Are you looking for the next Barry Jenkins, Pietro Marcello, William Oldroyd or Darius Marder? Let Toronto International Film The festival’s author-focused and discovered platform section.
Today, the festival has announced its 2025 platform program set -up, which marks the tenth anniversary of the party’s Autheur competition section, which “champions with bold director vision and distinct stories.”
This year’s edition contains 10 films representing 19 countries. The program opens with the world premiere of “Steve”, from the Belgian director Tim Mielants (“Small things like these”, “Peaky Blinders”) starring Tracey Ullman and the Oscar Award – Winner Cillian Murphy. The film is Mielant’s first performance at TIFF and his third collaboration with Murphy.
As usual, the section is lawful by a three-person team of luminaires. This year they include jury chair and Spanish film writer, editor and director Carlos Marqués-Marcet, who won the 2024 platform price for “They will be dust.” He is united by Oscar-nominated actor, writer, composer and director Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who was last at the festival with Mike Leighs “Hard Truths” (TIFF ’24), and Québécois Filmmaker Chloé Robichaud, whose acclaved sundorance hit ” Happiness “(TIFF ’23),” Borders “(TIFF ’16) and her short film” Delphine “(TIFF ’19), among others.
The other nine films that participate in the platform competition are: Farnoosh Samadis “Between Dreams and Hope”, Orian Barki and Meriem Bennanis “Bouchra” streams, “Yoon Ga-Euns” The World of Love “, Valentyn Vasyanovych’s” to the vivorgy! “And Kasia Adamiks” Winter of the Crow. “
The platform program is curated by TIFF’s programming team under the direction of Robyn Citizen, Platform Lead and Director of Programming, Festival & Cinematheque. Platform Spotlights 10 films from filmmakers at the beginning to the middle of his career were ready to break out on the world scene. All films in the program are eligible for the platform price, which is chosen by an international jury. The winning filmmaker will receive a CAD price of $ 20,000. Platform Award will be distributed as part of the TIFF Awards ceremony.
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 ByunThe the addition of 11 star -clear titles In the program Gala and special presentations just last week, and the whole range of just yesterday.
Check out the full list of this year’s platform lineup (alphabetically), with all language provided by TIFF:
“Between Dreams and Hope” | Farnoosh Samadi | Iran | World premiere
Farnoosh Samadi, whose feature film “180 ° Rule” (TIFF ’20) and short film “Disppearance” (TIFF ’17) Both premiered at the festival, return with “between Dreams and Hope.” In this bold queer -love story, Azad (Fereshteh Hosseini), a Transman and Nora (Sadaf Asgari) are two young lovers growing between tradition and modernity in their community and family. Together, they travel to a distant Iranian village to meet Azad’s foreign father and get documents that would allow the couple to live authentic.
“BOUCHRA” | Orian Barki & Meriam Bennani | Italy/Morocco/USA | World premiere
Long -term collaborative partners and partners, visual artist Meriem Bennani and documentary filmmaker Orian Barki, known for his former work life on “caps” (TIFF ’22) and “2 Lizards” (TIFF ’22), gives its latest animated project, “Bouchra,” to the festival, and the festivals, and the marks and the marks and the marks and marks it, and the festival, and marks, and marks, and marks, ” In this movie, 35-year-old Moroccan Coyote and filmmakers, Bouchra, live in New York and chronicle the impact her queerness has on her relationship with her mother, Aïcha, in Casablanca. Cutting between the film that forms and real conversations between Bouchra and Aïcha (recreations of telephone calls that took place between Bennani and her mother), “Bouchra” is a humorous and tender portrait of love and pain that both sides must understand to move on.
“Hen” | György Pálfi | Germany/Greece/Hungary | World premiere
György Pálfi’s “Hen”, an inventive live-action feature, chronicles a remarkable chicken as she flees from her unclear fate in this unorthodox and bold story. She flees from a chicken farm and finds refuge in the yard at a crumbling restaurant. There she discovers love, confronts hacking order and struggles to protect her eggs from a greedy owner. Her scroll, but still touching the motherhood, reflects the messy compromises and silent fights in human life.
