World premieres of Roshan Sethi’s action thriller The Surgeon, starring Michelle Yeoh, and Kim Bartley’s Ireland-UK drama Lemonade are among TIFF Centrepiece selections unveiled today (August 4).
A strong Irish contingent also brings the North American premiere of Rising Stars Ireland 2025 alumnus Louise Bagnall’s Annecy selection Julián, and the international premiere of Frank Berry’s drama The Lost Children Of Tuam, which first played at Galway Film Fleadh.
The lineup of 54 features includes world premieres for Avi Nesher’s October 7 feature Our Loves; Neto Villalobos Brenes’ Costa Rican thriller and Spanish talent development hub ECAM Forum entry Love Is The Monster; and contemporary Western Four Seasons In Java from Indonesian filmmaker Kamila Andini, whose Yuni won the 2021 TIFF Platform Award.
Representing Canada are world premieres of Rémi St-Michel’s French-language action drama Toy Gun Bandit; Ron Murphy’s comedy thriller Back In Black starring Christopher Walken; and Indigenous filmmaker Marie Clements’ How We Stand (formerly Tombs).
Among festival favourites are the North American premiere of Marine Atlan’s Cannes Critics’ Week grand prix winner La Gradiva, and the Canadian premiere of Josef Kubota Wladyka’s Sundance hit Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!.
The Wavelengths roster includes the North American debut of upcoming Locarno world premiere At Night, the BBC Film-backed first feature from UK artist Beatrice Gibson; Argentinian filmmaker Lisandro Alonso’s Double Freedom, a sequel-of-sorts to his 2001 breakout La Libertad; and Sebastian Brameshuber’s Berlinale selection London.
Screening in Classics are 4K restorations of Ken Russell’s The Devils, the historical epic that screened in Cannes this year and was condemned by religious groups when it opened in 1971 for its depictions of ritual and explicit sex; and Canadian filmmaker Lynne Stopkewich’s 1996 necrophiliac drama Kissed.
This year’s TIFF runs September 10-20.
Centrepiece
Selections appear in alphabetical order below (world premieres except where indicated):
A Girl Unknown (China)
Dir. Zou Jing
North American premiere
After Elena (Chile-Col-It)
Dir. Shawn Garry
Ah Girl (Sing)
Dir. Ang Geck Geck Priscilla
North American premiere
Ashes (Mex-Sp)
Dir. Diego Luna
North American premiere
Back In Black (Can)
Dir. Ron Murphy
Ben’Imana (Rwanda-Gabon-Fr-Nor)
Dir. Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo
North American premiere
Congo Boy (Central African Republic-Fr- DRC-It)
Dir. Rafiki Fariala
North American premiere
Conversation With The Sea (Pal)
Dir. Muayad Alayan
North American premiere
Dorothy (India)
Dir. Karthik Subbaraj
Eklipse (Austria-It)
Dir. Manuel Wetscher
North American premiere
Elephants In The Fog (Nep-Fr-Ger-Bra-Nor)
Dir. Abinash Bikram Shah
North American premiere
Everytime (Austria-Ger)
Dir. Sandra Wollner
North American premiere
Flies (Mex)
Dir. Fernando Eimbcke
North American premiere
Four Seasons In Java (Indonesia-Fr-Neth-Nor-Pol-Saudi-Sing)
Dir. Kamila Andini
Furies (Leb-Bra)
Dir. Rami Kodeih
North American premiere
Future Tense (S Afr-Australia)
Dir. Jenna Cato Bass
God Bless You, Mr Kopu (NZ-Australia)
Dir. Alex Liu
Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! (US)
Dir. Josef Kubota Wladyka
Canadian premiere
How We Stand (Can)
Dir. Marie Clements
Inherit (Thai)
Dir. Banjong Pisanthanakun
Intermission (HK)
Dir. Yonfan
North American premiere
Iron Boy (Fr-Bel)
Dir. Louis Clichy
North American premiere
Julián (Lux-Ire-Can-Den)
Dir. Louise Bagnall
North American premiere
La Gradiva (Fr-It)
Dir. Marine Atlan
North American premiere
L’Autre (Can)
Dir. Alexandre Franchi
Lemonade (Ire-UK)
Dir. Kim Bartley
