Toronto Film Fest 2025 Report

After a hiatus of nearly two decades, I was ready to ready to go back to Toronto. But would Toronto be ready for me?

A lot has changed about the Toronto International Film Festival (Sept 4 - 14, 2025) since I last attended in 2007 (it was so long ago, that when I described the fest that year, I used the phrase "jumped the shark"). First, the unfortunate: Prices are significantly higher. Popular movies are harder to get tickets to. There are a dozen 'early access membership' tiers that cost a pretty penny (or loonie if you like), most of which still don't get you access to the films you want to see. (God forbid you actually try to buy tickets during the standard 'public' sale, which is still not cheap.) Even if you do get tickets to a buzzy movie, chances are it won't be a world premiere - the prestige of the festival has continued to dwindle, and pretty much all the 'important' films (read: Oscar hopefuls) debut elsewhere. Celebrities outside the screenings are scarce - word is, the publicity-industrial complex has gotten so overbearing that stars no longer go shopping, get drinks in bars, or grab midnight tacos with the commoners; instead, they're hidden away at invite-only corporate-sponsor parties, or momentarily glimpsable on the tightly-controlled red carpet (as long as you've claimed a Fan Zone voucher online a day ahead of time and waited in line for a couple hours before their arrival). The days of randomly encountering Kevin Spacey on the street after a late-night screening are over. (Actually, maybe that's a good thing.)

But there's still plenty to love about the fest: The organizers bend over backwards to make it a positive experience. The physical, geographical, and scheduling logistics run like a well-oiled machine. Volunteers are plentiful, everywhere, and helpful (even when they know you're American). Toronto is a big city with a lot of hotel space and transportation options, so navigating the fest as an out-of-towner is a breeze. The festival area is vibrant; there's an atmosphere of genuine excitement, especially this year, as the fest celebrated its 50th anniversary. They now shut down King Street (where many of the theaters are located) for festival goers, creating an 11-day block party at the epicenter of the festival, with food, activities, and hashtagable photo ops. Notable experiences this year included a replica of the sedan from Planes, Trains & Automobiles, appropriately battered and charred, to promote the opening-night documentary John Candy: I Like Me (director Colin Hanks and producer Ryan Reynolds even arrived at the premiere in the vehicle); and the increasingly-ubiquitous Criterion Closet (which is actually a truck full of Criterion Collection DVDs where you - and celebs - can pose for photos and buy discs that would almost assuredly be cheaper on Amazon). (A note about the John Candy doc: I had a chance to see it on tour in Chicago before its streaming debut, and it is utterly fantastic. Reynolds was in attendance for a post-film discussion with Candy's pal Jim Belushi and son Chris, and while charming, the event frankly seemed like more of a PR image rehabilitation stunt for Reynolds than it did publicity for the movie itself.) And celebrities still turn out in force at the screenings (some having just arrived on a redeye from another festival), and can be occasionally spotted out in the wild if you know where to look. (Our sightings included Sydney Sweeney, Kirsten Dunst, Ben Foster, and Katy O’Brian.)

And of course, there are the films. Toronto still has one of the biggest and broadest slates in the world, with nearly 300 films (well, they're not all exactly films… more on that later). And it still draws Oscar fare even if it's not a premiere (winners Anora, The Brutalist, Conclave, The Substance, Emilia Pérez, I'm Still Here, Flow, and No Other Land all played there last year after their debuts). This year, nothing really burst onto the scene at TIFF other than the John Candy documentary and Christy, but positive receptions in Toronto coupled with strong premieres at Venice or Telluride made bona fide award contenders out of Hamnet, Sentimental Value, It Was Just an Accident, No Other Choice, The Smashing Machine, The Secret Agent, and Frankenstein. (The same, however, cannot be said about Roofman.)

I was only there for a weekend, but despite the festival's growing pains, Toronto did not disappoint. So, without further ado, "Tiffty!" (I guess you had to be there.)

