Running from September 4 to 14, 2025, the Toronto Film Festival returns as a key spotlight on global cinema and the road to awards season.

Last year&rsquo;s Toronto Film Festival struggled to live up to its billing as a grand resurgence after the strike-disrupted season before. Titles such as Nightbitch, Eden, The Last Showgirl, Nutcrackers, The Return and The Cut&nbsp;failed to resonate, with only Mike Leigh&rsquo;s stark and demanding Hard Truths standing out as a genuine surprise. After the uneven lineups in Venice and Telluride, both worryingly light on sure-fire contenders, the focus now shifts back to Toronto, where anticipation is building for the 2025 edition, set to run from September 4 to September 14. Industry insiders and audiences alike are hopeful that this year&rsquo;s program will not only restore momentum but also reaffirm Toronto&rsquo;s reputation as a launchpad for the awards season.

Couture

Following the mixed reception of Eternals and the lukewarm buzz around her Oscar-contending "Maria" (based on Maria Callas), Angelina Jolie shows no sign of letting negative press slow her return to the big screen. The Academy Award winner is currently filming the comedy Anxious People&nbsp;alongside Aimee Lou Wood and Jason Segel, while anticipation builds for the premiere of her latest project, Couture, a Paris-set drama expected to draw one of the festival&rsquo;s largest audiences. In Couture, Jolie plays a US film director with a disdain for fashion, arriving in Paris during Fashion Week and finding her world intersecting with a circle of international women connected to a major show. The ensemble cast also includes Louis Garrel, adding further star power to the production. The film marks another collaboration with director Alice Winocour, who previously brought the emotionally resonant Paris Memories to Toronto, a story centered on a woman navigating life after a terrorist attack.

The Fence

Claire Denis turns a British-run construction site in Africa into a tense, claustrophobic stage in her adaptation of Bernard-Marie Kolt&egrave;s&rsquo; Black Battles with Dogs. Matt Dillon stars as Horn, the supervisor forced to confront the death of a worker, while Isaach De Bankol&eacute; plays Alboury, the local villager demanding answers. As tensions mount and secrets are revealed, Denis explores racial inequality, exploitation, and masculinity, transforming the site into a pressure cooker of moral and emotional conflict.

The Christophers

Steven Soderbergh continues to defy expectations. Known for his unpredictable career and playful flirtations with retirement, the director has recently tackled everything from tech thrillers to period crime dramas and semi-improvised comedies.
His latest, The Christophers, marks a return to England with a darkly twisted comedy about an artist forced to secretly complete a legendary elder&rsquo;s unfinished work for the benefit of the elder&rsquo;s scheming children. The film boasts a powerhouse cast, including Ian McKellen, Michaela Coel, and rising star Jessica Gunning. For Coel, it&rsquo;s a rare leading role since I May Destroy You, and her pairing with McKellen promises one of the festival&rsquo;s most compelling on-screen duos.&nbsp;

The Choral

Oscar nominee Ralph Fiennes stars in The Choral, a moving period drama from director Nicholas Hytner (The Madness of King George, The Lady in the Van). Set in 1916 Yorkshire, Fiennes plays Dr. Guthrie, a choir director who must recruit adolescent singers to perform Edward Elgar&rsquo;s The Dream of Gerontius as the town&rsquo;s men are drafted into World War I. Written by Hytner&rsquo;s longtime collaborator Alan Bennett, the film explores the power of music, community, and resilience during difficult times. Fiennes is joined by Simon Russell Beale and Roger Allam, delivering performances that balance discipline with vulnerability. The film will be presented with open captions, though ASL interpretation is not available for live onstage elements.

THE CHORAL | Official Trailer (2025)

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert

Baz Luhrmann&rsquo;s EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert offers an intimate look at the king through newly discovered archival footage from his 1970s Las Vegas residency. Eschewing modern commentary, the documentary captures Presley in rehearsals and live performances, highlighting his musicianship, charisma, and deep knowledge of gospel, blues, and country traditions. Originally intended as a short engagement, the residency stretched over seven years, and the film showcases both Presley&rsquo;s commanding stage presence and the physical demands of performing two shows most days. Highlights include &ldquo;Polk Salad Annie&rdquo; and the 1972 hit &ldquo;Burning Love,&rdquo; as well as glimpses of celebrity audiences and Presley&rsquo;s transformation from scandalous performer to cultural icon.

