The 50th Anniversary of TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) was a spectacle on a scale the city hadn’t seen before.
While getting tickets for the coveted event has always been difficult to nab, especially once films are announced. 2025 was an entirely different beast. The top three most anticipated films were Frankenstein Guillermo Del Toro’s Magnum Opus, Wake Up Dead Man – a Knives Out Mystery, the 3rd outing for Rian Johnson’s Benoit Blanc and Hamnet directed by the talented Chloe Zhou.
Even for someone in the press corps, the idea of getting tickets for any of these films was daunting. In the end, I was only able to see two out of the three (Wake Up Dead Man and Frankenstein) and that was thanks to the perks of being a journalist.
Before the festival had probably started, I came across a TikTok that inspired me to take a different approach for the 50th. While everyone would be vying for the more popular films, the ones with the biggest star power behind them, or the biggest budget, I vowed to do the opposite. I looked for films that called out to me by their synopsis alone. This led to a few surprises. Films that I wouldn’t necessarily put on the docket, were now some of my favorites of the festival.
The first was an avant-garde piece, BLKNEWS: Terms & Conditions directed by Khalil Joseph. Part documentary, part afro-futurism, the film ventured between the past, present and potential future. A future where ‘black’ can thrive without threat. It was a moving piece that did not pull its punches. Challenging us to stare down the barrel of a horrific past that could eventually give way to a prosperous future.
By challenging the medium of film itself by bending the rules to work for him, Joseph’s use of striking visuals, cinematography and sound, make the piece feel kinetic with every emotion meant to grind right down to your bone. It’s a raw piece of artistic expression made with the intent of not only moving you but making you ask the hard questions about the state of our world.
Little Sister (La Petite Dernière), a French film directed Hafsia Herzi about the struggle between religion and discovering your sexuality. We follow Fatima (Nadia Melliti) a fiercely religious young woman as she navigates stepping into womanhood and her identity. An intimate character piece, Melliti gives us a look into Fatima’s internal turmoil and coming to terms with her attraction to women. A teenage girl at war with herself, Fatima is trying to reconcile those feelings with her religion. Can she be Queer? Can she safely come out to her family? Does her Queerness have space within her religion? The film delves wholeheartedly into these questions, exploring them without prejudice.
Ballad of a Small Player was one of the 12 films that Netflix brought to the festival. And while I have mixed emotions about most of these films having limited theatrical releases (looking at you Frankenstein and Wake Up Dead Man) I was particularly irked about this one not getting its time in the sun. The screening I went to was a premium screening, meaning that talent was going to be in attendance. I added this screening with absolutely no expectations. I didn’t read the synopsis, and I had switched it with another film earlier in the day and I’m so glad I did. Colin Farrell was at his absolute best. From director Edward Berger, the tale is tonally leagues away from All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) and Conclave (2024.)
A story of greed, gambling and unfiltered gluttony, Ballad of a Small Player is an unsettling look at addiction. With his signature charm and suave, Farrell leaves you with a bittersweet taste in your mouth. The very definition of a black comedy, there are times where you either root for Farrell’s Lord Doyle or completely disgusted with him. He toes the line so perfectly against the stunning Macau backdrop.
What I love about the Toronto International Film Festival is not the glitz and glam, but it’s dedication to making sure all voices can be heard. From a film about the life of Canadian legend John Candy in John Candy: I Like Me to the lush, stylized world of Nia DaCosta’s Hedda, the festival has the best to offer in the world. Shining a spotlight on the north but giving everyone the chance for a wide variety of stories to be told.
Words Dana Reboe