REVIEWS (IN ORDER FROM BEST TO WORST)

MOTOR CITY - Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0

Starring: Alan Ritchson, Ben Foster, Shailene Woodley; Directed By: Potsy Ponciroli; Written By: Chad St. John; Release Date: TBD

Motor City is either an artful, original, elegantly operatic thrill ride, or a bloated, myopic, hyperviolent 2-hour-music-video slog, depending on your taste. I'm not necessarily a huge fan of the revenge-thriller genre (revenge movies existed long before John Wick… but all the movies made since then don't seem to know that). But I really dig this movie. It's a dialogue-free, bloody, they're-gonna-pay flick set to popular (dad rock?) music, directed with panache (to put it mildly) by Potsy Ponciroli. (If you love Fleetwood Mac, broken limbs, 1970s grime, and pretending that New Jersey is Detroit, this is the movie for you.) Alan Ritchson punches, Ben Foster sneers, and Shailene Woodley vamps, all to great effect.

In the post-screening Q&A, Ponciroli talked about why the film is nearly wordless, explaining that he wanted to create a movie that could play in any market in the world and not need subtitles, so that everyone would have exactly the same viewing experience. (Never mind people watching it on a phone versus a movie theater screen, but hey, point taken.) The film compensates for the lack of dialogue by employing a soundtrack working overtime, and by being extremely stylized - with long shots and emphatic, purposeful movement. The result is a simpler kind of storytelling - an almost exclusively visual storytelling. It's almost reminiscent of silent films, when Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin would compete to see who could use fewer dialogue cards. (And if you think Keaton and Chaplin weren't cartoonishly violent, it's time you revisited their films.)

The end result is that there is a lot of grunting by the good guys and bad guys - which my wife might say is no different than how men talk anyway.

CHRISTY - Rating: 3.5 out of 5.0

Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Ben Foster, Katy O'Brian; Directed By: David Michôd; Written By: Mirrah Foulkes, Katherine Fugate, David Michôd; Release Date: 11/7/25 (Theaters)

Christy (about pioneering 1990s boxing star Christy Martin) starts as a fairly conventional sports story, and while there is dramatic tension in her life, her one-sided matches are decidedly drama-free. (Martin's triumphs and domination are no secret - she fought on the undercard of a Mike Tyson fight and scored the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1996.) But in the second half, the film takes a sharp turn and becomes a domestic-violence drama. Director and co-writer David Michôd discussed that narrative decision during the film's Q&A session, describing how he wanted to draw the audience in with a feel-good sports hook, then introduce the theme he really wanted to address: violence against women. It's extremely harrowing, and could feel like a bait-and-switch (or a rope-a-dope, if you like lazy boxing metaphors), but the film largely pulls it off, thanks to the actors and filmmakers, who are fully committed. To some viewers (like the rapt festival crowd) it will be seen as vital, hard-hitting drama, but to others it will feel like a manipulative sucker punch.

The seemingly omnipresent Sydney Sweeney stars as the title character - in a physical and performative makeover - and she is very good. (I'm not saying "surprisingly" good, but I'm not NOT saying that.) This is outside the range of what we've previously seen from her, and will exceed most expectations. (While there is sex, there's no actual sex appeal - the 90s wigs aren't doing anyone any favors.) It's a superb role for Sweeney, especially at a time when the internet has her on the ropes and is focusing on everything about her but her acting. (In a very 2025 moment, she declared prior to the festival that she would not be discussing jeans - blue or otherwise - in Toronto.) This film is squarely an Oscar play for the actress (I don't mean that in a bad way), and her team is pushing the narrative hard. You'll see a lot of Sweeney (who, to her credit, is also a producer on the film) over the next several months as awards season heats up.

Is the film a knockout? It was certainly a unanimous decision at my screening, scoring highly with the audience in a large, packed auditorium. It subverts what we've come to expect from a sports movie and doesn't pull any punches. (Okay, jeez, I've gotta stop.) I appreciate the film and the performances, and award-watchers will admire it, but I'll be surprised if it has wide box office appeal.

