Toronto International Film Festival 2025

Congratulations to all of the Film Fatales members who directed feature films premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival including:

Blood Lines directed by Gail Maurice
A search for family and reconnection drives this pastoral drama, the second feature from director Gail Maurice (Rosie, TIFF ’22). Blood Lines is a lesbian romance wrapped up in a celebration of Métis culture — with dialogue in the Michif language, which has only about 1,130 speakers in the world, including Maurice — and centres around an upcoming Métis Day festival.

Degrassi: Whatever It Takes directed by Lisa Rideout
Before viewers ever heard about a street called Degrassi (or De Grassi, as the actual street sign says), most young characters on TV fit a certain type. They were cheerful, smiling, and pretty much perfect unless they were learning a lesson in an Afterschool Special. But these were not the kids a Toronto teacher named Linda Schuyler and her then-partner Kit Hood wanted to put on screen when they began casting for the short films that eventually became The Kids of Degrassi Street (1979–1986), the first series in a decades-spanning franchise that changed teen TV forever.

Dinner With Friends directed by Sasha Leigh Henry
With so many major distractions like kids and careers, adult friendships are hard to maintain, reducing in-person quality time to a minimum. That is the basis of Dinner With Friends, the feature debut of Sasha Leigh Henry (Sinking Ship, TIFF ’20; Bria Mack Gets a Life, TIFF ’23). Channelling films like The Big Chill, Husbands and Wives, and Past Lives for inspiration, Dinner With Friends follows eight longtime friends as they meet up for dinner parties — sometimes after months have passed — that often end in surprise announcements and hurt feelings.

Left-Handed Girl directed by Shih-Ching Tsou
Told largely from I-Jing’s point of view, the film explores the fragility of family life in a society grappling with the clash between tradition and modernity. When her grandfather tells her that using her left hand is the mark of the devil, I-Jing begins to internalize shame and confusion — channelling her emotions into small acts of rebellion. Director Shih-Ching Tsou’s hand-held camera vividly captures Taipei as both a wonderland and a trap, alive with colour, chaos, and contradictions.

Meadowlarks directed by Tasha Hubbard
Based on her 2017 documentary Birth of a Family, acclaimed filmmaker Tasha Hubbard has turned to drama for the first time. With Meadowlarks, she takes the story of four siblings, separated as babies, who are reuniting 50 years later during a week spent in Banff. Kicking off with awkward small talk, gifts, and forced bonding events, the one brother and three sisters do their best to get to know one another after decades apart.

Nika & Madison directed by Eva Thomas
Nika & Madison expands upon First Nations (Walpole Island First Nation) director Eva Thomas’ short film Redlights (TIFF ’23), which was propelled by what are called Starlight Tours — where Canadian police officers drive Indigenous people to isolated locations outside of city limits, and dump them there, putting them in danger of frostbite, hypothermia, and, all too often, a frozen death.

Nomad Shadow directed by Eimi Imanishi
Few experiences are more emotionally devastating than living in exile. Many filmmakers have impactfully explored the subject, but few have investigated what happens when you return to your former home and find it a very different place than you remember. That experience is the focus of Japanese-American filmmaker Eimi Imanishi’s poignant debut feature, Nomad Shadow. Imanishi follows Mariam, a twenty-something Sahrawi woman who fled Western Sahara a decade ago. (The region was partitioned between Morocco and Mauritania 50 years ago, creating constant instability and a refugee crisis that persists today.)

Nuns vs. The Vatican directed by Lorena Luciano
Nuns vs. The Vatican exposes a scandal that’s growing in momentum inside the Catholic Church, from Emmy-winning director Lorena Luciano and executive producer Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU).

Rental Family directed by HIKARI
This poignant comedy-drama stars Oscar winner Brendan Fraser as an American actor in Tokyo who lands a perfect job with one very big catch. Balancing wisdom and whimsy, the latest from director HIKARI (TIFF ’19’s 37 Seconds) explores how each of us have unique roles we play in life, some with great responsibility. Philip (Fraser) has lived in Japan for seven years. During this time, his biggest claim to fame has been a toothpaste commercial in which he’s costumed as a cross between Superman and Gumby. Everything changes when he’s recruited to play “sad American” at an actual funeral. Thus begins Philip’s tenure with a company that hires actors as surrogates to help clients through some of life’s biggest challenges.
HIKARI is also being recognized as a TIFF Tribute Award Honoree. 

Whitetail directed by Nanouk Leopold
As the ranger overseeing a thickly forested patch of southern Ireland, the woman at the heart of Nanouk Leopold’s seventh feature is a formidable presence in her community. Jen is equally unlikely to suffer fools as tolerate the poachers who’ve been encroaching on her territory under cover of night. But when she learns that Oscar (Aaron McCusker), a boyfriend from her youth, has returned to town, her stern facade begins to crack. Along with the growing mystery about the dangers lurking in her forest and new developments in her relationship with her beloved father, Daniel (Andrew Bennett), Jen must contend with the repercussions of the tragic event that changed the course of her life and Oscar’s, too.