r/movies is covering the Toronto International Film Festival this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the fest. Included in our coverage will be AMAs/Q&As, junkets, mod reviews/summaries, and community reviews. For information about TIFF, please visit tiff.net. This is coverage for the 2nd half of the festival, which concluded yesterday, Sunday 9/14.

TIFF Junket Interviews:

• Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, LaKeith Stanfield, Derek Cianfrance for Paramount's Roofman

TIFF AMAs/Q&As:

• Tuesday 9/2 – Curry Barker, Director of Obsession
• Wednesday 9/3 – Sean Ellis, Director of The Cut
• Thursday 9/4 – Chandler Levack, Director of Mile End Kicks

Upcoming Coverage:

• Wednesday 9/17 – AMA with Shasha Nakhai & Rich Williamson, Co-Directors of Bots & Scarborough
• Tuesday 9/30 – AMA with Nadia Latif, Ula Pontikos, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, Director/DP/Composer of The Man In My Basement
• Date TBD – AMA with Max Minghella, Director of Shell
• Date TBD – AMA with Matthew Johnson & Jay McCarrol, Filmmakers of Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie
• Date TBD – AMA with Samuel van Grinsven, Director of Went Up The Hill

TIFF 2025 Award Winners:

• People's Choice Award: Hamnet (Runner Ups: Frankenstein, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery)
• International People's Choice Award: No Other Choice (Runner Ups: Sentimental Value, Homebound)
• Midnight Madness People's Choice Award: Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie (Runner Ups: Obsession, The Furious)
• Documentary People's Choice Award: The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue (Runner Ups: EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, You Had To Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution…)

Mod Reviews/Summaries:

• Hamnet

Based on a novel of the same name, Chloe Zhao directs what is surely to be the most emotionally devastating film of the year. Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare and Jessie Buckley as his wife Agnes star in this deeply hard-hitting film about grief and art.

• Eternity

Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, and Callum Turner star in this afterlife dramedy in which you have seven days to choose what kind of afterlife you would like for eternity once you die. Few are allowed to wait behind for their spouse or someone they love which is exactly what happens when geriatric couple Joan and Larry die within a week of each other and revert to their younger selves only to find Joan’s first husband who died in the war has been waiting for decades for her to come and spend eternity with him.

• Left-Handed Girl

Sean Baker collaborator and director Shih-Ching Tsou gives us this slice of life movie about a little girl in Taipei trying to stay out of trouble as her mother and older sister struggle to make ends meet. A very endearing look at daily life for this family.

• The Secret Agent

Wagner Moura stars in this true story of espionage and politics in 1970s Brazil as he attempts to regain custody of his son. Not as punchy as it sounds, but a very thorough look at the times and complications of the time.

• Wake Up Dead Man

Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig are back with the third Knives Out film. This time darker than ever and with a cast of who’s whos trying to solve the crime of the murdered priest in a subversion of closed door mysteries.

• Frankenstein

A movie that feels like Guillermo has been shooting it in his head for Decades, Frankenstein sees Jacob Elordi as the monster and Oscar Isaac as the infamous doctor. WIth a supporting cast including Christoph Waltz and Mia Goth and some extremely Del Toro-esque set design and action, this movie feels like a true passion project.

• Ballad of a Small Player

Directed by Conclave’s Edward Berger, this is a feverish film of a career gambler played by Colin Farrell spiraling as he seems to be truly out of the means needed to continue his lavish and risky lifestyle. Stuck in Macau and with no friends to speak of he meets a Chinese woman who gives him an extension on his debts.

• The Smashing Machine

Electrically directed by Benny Safdie, The Smashing Machine is the true story of Mark Kerr, an extreme fighter who brought the sport to the mainstream. Dwayne Johnson is at times unrecognizable as he plays Mark like a gentle giant battling addiction and Emily Blunt plays his long-term girlfriend who can’t seem to help him the way he needs to be helped.

• Blue Moon

Another 2025 biopic by Richard Linklater, Blue Moon sees Ethan Hawke as Lorenz Hart, the composer best known as Richard Rogers’ writing partner before he met Edward Hammerstein and redefined broadway showtunes. Taking place on the night Oklahoma! premieres and all in the famous Broadway bar Sardi’s, Ethan Hawke delivers 100 minutes of lavish dialogue as this bisexual short king and Margaret Qualley and Andrew Scott show up for supporting performances. You can feel Linklater overcome with joy to give this man the love he never got in his time.

