34 must-see films at TIFF 2025 according to its programmers

There's a chill in the air after a long, hot, sticky summer, and that can mean only one thing - Forget back to school or end of your vacation, it's time to plan for more time spent in movie theatres at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2025!

As the world's A-listers and cinemaniacs are set to descend onto King Street, it's prime time to look deeper into this year's selection of the hundreds of films selected for this year's edition of TIFF.

As per annual tradition, we reached out to the programming team for their "best of the fest" to help you with your selections, finding a mix of festival faves, world premieres by established stars, new discoveries, and more! 

Anita Lee, Chief Programming Officer, TIFF

Rental Family

Oscar winner Brendan Fraser stars as an American actor in Tokyo who suffers a colossal case of impostor syndrome when he becomes a professional surrogate in this wise and whimsical dramedy from director HIKARI (TIFF '19's 37 Seconds).

No Other Choice 

Adapted from a novel by Donald E. Westlake (Payback), this incisive, darkly comic satire from Park Chan-wook (TIFF '22's Decision to Leave) follows a newly unemployed man who, desperate to land a coveted position, hatches a ruthless plan to dispatch his competition.

Hedda

Transplanted to mid-century England, Candyman director Nia DaCosta's bold reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s play features a magnetic lead performance from Tessa Thompson (Passing) in a fresh, feminist game of power.

Geoff Macnaughton, Vice President, Industry & Theatrical, Lead Programmer, Primetime

The Lowdown

Opening the tenth year of Primetime, Sterlin Harjo's The Lowdown is a modern noir set in Tulsa, with Ethan Hawke playing Lee Raybon, a latter-day Philip Marlowe.

Portobello

Helmed by Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio, this limited series depicts the stranger-than-fiction true story of beloved Italian TV host Enzo Tortora, who was falsely accused of involvement with a Neapolitan crime syndicate in the 1980s.

Robyn Citizen, Director of Programming, Festival & Cinematheque; Lead Programmer, Platform, US Indies, France and South Asia

Bad Apples

The satirical thriller Bad Apples stars Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird) as a primary school teacher forced to take drastic action because of a foul-mouthed, violent student, and uncovers how her community will turn a blind eye to the most outrageous events to preserve harmony and their sense of safety.

The Man in My Basement 

When a mysterious man (Willem Dafoe) approaches Charles Blakey (Corey Hawkins) to rent his basement for a generous sum, Blakey is drawn into a chilling reality involving his own family's hidden history in Nadia Latif's adaptation of Walter Mosley's novel.

Andréa Picard, Senior Curator, TIFF & TIFF Cinematheque
Wavelengths & Classics

BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions

One of the year's most auspicious debuts, BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions by celebrated artist Kahlil Joseph —known for his work with Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar— is a galvanizing, shape-shifting exploration of Black history, identity, and possibility structured like tracks from an album: mixing speculative narrative with archival footage, clips from social media, and works by other great artists and thinkers.

The Secret Agent

Brazilian auteur and TIFF favourite Kleber Mendonça Filho delivers one of the year's greatest films with his stylish, genre-bending political thriller starring Wagner Moura in a tour-de-force performance as Marcelo, a technology researcher on the run in 1977 Brazil.

Days And Nights In The Forest 

In this newly restored cult favourite from 1970 by Bengali legend Satyajit Ray, four young male urbanites decamp to the countryside for some rest and relaxation, only to have their pride and prejudices challenged by three women. Featuring one of the most beautiful plein air scenes in all of film history, the film still feels fresh, modern and Political.

Giovanna Fulvi, Senior International Programmer, East Asia

Kokuho   

Directed by Lee Sang-il and starring two of Japan's most prominent actors, Ryo Yoshizawa and Ryusei Yokohama, this is a gripping tale of friendship and rivalry in the world of Kamigata kabuki.

Good News 

Starring Sul Kyung-gu (TIFF '02's Oasis), Hong Kyung (A Distant Place), and Ryoo Seung-bum (The Unjust) this tension-riddled, 1970s-set action thriller from South Korean writer-director Byun Sung-hyun (The Kingmaker) takes us aboard a hijacked plane.

Thom Powers, Lead Programmer, TIFF Docs

Whistle 

At the Masters of Musical Whistling competition, where virtuoso whistlers compete for global supremacy and bragging rights, we follow an array of quirky personalities and dazzling talents in a film sure to be a crowd-pleaser, from director Christopher Nelius.

Cover-Up 

Renowned investigative reporter Seymour Hersh is profiled by filmmaker Laura Poitras (Citizenfour) and Mark Obenhaus in a fascinating exploration of power and accountability.

Jason Anderson,  Lead Programmer, Canada; International Programmer, Nordic and Benelux regions

The Cost of Heaven 

Gripping, unnerving yet visually elegant, Mathieu Denis' drama is a superb cautionary tale about wealth, status and success.         

100 Sunset 

Kunsang Kyirong delivers a startling debut. A Parkdale apartment complex becomes a place of intrigue, desire, and deceit in this stunning mystery drama. 

