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Home Featured Story

TIFF Announces Gala and Special Presentations Ahead of 50th Anniversary Fest

Joey Moser by Joey Moser
July 21, 2025
in Featured Story, Festival Circuit, Film, Toronto International Film Festival
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TIFF Announces Gala and Special Presentations Ahead of 50th Anniversary Fest
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Things are getting TIFF-y!

TORONTO — TIFF is set to dazzle this September as it celebrates its 50th edition with a red carpet–ready slate of
Official Selections from its Gala and Special Presentations programmes. As part of its full list, TIFF is presenting
world premieres including Aziz Ansari’s Good Fortune, Maude Apatow’s Poetic License, Isabel Coixet’s Three
Goodbyes, Romain Gavras’ Sacrifice, David Michôd’s Christy, Yeon Sang-ho’s The Ugly, James Vanderbilt’s
Nuremberg, and Alice Winocour’s Couture, as well as films from some of the most acclaimed filmmakers working
today, including Guillermo del Toro, Mamoru Hosoda, Zacharias Kunuk, Baz Luhrmann, Kleber Mendonça Filho,
Jafar Panahi, Benny Safdie, and Gus Van Sant. As Toronto prepares to welcome the world, these selections signal
a Festival season defined by cinematic excellence, star-studded red carpets with crowd-favourite Hollywood and
international talent, and those marquee moments on and off the screen that have defined TIFF for the past five
decades. The 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, presented by Rogers, will take place
September 4–14, 2025.

The Gala and Special Presentations programmes are recognized for celebrating the very best of contemporary
cinema across genres and styles, from all corners of the world. This year, TIFF is pleased to invite films from over
30 countries that showcase bold storytelling, global perspectives, and the power of film to connect audiences
across cultures.

TIFF is also announcing that Canadian director Anne Émond’s Peak Everything will be this year’s Closing Night
Gala, taking place on the last evening of the Festival, Saturday, September 13.

 

2025 Galas (in alphabetical order):

* previously announced

*A Private Life | Rebecca Zlotowski | France
North American Premiere

Adulthood | Alex Winter | USA
World Premiere

Driver’s Ed | Bobby Farrelly | USA
World Premiere

Eleanor the Great | Scarlett Johansson | USA
North American Premiere

Eternity | David Freyne | USA
World Premiere

Fuze | David Mackenzie | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Glenrothan | Brian Cox | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Good Fortune | Aziz Ansari | USA
World Premiere

*Hamnet | Chloé Zhao | United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere

*Homebound | Neeraj Ghaywan | India
North American Premiere

*John Candy: I Like Me | Colin Hanks | USA
World Premiere

Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery | Ally Pankiw | Canada
World Premiere

Nuremberg | James Vanderbilt | USA
World Premiere

Palestine 36 | Annemarie Jacir | Palestine/United Kingdom/France/Denmark/Qatar/Saudi Arabia/Jordan
World Premiere

Peak Everything | Anne Émond | Canada | Closing Night Gala
Toronto Premiere

*Roofman | Derek Cianfrance | USA

World Premiere

*She Has No Name | Peter Ho-Sun Chan | Hong Kong/China
North American Premiere

Sholay | Ramesh Sippy | India | 50th Anniversary Restoration
North American Premiere

Swiped | Rachel Lee Goldenberg | USA
World Premiere

*The Choral | Nicholas Hytner | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Two Pianos | Arnaud Desplechin | France
World Premiere

2025 Special Presentations (in alphabetical order):

* previously announced

A Pale View of Hills | Kei Ishikawa | Japan/United Kingdom/Poland
North American Premiere

A Poet | Simón Mesa Soto | Colombia/Germany/Sweden

North American Premiere

Bad Apples | Jonatan Etzler | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Ballad of a Small Player | Edward Berger | United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere

California Schemin’ | James McAvoy | United Kingdom/USA
World Premiere

Calle Malaga | Maryam Touzani | Morocco/France/Spain/Germany/Belgium
North American Premiere

