TIFF is right around the corner and with a huge selection of incredible films it might be hard to narrow it down to a list. I decided to present you a list of movies to definitely bump to the top of your list. We will be covering TIFF in person this year and are excited to bring you all of the action on the scene. Stay tuned for more and check out our list below!

FJORD

FJORD is the Cannes Palm D’or winner and topped our list for movies you can’t miss at TIFF. The new film from director Cristian Mungiu which stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve is also looking to be an Oscar frontrunner. Check out the synopsis from TIFF below.

In the latest from masterful Cristian Mungiu (Graduation, TIFF ’16; R.M.N, TIFF ’22), Lisbet (Renate Reinsve, TIFF ’25’s Sentimental Value) and Mihai Gheorghiu (Sebastian Stan, TIFF ’23’s Dumb Money) are a conservative Christian couple who’ve relocated from Romania to an isolated Norwegian town with their five children.

Unlike their new neighbours, the Gheorghius enforce daily bible study and don’t allow trappings like smartphones and YouTube. The family’s rigid beliefs cause a stir when one of the children is accused of introducing religious bias into their school by criticizing another student’s sexual orientation. This, however, is just the beginning of the family’s problems. When a teacher notices a bruise on another of their kids, a cascade of events — mimicking the avalanches we see behind the schoolyard in the icy locale — is set in motion.

EVERYTIME

Everytime is the latest film from director Sandra Wollner that follows a grieving family trying to find how to move forward. The film went on to win the Un Certain Regard title at Cannes this year. Check out the synopsis from TIFF below.

Jessie (Carla Hüttermann) is packing for an upcoming Spanish vacation with her single mother, Ella (played by the mesmerizing Birgit Minichmayr, Jack, TIFF ’15), and her younger sister, Melli (Lotte Shirin Keiling). On the eve of the trip, Jessie sneaks out to be with her boyfriend Lux (Tristan Lopez) and this, unfortunately, ends in tragedy. One year later, despite their persistent heartbreak, Ella and Melli cling to a fragile routine and on the surface, appear to get by. But when Lux re-enters the family portrait, the wounds are reopened and, while the matriarch can’t seem to concede to her unspoken blame, Lux can’t seem to cope with his longing for forgiveness. Driven by a strange impulse, Ella takes Lux and Melli to Tenerife on the holiday that never happened. Under the blazing sun, the newly formed unit wades through rough emotional waters, as if in a hallucinatory state. Perhaps because they have no choice, perhaps because it’s the only way to survive.

JOSEPHINE

Josephine premiered at Sundance earlier this year and went on to win Grand Jury prize as well as the Audience award. The film directed by Beth de Aurajo is based on the director’s childhood memory. Check out the synopsis from TIFF below.

When eight-year-old Josephine (Mason Reeves) and her father Damien (Channing Tatum, TIFF ’25’s Roofman) walk through Golden Gate Park one morning, they witness a disturbing incident. Though her father manages to stop the attack, the event leaves Josephine emotionally scarred. In the aftermath, Damien enrolls Josephine in martial arts to help her reclaim her sense of power, while her mother Claire (Gemma Chan) advocates for therapy and insists she testify in court. Caught between her parents’ conflicting approaches and still struggling to process her trauma, Josephine begins acting out violently at school and becomes hypervigilant, constantly scanning her surroundings for threats.

BUCKING FASTARD

Werner Herzog looks to team up with the Mara sisters for his latest film that has many people talking. Kate and Rooney star as two sisters that fall for the same man and have to face the justice system together. Check out the official synopsis below from TIFF.

The Holbrookes speak in unison, dress alike, have shared dreams, and, consequentially, fall in love with the same man (Orlando Bloom, The Cut, TIFF ’24). The sisters’ obsession with their lover reaches a boiling point which ultimately must be resolved in court. Jean and Joan passionately defend themselves side by side as they have their whole lives, showing their unusual bond. A media frenzy, driven by the sisters’ strange and inextricably bound lives, inevitably ensues.

GENTLE MONSTER

Gentle Monster from director Marie Kreutzer asks if we ever really know the people we decide to spend the rest our lives with? Lea Seydoux stars in one of her most emotional and intricate performances. Check out the synopsis for the film below provided by TIFF.

Experimental musician Lucy Weiss (Seydoux) crafts deconstructed pop songs on unconventional instruments. Her husband Philip (Laurence Rupp, TIFF ’25’s Rise of the Raven) is a filmmaker, though he has been working in television to pay the bills. After Philip suffers a breakdown, the couple, along with their nine-year-old Johnny (Malo Blanchet), relocate from Munich to the countryside. 

But their bucolic idyll collapses when a sex crimes unit, led by officer Else Kühn (Jella Haase), arrives to seize the family’s digital devices — and to arrest Philip. As the case against him becomes increasingly difficult to deny, her attention shifts to her son Johnny — and the terrifying possibility that he might be involved.

These are just a couple of the films to look out for at TIFF. We will have two more lists of films so stay tuned for those that will include horror selections as well.

What movies are you most excited to watch or hear about at TIFF?

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