TIFF 2025 | Festival Hidden Gems: 6 Must-See World Premieres & Why They Deserve A Spot On Your Watch List
The 50th Toronto International Film Festival features a lineup of incredible feature films that the team and I cannot wait to experience in Toronto.
The spotlight will be on major premieres like The Smashing Machine, Frankenstein, Blue Moon, and Hamnet - and we’re just as eager to see them as everyone else. But TIFF has always been about discovery, and this year’s lineup is packed with smaller-scale World Premieres that are absolutely worth your attention.
To help identify some of these hidden gems, I’m sharing six titles I believe are worth seeking out while you’re at the festival. These films might fly under most people’s radar, but this is your chance to shake up your festival experience and add some fresh takes to your lineup. From powerful character-driven dramas to informative and entertaining documentaries to pulse-pounding edge-of-your-seat thrillers, these are the World Premiere films that could surprise you, entertain you, and spark conversation.
STEAL AWAY
WORLD PREMIERE
Program: Special Presentations | Director: Clement Virgo | Runtime: 113 mins
Synopsis: Though its epigraph begins with the words “once upon a time,” Clement Virgo’s bold, opulent, and continually surprising sixth feature soon departs from the realm of fairy tales to venture into far more shadowy and treacherous spaces. (TIFF)
Why you should see this: Brother was my introduction to Clement Virgo filmmaking, and if you also found that feature to be one of the most striking films of 2022, it would make sense that you too might have Steal Away as a highly anticipated film.
Straying away form reality and more into the realm of fantasy than Brother, Steal Away leans more into fairytales for its narrative inspiration with moments of mesmerizing visuals. The film is led by exceptional performances from Angourie Rice and Mallori Johnson, whose chemistry keeps the film engaging. Furthermore, the production goes all in on intricate set design as well as abundantly elaborate and beautifully ornate costume design.
Steal Away aims to be a district and memorable theatrical experience. If you’re wanting some fantasy in a slow burn yet haunting story, this is a film worth checking out.
THE SON AND THE SEA
WORLD PREMIERE
Program: Discovery/TIFF Next Wave Selects | Director: Stroma Cairns | Runtime: 102 mins
Synopsis: Living an extended adolescence of parties and poor decisions, London-based Jonah (Jonah West) is beginning to feel unmoored. Secretly yearning for a reprieve from the city’s frantic energy and his hard-partying lifestyle, he convinces his best friend Lee (Stanley Brock) to join him on a trip to the Scottish coast to visit his great-aunt, whose memory is fading. While staying in her small home tucked along the rugged shoreline, the pair meet Charlie (Connor Tompkins), a Deaf man grappling with the fallout from his twin brother’s misdeeds. What begins as a chance encounter at the local pub slowly becomes something deeper, as the three young men form an initially tentative connection that opens the possibility for change. (TIFF)
Why you should see this: What caught my attention for The Son And The Sea was how the film’s approach to capturing its characters was described: “While cinema can often foreground the brutality of young men, Cairns turns her camera toward its emotional undercurrents — the intimacy, fragility, and vulnerability that often go unspoken or unseen.” (TIFF)
Going into TIFF this year, I have big expectations for films capturing the nuances of male relationships and the internal conflicts guys tend to struggle with. The Son And The Sea leans wholeheartedly into these thematic objectives with the highs and lows of inseparable best friends Jonah and Lee and the companionship found in their new friend, Charlie.
The Son And The Sea is a slice of life narrative that keeps the complexities, the struggles, and the tenderness of male relationships at the forefront of the story as these characters grow, mature, and try to find their place in the world. If you’re searching a feature that is easy to watch and capitalizes on authentic chemistry between characters, The Son And The Sea is for you.
MODERN WHORE
WORLD PREMIERE
Program: TIFF Docs | Director: Nicole Bazuin | Runtime: 80 mins
Synopsis: Successfully expanding on their 2020 short film and book of the same name, director Nicole Bazuin and subject and co-writer Andrea Werhun take viewers on a very eventful journey through Werhun’s experiences as an escort and exotic dancer, a career she began when she was a university student in Toronto. As Werhun recounts with great flair and frankness in the film’s stylized, fourth-wall-breaking re-enactments, there were many lessons to be learned and challenges to be faced, including the lack of protection from toxic clients and her own internalized versions of the shame that society associates with female pleasure and the sex industry. (TIFF)
Why you should see this: In the wake of films like Anora, the subject of sex work is a topic garnering more and more attention in film and storytelling. The subject of this documentary and co-writer, Andrea Werhun, lays out her journey into the world of sex work with this stylized, mildly absurd, unabashfully campy doc that is meant to educate and inform more than it is meant to offend or repel audiences.