GOOD NEWS - Rating: 3.5 out of 5.0

Starring: Sul Kyung-gu, Hong Kyung, Ryu Seung-beom; Directed By: Byun Sung-hyun; Written By: Lee Jin-seong, Byun Sung-hyun; Release Date: 10/17/25 (Netflix)

What to make of Good News, a Korean mostly-comedy that features hijacking and hijinks, political double-dealers and buffoonish military strategists, anonymous power players and radical terrorists, unsung heroes and manga enthusiasts? It's a satire, it's a drama, it's a political thriller, it's a mystery (and according to Wikipedia, it's a disaster movie). It's fun and laborious. It's cheeky and serious. It's biting and absurd. It's engaging and at times boring. It's clever and delightful… but it's also little long, a little uneven, a little confusing. It's purportedly based on true events about a low-level military everyman and a shadowy political fixer who try to thwart a rag-tag group of terrorists who are either militant Communists or joy-riding teenagers trying to take a hijacked plane from Japan to North Korea in 1970. (But don't hold me to that.)

Overall, I wish the film was a little tighter, more locked-in. It employs a grab-bag of cinematic devices, to amusing but ultimately perplexing effect. It's complex enough that full attention - and speedy subtitle-reading - are required. (Letting your mind wander and trying to convert Canadian to US dollars in your head to figure out exactly how much you actually paid for popcorn can derail you pretty quickly.) It's clearly satire, though I don't really know what it's satirizing. (It doesn't help that I have absolutely no concept of the geopolitical relationships, cultural frictions, and power dynamics between Japan, North Korea, and South Korea during the 1970s. However, there are a couple jokes at Americans' expense that are very clear.) I can't help but feel that a streamlined storytelling approach to the film might have made for a more rewarding experience. Despite my minor misgivings, it's worth mentioning that there was a large Korean contingent at my screening, and they were having a rollicking good time.

All that said, Good News is the kind of political thriller that I enjoy - no clear good guys or bad guys, just individuals doing their best in an environment built to undermine them. Common sense wins out. Imagine that.

THE LOWDOWN (TV PILOT) - Rating: 3.0 out of 5.0

Starring: Ethan Hawke, Keith David, Jeanne Tripplehorn; Directed By: Sterlin Harjo; Written By: Sterlin Harjo; Release Date: 9/23/25 (FX/Hulu)

Speaking of bait-and-switch, I definitely got bamboozled on this one. With The Lowdown, I thought I was going to see a feature film… but instead I was shown one episode of a TV show. The Toronto Film Festival now has a program (or "programme" if you're Canadian) called Primetime, which is really just a collection of sneak previews of TV series pilots - and they are pretty cagey about divulging that in the marketing materials. If I'm feeling generous, I would say that the lines of film and television have become blurred, so debuting buzzy series is a natural extension of the festival. But I'm not feeling generous, so I'll say that it's a shameless advertising ploy (which I had to pay handsomely to watch) to promote TV shows that will air very soon after the fest. (In fact, by the time you read this, there's a good chance you've already watched half the entire series of The Lowdown.)

The show is ostensibly a season-long murder mystery, but the twisty detours and quirky characters seem to be the real attractions. Fans of writer/director Sterlin Harjo's previous work (like Reservation Dogs) will probably take a shine to this one. The lead role is a natural fit for Ethan Hawke, playing a charismatic, principled low-life who's constantly dodging debt-collectors while foraging for clues. His grizzled pack-a-day voice, scraggly chin hairs, and crooked teeth serve him well. (He may actually be playing the "sweaty-toothed madman" he invoked in Dead Poets Society.)

The pilot episode is interesting and seductive, in a seedy, small-town-underbelly, Fargo-Season-1 kind of a way - but not enough to get me to watch the rest of the episodes, I'm afraid. (Oscar season is nigh, and I can't be bothered with television when there are pretentious, overrated, borderline-unbearable A24 movies to see.)

