Toronto International Film Festival 2025
-
“We Put All the Magical Emphasis on the Stork World”: Tamara Kotevska on Her Toronto (and Venice) debuting “The Tale of Silyan”
The Tale of Silyan is the latest painstakingly crafted cinematic endeavor from Tamara Kotevska, co-director of the 2019 Sundance-winning (in three categories) and 2020 Oscar-nominated (in two) Honeyland; it’s a film certain to continue the awards-nabbing streak. Set in the village with the greatest number of white storks in Macedonia, the title refers to a 17th century folktale featuring a rebellious boy named Silyan whose father curses him for wanting to flee the hard work on the family farm — turning him into a stork, condemned to a life of eternal migration. The title also refers to one of the real-life […]
by Lauren Wissot on Sep 11, 2025 -
13 Films to Look Out for at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival begins today, with many of this awards season’s festival heavy-hitters (Hamnet, The Smashing Machine, Sentimental Value, Train Dreams) screening for North American audiences. As usual, though, we focus our preview on newer titles as well as a few sleepers that have premiered earlier this year. Below, find 13 films we strongly believe are worth your time at Toronto. Maddie’s Secret The opening night selection for TIFF’s Discovery program is the directorial debut from NYC comedian John Early, wherein he stars as Maddie Ralph, a dishwasher working at a trendy food content company who struggles with […]
by Scott Macaulay on Sep 4, 2025 -
“You Pick Up Your Tools and Go Wherever the Wind Blows You”: Charli xcx and Pete Ohs on the Toronto-Premiering “Erupcja”
When Charli xcx walked into downtown New York bar Clandestino in May, 2024, she couldn’t have predicted that by the next day she would have committed to star in an independent film — especially one with no screenplay and scheduled to shoot just three months later, right before the start of her Brat tour. But that’s what happened when a chance encounter and free-flowing conversation led the pop star, actress and now writer and producer to say yes to the Toronto-premiering Erupcja, the latest “table of bubbles” film from Pete Ohs, a filmmaker who pursues both constant motion and a […]
by Scott Macaulay on Sep 2, 2025