• Winter of the Crow

A political thriller starring Lesley Manville that gets at one of the true fears in life. Visiting a country during a coup and losing your passport. Manville plays a psychiatry professor who is invited to Warsaw in the 1960’s to give a lecture. When she arrives she quickly finds that Warsaw is no London and as a military coup takes place overnight she will have to learn the rules and adapt quickly in order to escape.

• Carolina Caroline

Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner star in this Southern Bonnie & Clyde about a passionate love affair tied up in grifting and robbing banks that covers most of the South. It’s a hot crime spree full of goodbyes and gunshots and Samara really holds it together.

• The Wizard of the Kremlin

Directed by French director Oliver Assayas, this is a fictional account of the history of Russian politics from the 90s to today including the rise of Putin and the importance of using the internet as a battle ground. Paul Dano plays a young idealist playwright who becomes seduced by power and ends up using his talents of understanding the people and the politics to forward Russian control. Once Putin takes power, played by Jude Law, he becomes the advisor behind the throne for one of the most powerful and ambitious governments in the world.

Community Reviews:

• Under the Same Sun 5/5 – wow. the visuals of this one were incredible. It's the most floored I've been by cinematography since last year's 'Perfumed with Mint'. Best color palette I've seen in a long time. the depth of each character was off the charts, and the main character's insecurities and power struggles were so well portrayed. It was a great representation of the opportunism of Europeans profiting off of the colonial system. Great performances from all the leads. It was so lush i felt like I could have watched another hour of this. My favorite film this year aside from Hamnet. The Q&A was great too. Perfect way to end my tiff trip – u/TyQuanDean
• Frankenstein 3.5/5 I unfortunately did have high expectations for this movie, it was the only movie I really wanted to see in the beginning. I thought the cinematics were wonderful, but I echo the sentiment that Part 1 was too long. I understand the build up was needed but I feel like there could have been a better way to transition into Part 2 and make P2 even more impactful. I'm also conflicted with how the movie ended. – u/cyberslowpoke
• Driver's Ed: 2/5. This was a dud for me, and the script had me cringing more than laughing. Maybe I'm just dead inside? – u/Rubiam98
• New Year's Rev: 4/5⭐️ It was funny, it was touching, and soooo much fun!!! I thought it perfectly captured what it feels like to be a teenager, where every emotion is dialed to 11 and anything seems possible 🙂 – u/evil-poatotes
• Sirat – 3⭐ Honestly, I'm shocked this isn't getting more mixed reviews (other than from Spanish Letterboxd users). A devastating dystopian tale of finding a path forwards amid grief and strife. Technical-wise, a masterclass in tension and sound mixing. Mostly, though, I was just waiting for it to end. I cannot think of a single person in my life who would benefit from watching this film. – u/cleric_of_deneir
• Rental Family – A very cozy and heartwarming movie. Emotionally manipulative, sure, but the stellar cast and excellent cinematography unite to help communicate the emotion very well, with also a great score too. I guess it was a tad predictable but I felt the other elements that were so well done helped drown that out. Really amazing visually too, and there's some shots that, even watching the trailer, I'm thinking "oh yeah!". Brendan Fraser is always fun to watch and he really impressed here. So glad our himbo king (and a true inspiration to me) is getting work nowadays. 8/10. – u/PapaAsmodeus
• California Schemin’ pretty entertaining movie about 2 Scottish rappers who pretended to be American to achieve fame. A true story too. Downside is that it gets repetitive. 6/10 – u/veggie_burgher
• Little Sister: 5/5. A quietly powerful coming-of-age story about a young Muslim woman navigating faith, family, and sexuality. Nadia Melliti’s performance floored me. So much is said with so little. – u/saudiguy
• She Has No Name – 5/5 for me. Great acting, very immersive, good pacing, beautiful cinematography. It takes place at the end of the Japanese occupation so it’s an interesting time to explore – u/AssumptionFit5846
