Taika Waititi’s true-life football underdog comedy Next Goal Wins will receive its world premiere at the 48th edition of Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, September 7–17).
Michael Fassbender leads Searchlight Pictures’ ensemble in the story of a down-on-his-luck maverick coach hired to reverse the fortunes of the world’s worst football team before the World Cup qualifiers.
The cast includes Oscar Kightley, Kaimana, David Fane, Rachel House, Beulah Koale, Uli Latukefu, Semu Filipo, Lehi Falepapalangi, with Will Arnett and Elisabeth Moss.
Next Goal Wins is based on the 2014 documentary of the same name about the American Samoa football team, who lost 31-0 to Australia in 2001 in a qualifying match for the 2002 World Cup.
The film is one of many that are expected to launch or play at TIFF and compete in the awards season. Last year’s TIFF world premieres included Oscar nominees The Fabelmans, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and The Woman King.
TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey, programming director Anita Lee and the team are understood to have been courting a new raft of major titles.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Taika back to the festival and share his audacious take on the most popular sport in the world,” said Bailey. “Next Goal Wins is perfect for TIFF fans of the beautiful game looking for their football fix until the 2024 World Cup arrives.”
Waititi screened Jojo Rabbit in Toronto in 2019. That film won the TIFF People’s Choice Award and went on to claim the best adapted screenplay Oscar in 2020.
Further TIFF announcements will follow in the weeks to come. This year’s edition will run in-person only after Bailey and his team decided to end the online portal, which arose during the pandemic and operated as a geoblocked service within Canada. TIFF leadership felt this was no longer necessary as people returned en masse in 2022. Some 275,000 people watched films at last year’s event, marking a return to the larger attendance figures of the pre-pandemic period.
Festival hub TIFF Bell Lightbox has undergone a third floor renovation to accentuate the venue’s role as a place to gather and socialise when not watching films at its multiple cinemas and is expected to be ready in time for the festival.
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