As a case Festivals start rolling out their range (a phrase you will see very Off on IndieWire in the coming days), a word of both caution and joy: Don’t forget the festival films that already premiere anywhere else, from Sundance to Cannes. Toronto International Film Festival really does not have, as today’s full lineup of gala and special presentations includes many previously promoted films that are already ranked among the best of the year.
We talk sundance -standouts like Mary Bronstein’s “If I had legs I would kick you” and Clint Bentley’s “Train Dreams”, plus Cannes hits Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value”, Mascha Schilinski’s “Sentimental Value”, Jafar Panahis “It was just A Accident”
And Today’s Announcement Also Includes World Premieres Like Aziz Ansari’s “Good Fortune,” Maude Apatow’s “Poetic License,” Isabel Coixet’s “Three Goodbyes,” Romain Gavras’ “Sacifice,” David Michôd’s Sydney Sang-Ho’s “The Ugly,” James Vanderbilt’s “Nuremberg,” and Alice Winocour’s “Couture”, as well as new films from Mamoru Hosoda, Zacharias Kunuk, Baz Luhrman, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Benny Safdie and Gus van.
In the last few weeks, TIFF have rolled out some early elections for their choice, including Colin Hanks’ Opening evening documentary “John Candy: I Like Me,” Plus new films from Steven Soderbergh, Nia Dacosta, Chandler Levack, Alejandro Amenábar and Sung-Hyun Byunand the addition of 11 star -clear titles In the program Gala and special presentations just last week.
The festival has also announced today that Canadian director Anne Émond’s “Peak Everything” will be the closing night gala of the year, which will take place at the last night of the festival, Saturday, September 13. The film premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where our own David Ehrlich called it “a light comedy about the end of the world.”
This year, the festival has invited films from over 30 countries such as Per today’s announcement, “Showcase Bold Storytelling, Global Perspectives and The Power of Film to connect the audience over cultures.”
Check out the full list of this year’s Galas and special presentations, including both older announcements and today’s additions below:
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 | UK | World premiere
“Glenrothan” | Brian Cox | UK | World premiere
“Ged Fortune” | Aziz Ansari | USA | World premiere
*“Harbor” | Chloé Zhao | UK | Canadian premiere
“HomeBound” | Neeraj Ghaywan | India | North American Premiere | Gala presentation
*”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/UK/France/Denmark/Qatar/Saudi Arabia/Jordan | World premiere
“Peak Everything” | Anne émond | Canada | Toronto Premiere | Closing night gala
*”Takman” | Derek Cianfrance | USA | World premiere
*”She has no name” | Peter Ho-Sun Chan | Hong Kong/China | North American premiere
“Sholay” | Ramsh sippy | India | North American Premiere | 50 -year anniversary reset
“Swiped” | Rachel Lee Goldenberg | USA | World premiere
*”The Choral” | Nicholas Hytner | UK | World premiere
“Two pianos” | Arnaud Desplechin | France | World premiere
2025 Special presentations (in alphabetical order):
*Previously announced
*”A pale view of the hills” | Kei Ishikawa | Japan/UK/Poland | North American Premiere | Special presentation
“A poet” | Simón Mesa Soto | Colombia/Germany/Sweden | North American Premiere | Special presentation
“Bad apples” | Jonathan Etzler | UK | World premiere | Special presentation
“Ballad of a small player” | Edward Berger | UK | Canadian Premiere | Special presentation
“California schemy” ”| James McAvoy | UK/USA | World premiere | Special presentation
“Calle Malaga” | Maryam Touzani | Morocco/France/Spain/Germany/Belgium | North American Premiere | Special presentation
“Charlie Harper” | Tom Dean, Mac Eldridge | USA | World premiere | Special presentation
“Christy” | David Michôd | USA | World premiere | Special presentation
“Couture” | Alice Winocour | USA/France | World premiere | Special presentation
“Dead Man’s Wire” | Gus van True | USA | North American Premiere | Special presentation
“Degrassi: Whatever It Takes” | Lisa Rideout | Canada | World premiere | Special presentation
“Easy’s Waltz” | NIC Pizzolatto | USA | World premiere | Special presentation
“Epic: Elvis Presley in Concert” | Baz Luhrmann | Australia/USA | World premiere | Special presentation
“Eternal Return” | Yaniv Raz | UK/USA | World premiere | Special presentation
“Frankenstein” | Guillermo del Toro | USA | North American Premiere | Special presentation