Light Pillar (China)
Dir. Xu Zao
North American premiere
Long Long Night (S Kor)
Dir. Kyu Bock Youm
Love Is The Monster (C Rica-Peru-Pan-Chile-Mex)
Dir. Neto Villalobos Brenes
Marie Madeleine (Fr-Haiti-Bel-Can-Lux)
Dir. Géssica Généus
North American premiere
Muyi (Fr)
Dir. Julien Chheng
North American premiere
Neverman (Can)
Dir. Rodrigo Barriuso
Our Loves (Isr)
Dir. Avi Nesher
Rehearsals For A Revolution (Czech-Sp)
Dir. Pegah Ahangarani
Canadian premiere
Smudge The Blades (Can)
Dir. Cody Lightning
Soumsoum, The Night Of The Stars (Chad-Fr)
Dir. Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
North American premiere
Sunburn (Can)
Dir. Serville Poblete
Tangles (Can-US)
Dir. Leah Nelson
North American premiere
The Betrayers (Can-Ukr)
Dir. David Bezmozgis
The Bovine With The Curved Horns (Col)
Dir. Omar E. Ospina Giraldo
The City Of The Living (It)
Dir. Edoardo Gabbriellini
International premiere
The Difficult Bride (Fr-Bang-Ger-Nor-Port)
Dir. Rubaiyat Hossain
North American premiere
The Dreamed Adventure (Ger-Fr-Bul-Austria)
Dir. Valeska Grisebach
North American premiere
The Lost Children Of Tuam (Ire)
Dir. Frank Berry
International premiere
The Secret Lives Of Baba Segi’s Wives (Nigeria)
Dir. Daniel Oriahi
The Surgeon (Ire)
Dir. Roshan Sethi
The Violinist (SIng-Sp-It)
Dirs. Ervin Han, Raúl García
North American premiere
Thirteen In Gaza (Pal)
Dir. Hosam Abu Dan
Toy Gun Bandit (Can)
Dir. Rémi St-Michel
Trash Mountain (US)
Dir. Kris Rey
Viva Carmen (Fr)
Dir. Sébastien Laudenbach
North American premiere
We Are All Strangers (Sing)
Dir. Anthony Chen | Singapore
North American premiere
Where The River Begins (Can-Col-Nor)
Dir. Juan Andrés Arango
Woman Unknown (Den)
Dir. May el-Toukhy
North American premiere
Wavelengths Features
Selections appear in alphabetical order below (world premieres except where indicated):
At Night (UK-Fr)
Dir. Beatrice Gibson
North American premiere
Double Freedom (La Libertad Doble, Chile-Arg-Lux-Ger-UK)
Dir. Lisandro Alonso
North American premiere
Everything Else Is Noise (Lo Demás Es Ruido, Ger-Can-Mexico)
Dir. Nicolás Pereda
North American premiere
Life Of Jorge Luis Borges (Biografía De Jorge Luis Borges, Arg)
Dir. Mariano Llinás
North American premiere
London (Austria)
Dir. Sebastian Brameshuber
North American premiere
My Wife Cries (Meine Frau Weint, Ger-Fr)
Dir. Angela Schanelec
North American premiere
Nobody’s Violence (Violence Du Corps De L’Autre, Can)
Dir. Denis Côté
North American premiere
Once Upon A Time In Harlem (USA)
Dir. William Greaves, David Greaves
Canadian premiere
The Black Box Is Orange (Can)
Dir. Yuula Benivolski
The Diary Of A Chambermaid (Le Journal D’Une Femme De Chambre, Fr-Rom)
Dir. Radu Jude
North American premiere
The Remotes (Phil)
Dir. John Torres
Wavelengths mid-lengths
Peacocks Come With The Clouds (Iran-Can)
Dir. Parastoo Anoushahpour
Masao Adachi Takes A Passport Photo (Ger-Fr-Japan)
Dir. Kamal Aljafari
TIFF Classics
Selections appear in alphabetical order below:
Ken Russell’s The Devils (1971 UK)
Dir. Ken Russell
North American premiere of 4K restoration courtesy of Warner Bros. Clockwork
Kissed (1996, Can)
Dir. Lynne Stopkewich
World premiere of 4K restoration, courtesy of Canadian International Pictures
Report To Mother (Amma Ariyan, 1986 India)
Dir. John Abraham
North American premiere of 4K restoration courtesy of Film Heritage Foundation
Spring In A Small Town (Xiao cheng zhi chun, 1948 China)
Dir. Fei Mu
World premiere of 4K restoration courtesy of the China Film Archive
Ten Dark Women (Japan 1961)
Dir. Kon Ichikawa
North American premiere of 4K restoration courtesy of Kadokawa Corporation.
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