Unlike Cannes or Berlin, Toronto has never been a market-first festival. But ahead of the launch of the official TIFF market next year, Toronto is looking to boost its industry credentials, positioning itself as the go-to for finished films — particularly mainstream English-language fare — without domestic distribution.

“Given the uncertainty in the movie exhibition space right now, [Toronto’s] going to give us a real snapshot of what the people who release movies think can work in the marketplace,” says Steven Soderbergh, who brings his latest, The Christophers, to TIFF without a distributor. “There’s no better barometer of what’s happening than a bunch of people who have to put movies out into theaters, making decisions about what they think can succeed.”

With prestige titles, bold debuts and star-driven dramas looking for homes, TIFF 2025 could prove a decisive test for the independent film business.

The Christophers

DIRECTOR Steven Soderbergh

STARS Ian McKellen, Michaela Coel, Jessica Gunning, James Corden

BUZZ An A-list director and an award-winning cast will certainly pique the interest of buyers. Soderbergh is coming off his critically lauded spy thriller Black Bag and is switching gears with this pseudo-family dramedy from Men in Black writer Ed Solomon where the estranged relatives (Gunning, Corden) of a famous artist (McKellen) enlist the help of a struggling artist (Coel) to steal and complete the artist’s unfinished works.

SALES CAA Media Finance

CHRISTY

DIRECTOR David Michôd

STARS Sydney Sweeney, Ben Foster

BUZZ Michôd (Animal Kingdom, The King) directs Sweeney as real-life boxer Christy Martin in this gritty sports biopic. With Black Bear backing and strong U.S. reps, the film should draw major attention from distributors eyeing both prestige awards slots and mainstream audiences.

SALES Black Bear (international), UTA/AC Independent/Black Bear (domestic)

COUTURE

DIRECTOR Alice Winocour

STARS Angelina Jolie, Louis Garrel

BUZZ The French director of Disorder and Revoir Paris heads to Toronto with her first U.S.-set feature, a fashion-world thriller shot between New York and Paris. Known for her sleek, character-driven work, Winocour’s latest promises a mix of psychological suspense and couture spectacle that could appeal to both prestige distributors and crossover audiences.

SALES UTA Independent Film Group (North America), HanWay Films (international)

EASY’S WALTZ

DIRECTOR Nic Pizzolatto

STARS Vince Vaughn, Al Pacino, Kate Mara

BUZZ Dramas with a touch of music have often proved winning festival fodder. This massive cast, which also includes Simon Rex, Mary Steenburgen and Shania Twain, is led by Vaughn, hot off of starring in one of Netflix’s biggest titles of the year, Nonnas. He plays a Las Vegas lounge singer who gets another chance at the big time after meeting an older star (Pacino).

SALES WME Independent/CAA Media Finance/Range (world)

FUZE

DIRECTOR David Mackenzie

STARS Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, Gugu Mbatha-Raw

BUZZ The always adept Mackenzie is heading to the fest with a high-concept heist movie, perfect for a buyer looking to bolster its male-skewing offerings. A gang of criminals takes advantage of a chaotic situation in central London when a live World War II-era bomb is found in a construction site.

SALES WME Independent/UTA Media Finance

GLENROTHAN

DIRECTOR Brian Cox

STARS Brian Cox, Alan Cumming, Shirley Henderson, Alexandra Shipp

BUZZ Cox makes his feature directorial debut with this Highland-set family drama about two estranged brothers — one a Chicago transplant (Cumming), the other a whisky distiller (Cox) facing the end of the family business. With a cast mixing prestige U.K. talent and Hollywood names, Glenrothan looks primed to connect with buyers seeking character-driven crowd-pleasers with international appeal.

SALES Protagonist Pictures

HAMLET

DIRECTOR Aneil Karia

STARS Riz Ahmed, Joe Alwyn, Timothy Spall

BUZZ This contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic, set in a wealthy British-Indian family, sees Ahmed take on the iconic role. With the actor’s global following and Karia’s breakout acclaim (Surge, The Long Goodbye), Hamlet is primed to spark interest among prestige distributors.

SALES WME Independent/CAA Media Finance

I SWEAR

DIRECTOR Kirk Jones

STARS Robert Aramayo, Maxine Peake, Shirley Henderson, Peter Mullan

BUZZ The true-life story of Tourette’s syndrome campaigner John Davidson gets a heartfelt big-screen treatment from Jones (Waking Ned Devine). With a powerhouse British cast, this inspirational drama could prove an awards season sleeper elsewhere.

