Movies

Keanu Reeves, Sydney Sweeney, Channing Tatum in films heading to Toronto’s upcoming edition

BBG News

On Monday, a clearer picture emerged of the films scheduled for the Toronto International Film Festival, as the vast majority of titles for the gala and special presentation sections were announced. This news from TIFF also marks the start of shaping up for some larger fall festivals and the awards season.

For several years now, Toronto, once a dominant platform for premiering highly anticipated fall films with both critical acclaim and commercial potential, has been perceived as somewhat weaker compared to film festivals held in Cannes, Venice, and Telluride. This year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), celebrating its 50th edition, is generating a lot of interest as people will be closely monitoring how the unveiled films are received not just during the festival but also in the subsequent months.

In the latest announcement, some highly anticipated premieres include “Good Fortune,” Aziz Ansari’s first directorial feature film, a comedy centered around character swaps and self-discovery featuring Ansari and Seth Rogen, while Keanu Reeves portrays an incompetent angel. Furthermore, James Vanderbilt’s “Nuremberg” is also on the list with Russell Crowe playing imprisoned Nazi Hermann Göring, and Rami Malek as the psychiatrist assigned to question him.

Maude Apatow, the actress, is set to step into directing for the first time in a movie called “Poetic License.” This film will feature her mother Leslie Mann, along with Andrew Barth Feldman and Cooper Hoffman. Similarly, Nic Pizzolatto, famous for creating “True Detective,” will make his directorial debut in a drama titled “Easy’s Waltz.” In this movie, we’ll see Vince Vaughn and Al Pacino portraying struggling entertainers.

Tiff is set to debut Bobby Farrelly’s comedy “Driver’s Ed,” featuring Kumail Nanjiani, Sam Nivola, and Molly Shannon in the lead roles. In another film, Alex Winter directs and acts alongside Josh Gad, Kaya Scodelario, and Billie Lourd in the comedy titled “Adulthood.” Lastly, “Fuze,” a crime thriller directed by David Mackenzie, brings together Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Sam Worthington, Theo James, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw on screen.

Baz Luhrmann will reveal “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert,” a unique production that combines unseen footage discovered during his research for the 2022 film “Elvis.” According to Luhrmann, it’s not exactly a documentary or a concert movie. Instead, it offers something distinct.

Some other first-time showings are “Bad Apples” by Jonathan Etzler, featuring Saoirse Ronan, “Christy” directed by David Michôd with Sydney Sweeney portraying boxer Christy Martin, and “Couture,” a drama set in the fashion world helmed by Alice Winocour, starring Angelina Jolie.

Understanding the type of premiere a title has during a particular stage of the season can provide hints about where else it might be shown prior. For example, an “International Premiere” often implies that the title will be shown a week earlier at Telluride, while a “North American Premiere” suggests it’s making its first appearance at Venice. A “Canadian Premiere”, on the other hand, usually means the film has been or will be screened at both Telluride and Venice (or even previously at Cannes) before reaching Toronto.

Among the listed titles, the one making its international debut is “Train Dreams” directed by Clint Bentley. This film had its initial screening earlier in the year at the Sundance Film Festival.

Upcoming premieres in Venice from North America are expected to feature: “Gus Van Sant’s ‘The Wire for the Dead Man’, starring Bill Skarsgård and Colman Domingo”; “Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’, starring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi”; “Mark Jenkin’s ‘Rose from Nevada’, starring Calum Turner and George MacKay”; “Mona Fastvold’s ‘The Testament of Ann Lee’, starring Amanda Seyfried”; and “Benny Safdie’s ‘The Destructive Machine’, featuring Dwayne Johnson.

The upcoming Canadian film premieres feature Edward Berger’s “Ballad of a Small Player” with Colin Farrell, Jafar Panahi’s award-winning “It Was Just an Accident”, Richard Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague” detailing the production of Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless”, Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Cannes-winning “The Secret Agent” starring Wagner Moura, Daniel Roher’s “Tuner” featuring Leo Woodall and Dustin Hoffman, and Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value” starring Stellan Skarsgård and Renate Reinsve.

I Like Me,” a documentary about the late, cherished Canadian actor, directed by Colin Hanks and produced by Ryan Reynolds. Also on the list is the world debut of Rian Johnson’s third movie featuring Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc, titled “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.

Among the newly unveiled cinematic debuts are:

1. “Roofman,” directed by Derek Cianfrance, featuring Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst.
2. “The Choral,” under Nicholas Hytner’s direction, with Ralph Fiennes in the lead.
3. Paul Greengrass’ “The Lost Bus,” starring Matthew McConaughey.
4. “Rental Family,” helmed by Hikari and starring Brendan Fraser.
5. Nia DaCosta’s “Hedda,” with Tessa Thompson taking the lead role.
6. Steven Soderbergh’s “The Christophers,” boasting an impressive cast including Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel.
7. Agnieszka Holland’s “Franz,” a biopic of Franz Kafka.

Each of these films promises to be a captivating addition to the world of cinema.

Additional films scheduled to debut elsewhere but will also be screened at TIFF are:

1) The Canadian premiere of “Hamnet,” directed by Chloé Zhao and featuring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley. This highly anticipated film has already been announced for release.

2) The North American premiere of “A Private Life,” directed by Rebecca Zlotowski, starring Jodie Foster. This movie previously premiered at Cannes.

In the upcoming days and weeks, further details about the Toronto program will be unveiled, encompassing the Platform segment for rising talents and the widely acclaimed Midnight Madness segment. The Toronto International Film Festival is set to take place from September 4th through the 14th this year.

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2025-07-21 17:31

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