
*Mile End Kicks | Chandler Levack | Canada
World Premiere
Monkey in a Cage | Anurag Kashyap | India
World Premiere
Nouvelle Vague | Richard Linklater | France
Canadian Premiere
Poetic License | Maude Apatow | USA
World Premiere
Primavera | Damiano Michieletto | Italy/France
World Premiere
Project Y | Lee Hwan | South Korea
World Premiere
*Rental Family | HIKARI | USA/Japan
World Premiere
Rose of Nevada | Mark Jenkin | United Kingdom
North American Premiere
Sacrifice | Romain Gavras | United Kingdom/Greece
World Premiere
Scarlet | Mamoru Hosoda | Japan
North American Premiere
Sentimental Value | Joachim Trier | Norway/France/Denmark/Germany/Sweden/United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere
Silent Friend | Ildikó Enyedi | Germany/Hungary/France
North American Premiere
Sirāt | Óliver Laxe | France/Spain
North American Premiere
Sound of Falling | Mascha Schilinski | Germany
North American Premiere
*Steal Away | Clement Virgo | Canada/Belgium
World Premiere
*The Captive | Alejandro Amenábar | Spain/Italy
World Premiere
*The Christophers | Steven Soderbergh | United Kingdom
World Premiere
*The Lost Bus | Paul Greengrass | USA
World Premiere
The Secret Agent | Kleber Mendonça Filho | Brazil/France/Netherlands/Germany
Canadian Premiere
The Smashing Machine | Benny Safdie | USA
North American Premiere
The Testament of Ann Lee | Mona Fastvold | UK
North American Premiere | Presented in 70mm
The Ugly | Yeon Sang-ho | South Korea
World Premiere
Three Goodbyes | Isabel Coixet | Italy/Spain
World Premiere
Train Dreams | Clint Bentley | USA
International Premiere
Tuner | Daniel Roher | USA
Canadian Premiere
Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband) | Zacharias Kunuk | Canada
North American Premiere
*Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery | Rian Johnson | USA
World Premiere
You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution… | Nick Davis | USA
World Premiere
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