TIFF’s 50th anniversary is just days away, and the lineup is nothing short of staggering. This year’s festival will showcase 291 films—209 features, 6 Classics, 10 Primetime selections, and 66 shorts—making it nearly impossible to narrow down what to see. Already, titles like The Smashing Machine, The Testament of Ann Lee, Hamnet, Frankenstein, No Other Choice, and Sentimental Value are generating buzz after triumphant Venice premieres.
And that’s only the beginning. TIFF will also host a wave of major world premieres, including Alejandro Amenábar’s The Captive, Steven Soderbergh’s The Christophers, Sung-hyun Byun’s Good News, Nia DaCosta’s Hedda, and Chandler Levack’s Mile End Kicks. Add to that Eternity, Dust Bunny, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Roofman, and dozens more—it’s an embarrassment of cinematic riches.
While the lineup is overwhelming, I’ve pulled together a few films I’m especially eager to catch as I cover my very first TIFF as press. I’ll be sharing out-of-theater reactions, in-depth reviews, and hopefully a few interviews along the way—so make sure to follow along on all socials for the full festival ride.
The Smashing Machine
Dwayne Johnson and indie powerhouse Benny Safdie (Uncut Gems, TIFF ’19) team up for The Smashing Machine, the story of pioneering MMA fighter Mark Kerr. One of the sport’s early stars, Kerr’s career was defined by both triumph and personal struggle, as the brutal demands of competition led to painkiller addiction and endless travel to Japan’s lucrative fight scene. Following a 15-minute standing ovation in Venice, Johnson is already being discussed as a serious Oscar contender.
Frankenstein
Guillermo del Toro turns his vision to Mary Shelley’s immortal tale in a project that feels like a dream pairing. Early buzz from Venice has been ecstatic, with praise for Jacob Elordi’s performance and del Toro’s signature gothic world-building. Told from both Frankenstein’s and the monster’s perspectives, this promises to be a visually rich, emotionally devastating experience—one of my top must-sees of the festival.
Poetic License
Maude Apatow makes her directorial debut with Poetic License, a sharp, charming comedy about unlikely friendships and messy desires. Ari (Cooper Hoffman) and Sam (Andrew Barth Feldman) are lifelong friends with opposite temperaments—Ari is goofy and self-absorbed, Sam buttoned-down and focused on finance. Their lives are upended when they both fall for Liz (Leslie Mann), a married mother auditing their poetry class while struggling with her own family life. With Nico Parker and Method Man rounding out the cast, this debut looks poised to be a crowd-pleaser.
Hamnet
Venice buzz turned Chloé Zhao Hamnet into an instant festival must-see. The film follows William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley) as they celebrate the birth of their son Hamnet, only to face tragedy when the boy dies young. His loss inspires Shakespeare to write Hamlet. Critics are already calling this tale of grief and artistry a modern classic, anchored by powerhouse performances.
Mile End Kicks
Chandler Levack (I Like Movies, TIFF ’22) returns with Mile End Kicks, a rom-com set in 2011 Montreal. The film follows Barbie Ferreira as a young music critic at a male-centric indie magazine who takes a leap into adulthood. With shades of Almost Famous but told from a fresh, feminine perspective, Levack’s film promises both laughs and heart. TIFF is packed with rom-coms this year, but this one stands out as a must-see.
Dust Bunny
Bryan Fuller (Hannibal) makes his feature directorial debut with Dust Bunny, and horror fans are already buzzing. The story follows an eight-year-old girl who enlists her scheming neighbor to help kill the monster under her bed that she believes devoured her family. With Mads Mikkelsen, Sigourney Weaver, and David Dastmalchian on board, expect this midnight premiere to be one of the festival’s hottest tickets.
Little Lorraine
Based on a true story, Little Lorraine transforms a small Cape Breton town into the unlikely base for an international drug-smuggling ring. The directorial debut of Grammy-nominated music video director Andy Hines, the film features Stephen Amell, Stephen McHattie, Sean Astin, and Colombian superstar J Balvin. With such a cast and stranger-than-fiction source material, this crime drama is one to watch.
Eternal Return
Kit Harington and Naomi Scott star in Eternal Return, a romantic sci-fi about grief, memory, and love. After losing her partner, Cass (Scott) meets Virgil (Harington), an eccentric cartographer, and his mentor (Simon Callow), who are developing technology that allows people to re-enter their past. Cass becomes their perfect test subject, setting the stage for an emotional journey about time, loss, and rediscovery.
Obsession
Curry Barker, a rising star discovered through his viral short Milk and Cereal, makes his feature debut with Obsession. The film follows a hopeless romantic whose wish for his longtime crush to fall in love with him takes a dark turn as sinister forces intervene. If Barker’s online work is any indication, this will be a bold, unsettling new voice in horror.
Fuze
David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water) returns with Fuze, a high-octane heist thriller set against the discovery of a World War II–era bomb in London. As authorities scramble to save lives, secrets and double-crosses escalate the tension. With Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Sam Worthington, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Theo James, this is shaping up to be one of the year’s most gripping crowd-pleasers.
Caroline Caroline
Adam Carter Rehmeier (Snack Shack, Dinner in America) directs Caroline Caroline, starring Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner. The film follows a young woman stuck in small-town routine who finds herself drawn to a drifter’s small-time con. Their partnership grows into both a romance and a criminal enterprise, in what promises to be a stylish, gritty spin on the outlaw love story.
Eternity
David Freyne’s Eternity (from A24) stars Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, and Callum Turner in a romantic fantasy about love that transcends life itself. Souls in transit find themselves in a complicated love triangle, raising the question: out of everyone you’ve ever loved, who should be your partner in the hereafter? Comparisons to The Lobster are already floating around, but with a more heartfelt, less existential tone, Eternity could be one of TIFF’s most affecting surprises.
Other titles to watch for: Sentimental Value, Nouvelle Vague, John Candy: I Like Me, Motor City, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, Christy, Good News, The Lost Bus, The Testament of Ann Lee, Charlie Harper, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Good Fortune, The Furious, Roofman, Rental Family, The Secret Agent, Normal, Ballad of a Small Player, Retreat, Black Rabbit, It Was Just an Accident, Karmadonna, Swiped, Scarlet, Adulthood, No Other Choice, Easy’s Waltz, Wayward, Hedda, Exit 8, New Years Rev, The Napa Boys, Nuremberg, The Fence, and California Schemin—just to name a few.
✨ TIFF’s 50th anniversary is shaping up to be an unforgettable celebration of film. Whether it’s heavyweight auteurs, rising stars, or the year’s buzziest debuts, the festival promises to deliver on all fronts. The 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, presented by Rogers, will take place September 4–14, 2025.