SALES StudioCanal

JUST PLAY DEAD

DIRECTOR Gary Fleder

STARS Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Green

BUZZ A married couple’s scheme to fake a death for a massive insurance payout spirals into double crosses in this pulpy thriller. With Jackson as the criminal mastermind, Green as his duplicitous wife and Fleder (Runaway Jury) behind the camera, Just Play Dead has the cast and hook to tempt both streamers and theatrical buyers.

SALES Highland Film Group (international), CAA Media Finance (domestic)

MILE END KICKS

DIRECTOR Chandler Levack

STARS Jay Baruchel, Barbie Ferreira, Devon Bostick

BUZZ Following her acclaimed indie, 2022’s I Like Movies, Canadian writer-director Levack returns with a Toronto-set comedy-drama about a struggling soccer club in the city’s east end. With its mix of underdog sports energy and local authenticity, Mile End Kicks looks poised to be a crowd-pleaser on home turf and a strong play for North American buyers.

SALES XYZ Films

PALESTINE 36

DIRECTOR Annemarie Jacir

STARS Hiam Abbass, Saleh Bakri, Jeremy Irons

BUZZ Palestinian auteur Jacir (Wajib) returns with a sweeping historical drama set during the 1936 Arab revolt against British rule. With a stellar international cast and strong awards potential (as Palestine’s official Oscar submission), this politically charged period epic is set to be one of the most talked-about titles of the festival.

SALES mk2 Films/Lucky Number

POETIC LICENSE

DIRECTOR Maude Apatow

BUZZ The Euphoria star steps behind the camera with her feature directorial debut, a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale set in the world of spoken-word poetry. With Apatow’s profile and strong festival positioning, this could be among Toronto’s buzziest debuts, especially for distributors eager to capture Gen Z audiences.

SALES August Night

ROSE OF NEVADA

DIRECTOR Mark Jenkin

STARS George MacKay, Callum Turner, Rosalind Eleazar

BUZZ After scoring critical acclaim and sleeper success with 2019’s Bait and 2022’s Enys Men, Cornish auteur Jenkin makes his most ambitious leap yet. Premiering in Venice before its North American bow at TIFF, Rose of Nevada spins the tale of two fishermen (MacKay and Turner) who board a phantom vessel and are transported back in time. Expect festival buyers to circle for prestige slots and art house runs.

SALES Protagonist Pictures

SACRIFICE

DIRECTOR Romain Gavras

STARS Chris Evans, Anya Taylor-Joy, Salma Hayek, Charli XCX

BUZZ After igniting Venice with 2022’s Athena, Gavras returns with a U.K.-Greek co-production that promises more combustible imagery and political firepower. Details are tightly under wraps, but the director’s brand of muscular, confrontational cinema positions this as one of Toronto’s most watched acquisition titles.

SALES CAA Media Finance

SIERRA MADRE

DIRECTOR Justin Chadwick

STARS Kiefer Sutherland, Omar Chaparro, Laura Osma, Tommy Martinez, Ashton Sanders

BUZZ Chadwick (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom) turns to action-thriller terrain with Sutherland as a U.S. captain leading his squad through cartel-controlled Mexico after a wedding turns into a bloodbath. With a muscular premise, international ensemble and Highland Film Group steering sales, Sierra Madre is positioned as a hot commercial play in Toronto.

SALES UTA (domestic), Highland (domestic/ international)

TUNER

DIRECTOR Daniel Roher

STARS Leo Woodall, Dustin Hoffman

BUZZ Following his Oscar-winning doc Navalny, Roher pivots to narrative features with this heist thriller about a gifted piano tuner turned safecracker. With Elevation set for Canadian release and a package of top sales agents attached, Tuner looks like one of TIFF’s hottest commercial prospects.

SALES Black Bear (international), UTA Independent/WME Independent (domestic)

YOUNGBLOOD

DIRECTOR Hubert Davis

STARS Ashton James, Blair Underwood, Shawn Doyle, Alexandra McDonald, Henri Picard

BUZZ What better place than TIFF to sell a hockey movie? Oscar-nominated documentarian Davis (Hardwood) makes the leap to narrative features with this on-ice drama about a prodigy navigating toxic locker-room culture and personal demons. With its mix of sports energy and social critique, Youngblood could skate into the same inspirational-commercial sweet spot that made Coach Carter and Friday Night Lights distributor favorites.

SALES Dolphin Entertainment/CAA Media Finance

This story appeared in the Sep. 3 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.