BEST BETS FOR DISTRIBUTION

Arco - Natalie Portman, Will Ferrell (voices); directed by Ugo Bienvenu

Ballad of a Small Player - Colin Farrell, Tilda Swinton; directed by Edward Berger

Blue Moon - Ethan Hawke, Margaret Qualley; directed by Richard Linklater

The Christophers - Michaela Coel, Ian McKellen; directed by Steven Soderbergh

Christy - Sydney Sweeney, Ben Foster; directed by David Michôd

The Choral - Ralph Fiennes, Mark Addy; directed by Nicholas Hytner

Dead Man's Wire - Bill Skarsgard, Al Pacino; directed by Gus Van Sant

Eleanor the Great - June Squibb, Erin Kellyman; directed by Scarlett Johansson

Eternity - Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller; directed by David Freyne

Frankenstein - Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi; directed by Guillermo del Toro

Good Fortune - Seth Rogan, Keanu Reeves; directed by Aziz Ansari

Hamlet - Riz Ahmed, Morfydd Clark; directed by Aneil Karia

Hamnet - Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal; directed by Chloé Zhao

Hedda - Tessa Thompson, Nina Hoss; directed by Nia DaCosta

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You - Rose Byrne, Conan O'Brien; directed by Mary Bronstein

It Was Just an Accident - Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari; directed by Jafar Panahi

John Candy: I Like Me (Documentary) - John Candy, Steve Martin; directed by Colin Hanks

Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery (Documentary) - Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow; directed by Ally Pankiw

The Lost Bus - Matthew McConaughey, America Ferrera; directed by Paul Greengrass

No Other Choice - Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin; directed by Park Chan-wook

Nouvelle Vague - Guillaume Marbeck, Zoey Deutch; directed by Richard Linklater

Nuremberg - Russell Crowe, Rami Malek; directed by James Vanderbilt

Poetic License - Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman; directed by Maude Apatow

Rental Family - Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hira; directed by Hikari

Roofman - Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst; directed by Derek Cianfrance

Scarlet - Mana Ashida, Masaki Okada (voices); directed by Mamoru Hosoda

The Secret Agent - Wagner Moura, Maria Fernanda Cândido; directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho

Sentimental Value - Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgard; directed by Joachim Trier

The Smashing Machine - Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt; directed by Benny Safdie

Train Dreams - Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones; directed by Clint Bentley

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery - Daniel Craig, Glenn Close; directed by Rian Johnson

TOP PERFORMANCES

Barry Avrich (Documentary Director) - The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue

Kaouther Ben Hania (Director/Writer) - The Voice of Hind Rajab

Emily Blunt - The Smashing Machine

Jessie Buckley - Hamnet

Rose Byrne - If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

Park Chan-wook (Director/Writer) - No Other Choice

Michaela Coel - The Christophers

Nia DaCosta (Director/Writer) - Hedda

Guillermo Del Toro (Director/Writer) - Frankenstein

Joel Edgerton - Train Dreams

Jacob Elordi - Frankenstein

Akira Emoto - Rental Family

Elle Fanning - Sentimental Value

America Ferrera - The Lost Bus

Brendan Fraser - Rental Family

Ethan Hawke - Blue Moon

Dustin Hoffman - Tuner

Mamoru Hosoda (Animation Director/Writer) - Scarlet

Dwayne Johnson - The Smashing Machine

Rian Johnson (Director/Writer) - Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Angelina Jolie - Couture

Richard Linklater (Director) - Blue Moon, Nouvelle Vague

Ian McKellen - The Christophers

Paul Mescal - Hamnet

Wagner Moura - The Secret Agent

Josh O'Connor - Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

Jafar Panahi (Director/Writer) - It Was Just an Accident

Margaret Qualley - Blue Moon

Renate Reinsve - Sentimental Value

Benny Safdie (Director/Writer) - The Smashing Machine

Amanda Seyfried - The Testament of Ann Lee

Stellan Skarsgard - Sentimental Value

June Squibb - Eleanor the Great

Sydney Sweeney - Christy

Tessa Thompson - Hedda

Joachim Trier (Director/Writer) - Sentimental Value

Chloé Zhao (Director/Writer) - Hamnet

FUTURE STARS

Mariam Afshari - It Was Just an Accident

Maude Apatow (Director) - Poetic License

Tom Bateman - Hedda

Clint Bentley (Director/Writer) - Train Dreams

Ugo Bienvenu (Animation Director/Writer) - Arco

Samuel Bottomley - California Schemin'