*”Franz” | Agnieszka Holland | Czech Republic/Germany/Poland | World premiere | Special presentation
*”Good news” | Byun Sung-Hyun | South Korea | World premiere | Special presentation
*”Hedda” | Nia Dacosta | USA | World premiere | Special presentation
“If I had legs I would kick you” | Mary Bronstein | USA | Canadian Premiere | Special presentation
“It was just an accident” | Jafar Panahi | Iran/France/Luxembourg | Canadian Premiere | Special presentation
“It would be night in Caracas” | Mariana Rondón, Marité Ugás | Mexico | World premiere | Special presentation
“Kokuho” | Lee Sang-il | Japan | North American Premiere | Special presentation
“KY Nam Inn” | Leon Le | Vietnam | World premiere | Special presentation
“Lovely day” | Philippe Falaradeau | Canada | World premiere | Special presentation
“Meadowlarks” | Tasha Hubbard | Canada | World premiere | Special presentation
*”Mile End Kicks” | Chandler Levack | Canada | World premiere | Special presentation
“Monkey in a cage” | Anurag Kashyap | India | World premiere | Special presentation
“Nouvelle Vague” | Richard Linklater | France | Canadian Premiere | Special presentation
“Poetic License” | Maude Apatow | USA | World premiere | Special presentation
“Spring” | Damiano Michieletto | Italy/France | World premiere | Special presentation
“Project Y” | Lee Hwan | South Korea | World premiere | Special presentation
*“Rent family” | Hikari | USA/Japan | World premiere | Special presentation
“Rose of Nevada” | Mark Jenkin | UK | North American Premiere | Special presentation
“Offer” | Romain Gavras | UK/Greece | World premiere | Special presentation
“Scarlet” | Mamoru Hosoda | Japan | North American Premiere | Special presentation
“Sentimental Value” | Joachim Trier | Norway/France/Denmark/Germany/Sweden/UK | Canadian Premiere | Special presentation
“Silent friend” | Ildikó Enyedi | Germany/Hungary/France | North American Premiere | Special presentation
“Sirāt” | Oliver Laxing | France/Spain | North American Premiere | Special presentation
“Sound of Falling” | Mascha Schilinski | Germany | North American Premiere | Special presentation
*”Steal Away” | Clement Virgo | Canada/Belgium | World premiere | Special presentation
*”The Captive” | Alejandro Amenábar | Spain/Italy | World premiere | Special presentation
*”The Christophers” | Steven Soderbergh | UK | World premiere | Special presentation
*”The Lost Bus” | Paul Greengrass | USA | World premiere | Special presentation
“The Secret Agent” | Kleber Mendonça Filho | Brazil/France/Netherlands/Germany | Canadian Premiere | Special presentation
“The Smashing Machine” | Benny Safdie | USA | North American Premiere | Special presentation
“Testament of Ann Lee” | Mona Fastvold | UK | North American Premiere | Presented in 70mm | Special presentation
“The Ugly” | Yeon Sang-Ho | South Korea | World premiere | Special presentation
“Three goodbyes” | Isabel Coixet | Italy/Spain | World premiere | Special presentation
“Train Dreams” | Clint Bentley | USA | International premiere | Special presentation
“Tuner” | Daniel Rher | USA | Canadian Premiere | Special presentation
“Uiksaringara (wrong spouse)” | Zacharias Kunuk | Canada | North American Premiere | Special presentation
*”Wake up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” | Rian Johnson | USA | World premiere | Special presentation
“You had to be there: How Toronto Godspell ignited the comedy revolution …” | Nick Davis | USA | World premiere | Special presentation
This year’s official screening places will once again include TIFF Lightbox, Roy Thomson Hall, Visa Screening Room at Princess of Wales Theater, Cineplex’s Scotiabank Theater Toronto, Glenn Gould Studio at Canadian Broadcast Center, Cinema Park at David Pecrara. The seventh edition of the TIFF Tribute Awards gala will take place on Sunday, September 7, 2025 at Fairmont Royal York Hotel.
On the last day of the festival, TIFF announces the winners of their various awards. In addition to the popular People’s Choice Awards, presented by Rogers, in September introduces the brand new International People’s Choice Award. Returning is also the estimated jury prices including Platform Award, which is now celebrating its tenth year and awards from FPRIPERCI and NetPac.
The 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, presented by Rogers, runs September 4-14, 2025. More festival information will be shared in the coming weeks, with this week that will play home for some major announcements.