Yes, there is a lot of nudity and suggestive content, so approach with care. But for those willing to take in an account of sex work from first hand experience and grapple with a lot of the common presumptions and misconceptions about the topic, Modern Whore could be the one of the most creative ways to engage with that.
At ForReel, we had the pleasure of speaking with Andrea Werhun on the red carpet of Anora last year at TIFF, where she spoke about hoping that sex workers will be inspired by the film to tell their own stories. I find it quite satisfying to see her move from a consultant role on that Best Picture winner to telling her own story on screen. If the title makes you uncomfortable, then perhaps this is one worth giving a chance.
YOU HAD TO BE THERE: HOW THE TORONTO GODSPELL IGNITED THE COMEDY REVOLUTION…
WORLD PREMIERE
Program: Special Presentations | Director: Nick Davis | Runtime: 98 mins
Synopsis: On June 1, 1972, a humble production of a hit musical retelling of the Book of Matthew officially opened its run at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in downtown Toronto. As for what happened next, that may be most accurately expressed by the subtitle for Nick Davis’ celebratory documentary, You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution, Spread Love & Overalls, and Created a Community That Changed the World (In a Canadian Kind of Way). (TIFF)
Why you should see this: Those who know about the Toronto Godspell will likely find amusement in the behind-the-scenes account from that production’s cast about its impact on their lives and careers. Those who don’t know about it - like myself - are in for a delightfully educational experience about Godspell’s impact on culture.
It’s like an entry to pop culture’s Comedy Cinematic Universe, where no matter what your familiarity with the Toronto Godspell is, segments of comedy entertainment that you do know will undoubtedly weave in and out of these stories, whether it be recognizing cast members who went on to become famous, seeing how they’re connected to other comedy and entertainment icons, or recognizing Godspell’s connection to familiar comedy programming.
The Toronto Godspell’s legacy in modern pop culture is vast, and if you’re a fan of comedy and history, You Had To Be There is one you have to be there for.
NOVIEMBRE
WORLD PREMIERE
Program: Discovery | Director: Tomás Corredor | Runtime: 78 min
Synopsis: Based on one of the most tragic and complex events in Colombia’s history, the takeover of the Palace of Justice by the M-19 guerrilla group on November 6, 1985, Noviembre presents an acutely political cinematic exercise. (TIFF)
Why you should see this: Are you a fan of one-room dramas? Do you like suspense and tension in film? Do you want an unforgettable theatrical experience? Noviembre is your hidden gem of the festival.
Noviembre’s approach to telling this harrowing story is creative and spine-tingling. Almost entirely taking place in a bathroom, the one-room setup acts as a pressure-cooker as violent conflict rages around it and uncertainty mounts within it. And the archival footage used outside of this setting serves to make the narrative at hand even more chilling.
And at only 78 minutes long, this is a film that knows how to deliver a thrilling experience without overstaying its welcome. If single location dramatic thrillers are your vibe, do not overlook Noviembre - this is the film you’ll be raving to your friends about.
WASTEMAN
WORLD PREMIERE
Program: Centerpiece | Director: Cal McMau | Runtime: 90 mins
Synopsis: In his debut feature, Wasteman director Cal McMau peels back the conventions of the prison drama to reveal something raw, intimate, and unsettling. Set within a claustrophobic and often brutal UK prison, Wasteman conjures a world where hyper-masculinity is identity and armour, and where even a flicker of vulnerability can be fatal. (TIFF)
Why you should see this: Rye Lane at Sundance 2023 put me on to David Jonsson, and Plainclothes at Sundance 2025 put me on to Tom Blyth (both of whom have also proficiently held major roles in blockbuster franchises). So learning that these two rising stars would be in a crime drama together sent Wasteman to the top of my most anticipated titles this year at TIFF.
Though the official TIFF description page for the film doesn’t classify it as a “thriller”, Wasteman certainly takes every opportunity it can to use the close quarters of prison and the unpredictability of ruthlessly violent inmates to send you to the edge of your seat. It is unnerving and uncomfortable, which only serves to make it that much better of a theatrical experience.
And those two stars I mentioned, Jonsson and Blyth…both, indeed, offer stunning performances that more than justify my enthusiasm for following their careers. If you are fans of them as well, or just want to experience a tense debut feature, Wasteman is one you do not want to miss.
With ForReel at TIFF, there’s more to explore.