Mary Bronstein (Director/Writer) - If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

Morfydd Clark - Hamlet

Cherien Dabis (Director/Writer) - All That's Left of You

Zoey Deutch - Nouvelle Vague

Andrew Barth Feldman - Poetic License

Hasan Hadi (Director/Writer) - The President's Cake

Nina Hoss - Hedda

Ashton James - Youngblood

Mohana Krishnan - Driver's Ed

Aidan Laprete - Driver's Ed

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas - Sentimental Value

Guillaume Marbeck - Nouvelle Vague

Vahid Mobasseri - It Was Just an Accident

Sam Nivola - Driver's Ed

Katy O’Brian - Christy

Lewis Pullman - The Testament of Ann Lee

Delaney Quinn - If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

Sophy Romvari (Director/Writer) - Blue Heron

Seamus McLean Ross - California Schemin'

Mascha Schilinski (Director/Writer) - Sound of Falling

Sophie Telegadis - Driver's Ed

Shih-Ching Tsou (Director/Writer) - Left-Handed Girl

Eddie Waller - Bad Apples

NOTABLE WORLD PREMIERES

Adulthood - Josh Gad, Kaya Scodelario; directed by Alex Winter

Bad Apples - Saoirse Ronan, Eddie Waller; directed by Jonatan Etzler

California Schemin' - Samuel Bottomley, Seamus McLean Ross; directed by James McAvoy

The Captive - Julio Peña, Alessandro Borghi; directed by Alejandro Amenábar

The Choral - Ralph Fiennes, Mark Addy; directed by Nicholas Hytner

The Christophers - Michaela Coel, Ian McKellen; directed by Steven Soderbergh

Christy - Sydney Sweeney, Ben Foster; directed by David Michôd

Couture - Angelina Jolie, Louis Garrel; directed by Alice Winocour

Driver's Ed - Sam Nivola, Mohana Krishnan; directed by Bobby Farrelly

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (Documentary) - directed by Baz Luhrmann

Easy's Waltz - Al Pacino, Vince Vaughn; directed by Nic Pizzolatto

Eternity - Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller; directed by David Freyney

The Fence - Tom Blyth, Matt Dillon; directed by Claire Denis

Fuze - Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James; directed by David Mackenzie

Good Fortune - Seth Rogan, Keanu Reeves; directed by Aziz Ansari

Hedda - Tessa Thompson, Nina Hoss; directed by Nia DaCosta

John Candy: I Like Me (Documentary) - directed by Colin Hanks

Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery (Documentary) - directed by Ally Pankiw

The Lost Bus - Matthew McConaughey, America Ferrera; directed by Paul Greengrass

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (Documentary) - directed by Matt Johnson

Nuremberg - Russell Crowe, Rami Malek; directed by James Vanderbilt

Poetic License - Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman; directed by Maude Apatow

Rental Family - Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hira; directed by Hikari

Roofman - Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst; directed by Derek Cianfrance

Sacrifice - Chris Evans, Anya Taylor-Joy; directed by Romain Gavras

Steve - Cillian Murphy, Tracey Ullman; directed by Tim Mielant

Swiped - Lily James, Dan Stevens; directed by Rachel Lee Goldenberg

The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue (Documentary) - directed by Barry Avrich

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery - Daniel Craig, Glenn Close; directed by Rian Johnson

You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution… (Documentary) - directed by Nick Davis

AWARD WINNERS

People’s Choice Award:

Winner: Hamnet - Chloé Zhao

1st Runner Up: Frankenstein - Guillermo del Toro

2nd Runner Up: Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery - Rian Johnson

International People’s Choice Award:

Winner: No Other Choice - Park Chan-wook

1st Runner Up: Sentimental Value - Joachim Trier

2nd Runner Up: Homebound - Neeraj Ghaywan

FIPRESCI International Critics Prize:

Winner: Forastera - Lucía Aleñar Iglesias

Platform Directorial Vision Prize:

Winner: To the Victory! - Valentyn Vasyanovych

Best Canadian Feature Film:

Winner: Wrong Husband - Zacharias Kunuk