• If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You was a 4/5 for me. Rose Byrne’s performance is one of the best of the year for SURE and the whole vibe of the screening was so fun. Such a ride. – u/rusicaltheater
• The Lost Bus – 7.5. Man this has some pretty intense moments! A few times the shaky cam was a bit much but I felt very engrossed in the action. Seems like a crowd pleaser. Could definitely do a theatrical run. Was sat next to a guy from California who used to be a bus driver and whose mother lived close to the area when this fire happened. – u/mistakes_were_made24
• Wizard of Kremlin – 2/10, its biggest sin being insanely long and boring. Also “humour” was flat and the whole movie felt lazy. Unlike something like Chernobyl, where the movie had a lot of respect and attention to the events it was showing, this movie was more preoccupied with beating your over the head with its political message rather then trying to tell you a story. People coming out of cinema seemed exhausted – never seen the crowd being so drained. – u/vitoos
• Dust Bunny: I really liked this one! Someone said that if you liked Sketch last year that you'll like this, and I completely agree. It got a lot of laughs in my screening and I found Sophie Sloan extremely charming. I loved the colour palette (Wes Anderson for kids?) and I will take Aurora's entire wardrobe in adult sizes thx – u/Math_Chips
• Exit 8 – 3.5/5: perfectly fine horror film, cool to see a mainstream Japanese film play, probably would have been better at midnight madness, and enjoyed it quite a bit. – u/pgvildys
• Hamnet 5+/5 – overwhelming beautiful, every frame was put to perfect use. Incredible performances, cinematography, score. Showed a whole range of life's most critical moments with urgency and tenderness, filled with joy and devastation alike. One of the best films I've seen in a long time – u/TyQuanDean
• Kokuho – 3/5 stars. You really feel the runtime on this one. It needed an intermission. It felt more like an extended showcase of Kabuki with a thin story propping it up, rather than a suitable mixture of each. Having seen a Kabuki play (once), it seemed faithful to the art – u/GKJ5
• Hedda- 3.5/5. Wanted to understand the main character’s motivations a bit more but interesting story and liked the cinematography. – u/analastrassi
• Couture: 4.5/5 – The only film this TIFF that made me cry (I couldn’t get tickets for Hamnet). Angelina Jolie gives her most internalized performance in a long time and she amazes and dazzles and touches your heartstrings. In a just world, she would be getting raves and be an awards contender. – u/apple_2050
• She Has No Name – 8/10. Crime thriller that had me engaged from beginning to end. I also loved the feminist themes in it… – u/SetsunaTales80
• Easy’s Waltz – very meh movie. Pacing is odd and it felt like there was no plot or development. It’s just an all vibes movie. Probably direct to streaming for Prime or HBO Max. It shoulda showed more / doubled down on the darker themes to add tension. – u/AJ_Loft
• Fuck My Son!: 1/5 but also 5/5 for the vibe. This movie should ONLY be seen with a Midnight Madness crowd. – u/LionelEssrog
• Testament of Ann Lee: Messy, ambitious and crazed, Testament is another big swing from Fastvold and Corbet. This time, it wasn't nearly as effective for me, but superb crafts, great performances and resplendent musical numbers still ensured I had a pretty good time with this. Praise be! – u/DeoGame
• Obsession 4/5: This years standout “pure” horror movie, much like The Substance before it. Saw it at 6pm but was still incredibly effective at the tension and scares. Excellent acting and great comedic bits too. Incredible debut from Curry Baker. – u/BreadfruitWorth
• Highly recommend THE PRESIDENT'S CAKE. Filmed in Iraq, will be Iraq's Oscar submission, non-actors, and talking about a period of history (early 90s) that hasn't been presented in movies before. Very touching. – u/successfulbagel
• Fuck my son – 2/10. Easily the worst thing i ve seen at tiff in the last few years. Fever dream that overstays its welcome 20 minutes in. – u/John_Dobski
• Two Pianos: only the first hour was good because Charlotte Rampling is, of course, glorious. But the last half of the film was such a drag because the two remaining leads are chaotic and annoying and not in a fun way. I hate it passionately and considered it a waste of time (at least the second half of the movie was). – u/AlwaysStranger2046
• My Father’s Shadow is excellent! A simple, yet poignant story but it is beautifully performed and directed. I love how Lagos is a character in the story in itself. So so good! – u/reagege18