Charlie Harper | Tom Dean, Mac Eldridge | USA

World Premiere

Christy | David Michôd | USA
World Premiere

Couture | Alice Winocour | USA/France
World Premiere

Dead Man’s Wire | Gus Van Sant | USA
North American Premiere

Degrassi: Whatever It Takes | Lisa Rideout | Canada
World Premiere

Easy’s Waltz | Nic Pizzolatto | USA
World Premiere

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert | Baz Luhrmann | Australia/USA
World Premiere

Eternal Return | Yaniv Raz | United Kingdom/USA
World Premiere

Frankenstein | Guillermo del Toro | USA

North American Premiere

*Franz | Agnieszka Holland | Czech Republic/Germany/Poland
World Premiere

*Good News | Byun Sung-hyun | South Korea
World Premiere

*Hedda | Nia DaCosta | USA
World Premiere

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You | Mary Bronstein | USA
Canadian Premiere

It Was Just an Accident | Jafar Panahi | Iran/France/Luxembourg
Canadian Premiere

It Would Be Night in Caracas | Mariana Rondón, Marité Ugás | Mexico
World Premiere

Kokuho | Lee Sang-il | Japan
North American Premiere

Ky Nam Inn | Leon Le | Vietnam
World Premiere

Lovely Day | Philippe Falardeau | Canada
World Premiere

Meadowlarks | Tasha Hubbard | Canada
World Premiere

*Mile End Kicks | Chandler Levack | Canada
World Premiere

Monkey in a Cage | Anurag Kashyap | India
World Premiere

Nouvelle Vague | Richard Linklater | France
Canadian Premiere

Poetic License | Maude Apatow | USA
World Premiere

Primavera | Damiano Michieletto | Italy/France

World Premiere

Project Y | Lee Hwan | South Korea
World Premiere

*Rental Family | HIKARI | USA/Japan
World Premiere

Rose of Nevada | Mark Jenkin | United Kingdom
North American Premiere

Sacrifice | Romain Gavras | United Kingdom/Greece
World Premiere

Scarlet | Mamoru Hosoda | Japan
North American Premiere

Sentimental Value | Joachim Trier | Norway/France/Denmark/Germany/Sweden/United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere

Silent Friend | Ildikó Enyedi | Germany/Hungary/France
North American Premiere

Sirāt | Óliver Laxe | France/Spain
North American Premiere

Sound of Falling | Mascha Schilinski | Germany
North American Premiere

*Steal Away | Clement Virgo | Canada/Belgium
World Premiere

*The Captive | Alejandro Amenábar | Spain/Italy
World Premiere

*The Christophers | Steven Soderbergh | United Kingdom
World Premiere

*The Lost Bus | Paul Greengrass | USA
World Premiere

The Secret Agent | Kleber Mendonça Filho | Brazil/France/Netherlands/Germany
Canadian Premiere

The Smashing Machine | Benny Safdie | USA
North American Premiere

The Testament of Ann Lee | Mona Fastvold | UK
North American Premiere | Presented in 70mm

The Ugly | Yeon Sang-ho | South Korea

World Premiere

Three Goodbyes | Isabel Coixet | Italy/Spain

World Premiere

Train Dreams | Clint Bentley | USA
International Premiere

Tuner | Daniel Roher | USA
Canadian Premiere

Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband) | Zacharias Kunuk | Canada
North American Premiere

*Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery | Rian Johnson | USA
World Premiere

You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution… | Nick Davis | USA
World Premiere

Spread the Word!

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Tags: TIFFToronto International Film Festival
Joey Moser

Joey Moser

Joey is a co-founder of The Contending currently living in Columbus, OH. He is a proud member of GALECA and Critics Choice. Since he is short himself, Joey has a natural draw towards short film filmmaking. He is a Rotten Tomatoes approved critic, and he has also appeared in Xtra Magazine. If you would like to talk to Joey about cheese, corgis, or Julianne Moore, follow him on Twitter or Instagram.

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