Kelly Boutsalis, International Programmer, Canada 

Little Lorraine 

A small town in Cape Breton becomes home to an international drug smuggling ring, featuring Stephen Amell, Stephen McHattie, Sean Astin and Colombian musician J Balvin. Little Lorraine is the feature directorial debut of Andy Hines, a Grammy-nominated music video director, who has worked with Anderson .Paak, Missy Elliott and Alicia Keys.

Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband)

A strange death, village upheavals, and swarming suitors lead to a love story gone awry in acclaimed Inuk filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk's latest enthralling imagining of ancient Inuit stories.

Diana Cadavid, International Programmer, Latin America, Spain and  Portugal

The Captive

In 1575 Algiers, a young soldier named Miguel de Cervantes is held for ransom — unaware he's on the path to becoming one of history's greatest storytellers. This bold, visually stunning film from director Alejandro Amenabar is a reimagining of the true story behind Cervantes' transformation.

Under the Same Sun

A Spanish settler, his Chinese companion, and a former Haitian soldier work together to bring high-quality silk production to early 19th-century Hispaniola, in Ulises Porra's emotionally charged, politically resonant historical drama.

Peter Kuplowsky, Lead Programmer, Midnight Madness; International Programmer, US Indies 

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie 

They were never in time to book a gig at The Rivoli, then one day… they weren't in their time at all. From Matt Johnson (BlackBerry) and Jay McCarrol's cult comedy series comes an adventure 17 years in the making.

The Furious 

Acclaimed action choreographer-turned-director Kenji Tanigaki (SPL, Flash Point, Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In) propels a desperate father (Xie Miao) into a knock-down, drag-out war to rescue his daughter from a nefarious array of cutthroat kidnappers.

Dorota Lech, Lead Programmer, Discovery and International Programmer, Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, Turkey and Iran

Good Boy

The latest from Academy Award–nominated director Jan Komasa (Corpus Christi, TIFF '19) is a Stephen Graham, Andrea Riseborough, and Anson Boon–led twisted thriller about freedom and identity.

To The Victory

The latest from multi-talented filmmaker Valentyn Vasyanovych, who also plays the lead character, is set in Ukraine's post-war future. While the country has been liberated, it's not quite the homeland that he and many others had longed for.

Jason Ryle, International Programmer, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, and Global Indigenous Cinema

I Swear

From filmmaker Kirk Jones, the funny, honest, and deeply human, I Swear tells the inspirational true story of John Davidson, a trailblazer whose honesty and humour helped the world better understand what it means to live with Tourette's Syndrome.

Retreat

A young woman arrives at a remote wellness retreat for Deaf people, but nothing is what it seems. A gripping, genre-bending debut thriller from filmmaker Ted Evans that will leave audiences guessing — and feeling unsettled — until the final frame.

June Kim, Associate International Programmer, Southeast Asia

A Useful Ghost

Thai filmmaker Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke upends pre-existing genres with a fantastical story about a ghost that inhabits a vacuum cleaner to become useful. This humorous and visually striking debut feature was the Grand Prix winner of Cannes Critics' Week.

Ky Nam Inn

In post-war Saigon, a young translator and an older widow find comfort with each other in Leon Le's gentle and subtle sophomore feature, starring Lien Binh Phat of The Outlaw Doctor and Do Thi Hai Yen of The Quiet American.

Jesse Cumming, Associate Curator, Wavelengths

Levers

In the enigmatic and much-anticipated follow-up to her award-winning Ste. Anne, Manitoban filmmaker and artist Rhayne Vermette weaves through a community that must grapple with a shaken sense of stability after a blast plunges them into a day of total darkness.

Dry Leaf 

Among the year's most radical and mesmerizing experiments in form, Dry Leaf — the third feature from Georgian auteur Alexandre Koberidze — is a moving ode to uncertainty, the impermanence of nature, and the strength of family bonds.

Mariam Zaidi, International Programmer, Short Cuts

Water Girl, Short Cuts 2025 Programme 02 

Sandra Desmazières' exquisitely rich hand-drawn animation brings decades of a woman's story to life as she spends her time freediving, fishing, and gliding through seaweed and rocks, charting a prolific life full of love, grief, and emotional fortitude.

Bots, Short Cuts 2025 Programme 02 

A unit of dedicated bots scheme chaos and divisiveness from their office desks in Rich Williamson's wickedly humorous and sharp satirical take on the absurd amount of power relinquished to the unhinged forces steering world politics.

Sonja Baksa, International Programmer, Short Cuts

Asparagus Bear, Short Cuts 2025 Programme 03

The residents of a quiet Mediterranean town are thrown into speculation overdrive with the unusual appearance of a bear in the midst of asparagus season in Ivan Grgur's delightfully whimsical documentary about the blurred lines between truth and personal agenda.

Dust to Dreams, Short Cuts 2025 Programme 04

Idris Elba's poised turn behind the camera extends into a profoundly moving, Lagos-set tale of a fractured family unit finding healing through music, made in close collaboration with Nigerian producer Mo Abudu and featuring a magnetic performance by Seal.