“Nino” | Pauline Loquès | France | International premiere
With a Breakout performance from TIFF ’17 Rising Star and Quebécois actor Théodore Pellerin (whose former TIFF credits include “Never Steady, Never Still”, “Family First” and “Geneva” and the latest, “Solo”), Pauline LOQUès “Nino” follows its title “follows its title. Nino is facing a major health challenge, but first his doctor has assigned him two important tasks. These two assignments lead the young man on a journey through Paris and forces him to reconnect with the world – and himself.
“SK+TE’KMUUDE’KAK (on Ghosts Place)” | Bretten Hannam | Canada/Belgium | World premiere
From domestic, two-spiritated filmmaker Bretten Hannam (“Wildhood”, TIFF ’21) comes “SK+TE’KMUJUDE’KAK (on ghosts),” which follows siblings Mise’l and Antle who were close as children, but trauma from their upstream has caused them to remove. When they are both haunted by an malicious spirit of bones and rat, siblings are forced to reunite and dare deep into the forest to confront their trauma together.
“Steve” | Tim Mielants | Ireland/UK | Opening film | World premiere
In the mid-90s, “Steve” is a conversion of Max Porter’s Sunday Times Bestseller “shy.” The film follows an important day in the life of teacher Steve (Oscar Award winner Cillian Murphy) and his students at a final chance reform school in the middle of a world that has abandoned them. When Steve struggles to protect the school’s integrity and imminent closure, we witness him who struggles with his own mental health. In parallel with Steve’s struggle, we meet shy (Jay Lycurgo), a worried teenager captured between his past and what lies ahead as he tries to unite his inner fragility with his impulse for self -destruction and violence.
“The currents” | Milagros Mumenthaler | Switzerland/Argentina | World premiere
Known for his atmospheric story, filmmaker Milagros Mumenthaler, whose acclaimed film “Abrir Puertas y Ventanas (Back to Stay)” premiered at TIFF ’11, reveals his latest drama, “The Currents.” The enigmatic film follows Lina on a business trip to Geneva. She is driven by an impulse that puts her life in danger. When she returned to Buenos Aires, Lina keeps what happened hidden, but the past she fled from the emergence and puts her present in abyss.
“The World of Love” | Yoon Ga-eun | South Korea | World premiere
Yoon Ga-Eun’s third feature, “The World of Love”, unites Seo Su-Bin in his debut role with Chang Hyae-Jin (“Parasite”, “Crash Landing On You”). The film introduces us to Jooin (Seo Su-Bin), an enigmatic 17-year-old high school students who are curious and puzzled by love. One day, a few words she says in an anger cause a big scene. Afterwards, she gets anonymous notes that question her behavior, and cracks begin to emerge in her former peaceful world. “Jooin, who is the real you?”
“To the victory!” | Valentyn Vasyanovych | Ukraine/Lithuania | World premiere
The latest from multi -part filmmakers Valentyn Vasyanovych, who also plays as the main character in “To the victory!” Ukraine, in the near future. The war has ended. A film director is without work, happy and in contact with his family abroad. While his wife and daughter built a new life in Vienna, he stays behind – confused, restless and convinced that things are getting better. Eventually. Probably. Perhaps.
“Winter of the Crow” | Kasia Adamik | Poland/Luxembourg/UK | World premiere
“Winter of the Crow” stars Lesley Manville, Zofia Wichłacz and Tom Burke and is based on a short story by Nobel Prize Writer Olga Tokarczuk. At the beginning of Poland’s martial arts, the country is closed, just like British psychiatry professor Dr. Joan Andrews (Manville) arrives as guest lecturer in Warsaw. The taxis have been replaced by thoughts; Citizens are treated as criminals. When Chaos engulfs the city, Joan witnesses a brutal murder by the secret police. In deadly danger and captured when Poland is closed, Joan becomes a hunted refugee for his life.
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.
