Event Details

13th Annual Toronto Black Film Festival (#TBFF25)

Dates: February 12 – 17, 2025

Presented by: TD Bank Group (TD) in collaboration with Global News

Website: TorontoBlackFilm.com

Special Honoree

Actor Ernie Hudson will receive the 2025 Career Achievement Award at Toronto Black Film Festival

Known for his roles in Ghostbusters (reprising his role in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire), Quantum Leap, The Family Business, Grace and Frankie, and Oz.

Extensive credits in TV and film, including Miss Congeniality, The Crow, Law & Order, Grey’s Anatomy, Modern Family, and Scandal.

Festival Highlights

Over 60 films from 22 countries, including Canada, the U.S., South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, France, Brazil, and more.

Premieres:

3 World Premieres

3 International Premieres

1 North American Premiere

17 Canadian Premieres

9 Ontario Premieres

2 Toronto Premieres

Opening Night Film: Fight Like a Girl (Toronto Premiere)

Time & Venue: February 12, 7:30 PM at Isabel Bader Theatre.

Executive Producer: Serge Ibaka

Director: Matthew Leutwyler

Synopsis: A young Congolese woman escapes forced labour at an illegal mineral mine and joins an all-women boxing club in Goma.

Post-screening Q&A with producers.

Closing Night Film: Legacy: The De-Colonized History of South Africa (Canadian Premiere)

Topic: Post-apartheid inequality and its systemic roots in South Africa.

Features: The grandson of the “Architect of Apartheid” examining his family’s legacy.

Special Programming

TBFF Black Market (Presented by Toronto Arts Council)

Dates & Venue: February 15-16 at Carlton Cinema.

Free Panels:

Cinematic Activism – How Black filmmakers use storytelling for activism.

Navigating AI in Film – The impact of AI on film production.

Afrofuturism & Black Speculative Fiction

Spotlight Stories: Film Industry Q&A Series

Online Panel: From Big Screens to Small Screens – Social Media & Content Creation in Filmmaking

Being Black in Canada (Presented by Netflix)

Date & Venue: February 14, 9 PM at Carlton Cinema.

Features: 30 emerging Black filmmakers from Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Ottawa, Calgary, and Vancouver.

Supported by: National Bank, Telefilm Canada, Canada Council for the Arts.

TBFF Family Day Festival (February 17)

Venue: Carlton Cinema (12 PM - 4 PM)

Activities: Movie screenings, hands-on workshops, and interactive experiences for children (ages 4-12).

TBFF Live Performance Series

Dates: February 12 – 16

Venue: Rooftop on College (2-20 College St, Toronto)

Showcasing: Afrocentric music and spoken word performances.

Must-See Films

Fight Like a Girl, Pariah, The Weekend, Village Keeper, Death of a Whistleblower, Moses 13 Steps, Igualada, Othelo, O grande, Legacy: The De-Colonized History of South Africa, Nay Day, Honest / Fluff, Run Like We, Some Kind of Heavenly Fire, You Can’t Get Lost in Joburg, Things Long Left Unsaid.

Tickets & Passes

All Access Pass (Online Program): $129 + tax & fees

All Access Pass (In-Person Program): $149 + tax & fees

VIP + In-Person All Access: $249 + tax & fees (includes Opening Gala & Red Carpet access)

Individual Tickets:

Opening Film: $25

Closing Film: $20

Regular Films: $12