Roofman

Roofman stars Channing Tatum and Oscar nominee Kirsten Dunst in a captivating drama from Derek Cianfrance, the Oscar-nominated director behind Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines. The film tells the astonishing true story of Jeffrey Manchester, famously known as the &ldquo;Rooftop Robber,&rdquo; and his inventive attempts to stay one step ahead of the law. A U.S. military veteran struggling to support his family, Manchester (Tatum) turns to robbing McDonald&rsquo;s restaurants, only to be caught, tried, and incarcerated. Not long after, he escapes custody and finds refuge inside a Toys &ldquo;R&rdquo; Us, where he constructs a hidden hideout behind a wall. As months pass with the manhunt fading, Jeffrey forms an unexpected bond with Leigh (Dunst), an employee unaware of both his criminal past and his current clandestine residence. Tatum brings warmth, humor, and empathy to the role of an unconventional outlaw devoted to his children, while Dunst complements him perfectly, adding depth to their offbeat romance. Written by Cianfrance and Kirt Gunn, the film balances intimate character moments with cinematic spectacle, offering a story that challenges conventional notions of justice while keeping audiences thoroughly engaged.

Roofman | Official Trailer (2025 Movie) - Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst

Good Fortune

Good Fortune stars Aziz Ansari, Seth Rogen, Keanu Reeves, Keke Palmer, and Sandra Oh in a witty fantasy-comedy set in a Los Angeles populated by angels. Ansari plays Arj, a struggling man whose life collides with wealthy tech mogul Jeff (Rogen) after a disastrous dinner. When junior angel Gabriel (Reeves) forces them to swap lives, chaos - and comedy - ensue. The film blends high-concept fantasy with sharp social satire, using the cast&rsquo;s chemistry, particularly Ansari and Rogen, to explore modern social inequalities with humor and heart.

Good Fortune (2025) Official Trailer - Seth Rogen, Aziz Ansari, Keke Palmer, Keanu Reeves

The Lost Bus

Directed by Oscar-nominated Paul Greengrass (United 93), tells the true story of the deadliest wildfire in California history in November 2018. Matthew McConaughey stars as Kevin McCay, a school bus driver who races against time to rescue 23 children stranded at Ponderosa Elementary School as flames engulf Northern California. Adapted by Greengrass and Brad Ingelsby (Mare of Easttown) from Lizzie Johnson&rsquo;s non-fiction book Paradise: One Town&rsquo;s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire, the film captures the chaos and terror of the Camp Fire with dynamic cinematography and intense pacing. McConaughey, supported by Oscar-nominated America Ferrera (Barbie), delivers a gripping performance as a man forced into extraordinary courage amid life-threatening danger.

The Lost Bus — Official Trailer | Apple TV+

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig reinvented the classic British whodunit in 2019 with Knives Out, introducing Benoit Blanc, Craig&rsquo;s charismatic Southern detective, as a modern counterpart to Agatha Christie&rsquo;s Hercule Poirot. The follow-up, Glass Onion (TIFF &rsquo;22), turned its attention to a tech billionaire, blending sharp humor with satirical takes on wealth and status, reminiscent of Herbert Ross&rsquo; The Last of Sheila. Their latest installment, Wake Up Dead Man, takes a darker, more gothic turn. Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe&rsquo;s The Murders in the Rue Morgue, it presents a seemingly impossible locked-room murder while retaining the series&rsquo; signature cleverness. Set in a small town, the story centers on the local church, with Josh O&rsquo;Connor as a young cleric under the stern eye of Josh Brolin&rsquo;s authoritarian priest, Glenn Close as his formidable right-hand, and Mila Kunis as a determined local cop. Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, and Jeremy Renner also join the ensemble, contributing to a star-studded cast.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery | Date Announcement | Netflix

Christy

This year&rsquo;s Toronto International Film Festival could mark a pivotal moment for Sydney Sweeney, whose recent months have been a mix of high-profile missteps and box-office disappointments. Controversy followed her participation in a widely criticized American Eagle campaign, and her two summer indie releases failed to make an impact. Now, she hopes Christy, a traditional awards-season drama, will shift the conversation. In the film, Sweeney portrays pioneering boxer Christy Martin, tracing her rise in the 1980s alongside a harrowing personal story, including a marriage that turned dangerously abusive.
The film is directed by Australian filmmaker David Mich&ocirc;d, who made a striking debut with the crime thriller Animal Kingdom but has struggled to replicate that success with later projects like War Machine and The King. Both Mich&ocirc;d and Sweeney, along with festival marketers, are banking on Christy to reestablish their reputations and generate serious awards buzz.

(All the images Courtesy of TIFF - Toronto International Film Festival)

Toronto International Film Festival 2025: 10 Films to Watch and What You Need to Know

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