The 2025–2026 film awards season is rapidly approaching, and this morning, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) unveiled a significant portion of the lineup for its landmark 50th edition. While several program sections have yet to be announced, the Gala and Special Presentation titles traditionally serve as the heart of the festival and begin early awards season conversation.
What makes today’s reveal particularly exciting is that it offers awards season enthusiasts a glimpse into which films may be making their debuts at the Telluride Film Festival or the Venice Film Festival before heading to Toronto.
Upon reviewing the lineup, it’s clear that a number of high-profile titles will screen at Venice and/or Telluride ahead of their TIFF appearances. These are my guesses as to what have premiered, will premiere and where:
- A Private Life – Previously premiered at Cannes
- Eleanor the Great – Previously premiered at Cannes
- Hamnet – Will premiere at Venice, then Telluride
- Homebound – Previously premiered at Cannes
- She Has No Name – Previously premiered at Cannes
- A Pale View of Hills – Previously premiered at Cannes
- A Poet – Previously premiered at Cannes
- Ballad of a Small Player – Will premiere at Venice and then Telluride
- Calle Malaga – Will premiere at Venice
- Dead Man’s Wire – Will premiere at Venice
- Frankenstein – Will premiere at Venice
- If I Had Legs I’d Kick You – Premiered at Sundance
- It Was Just an Accident – Premiered at Cannes; will play Telluride before TIFF
- Kokuho – Previously premiered at Cannes
- Nouvelle Vague – Previously premiered at Cannes; will play at Telluride
- Rose of Nevada – Will play at Venice prior to TIFF
- Scarlet – Previously premiered at Cannes
- Sentimental Value – Previously premiered at Cannes; confirmed for Telluride and likely Venice
- Silent Friend – Will premiere at Venice
- Sirāt – Previously premiered at Cannes
- Sound of Falling – Previously premiered at Cannes
- The Secret Agent – Previously premiered at Cannes; confirmed for Telluride and likely Venice
- The Smashing Machine – Will premiere at Venice
- The Testament of Ann Lee – Will premiere at Venice
- Train Dreams – Premiered at Sundance; likely to play Telluride
- Tuner – Will premiere at Venice and play Telluride
- Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband) – Premiered at Berlin; likely to play Telluride
This mixture of Cannes titles, Sundance favorites, and highly anticipated Venice/Telluride debuts positions TIFF’s 50th edition as a key player once again in shaping the narrative of the awards season ahead.
2025 Galas (in alphabetical order):
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):
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
Tickets go on sale to TIFF Members by level beginning on Friday, August 15. For more details, visit tiff.net/join. The full Festival schedule will be released on Tuesday, August 12. The 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, presented by Rogers, runs September 4–14, 2025.
