By JAKE COYLE
Films starring Sydney Sweeney, Angelina Jolie and Aziz Ansari will premiere at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, festival organizers announced Monday.
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TIFF laid out the selections to its galas and special presentations programs, which make up the bulk of the red carpet premieres to North America’s largest film festival. Films making their world premieres include Ansari’s “Good Fortune,” starring Keanu Reeves as an angel trying to teach a struggling man (Ansari) a lesson; David Michôd’s “Christy,” with Sweeney playing the boxer Christy Martin; and Alice Winocour’s “Couture,” starring Jolie as an American filmmaker attending Paris Fashion Week.
Those films join previously announced TIFF world premieres including Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.” All three of Johnson’s “Knives Out” films have premiered in Toronto.
Also debuting in Toronto will be Derek Cianfrance’s “Roofman,” starring Channing Tatum as a struggling father turned thief; Nia DaCosta’s Ibsen adaptation “Hedda,” starring Tessa Thompson; Nicholas Hytner’s WWI drama “The Choral,” with Ralph Fiennes; Steven Soderbergh’s third 2025 release, “The Christophers”; Hikari’s “Rental Family,” starring Brendan Fraser as an American actor in Japan; and Paul Greengrass’ “The Lost Bus,” with Matthew McConaughey as a bus driver navigating California’s 2018 Camp Fire.
The Toronto International Film Festival will kick off Sept. 4 with the debut of the documentary “John Candy: I Like Me,” from director Colin Hanks and producer Ryan Reynolds. The festival runs through Sept. 14.
Toronto has long been one of the prized launching pads to the fall movie season, though many of the top films often first go to the Venice or Telluride film festivals. This year, that includes TIFF selections like Chloe Zhao’s “Hamnet,” Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine” and Edward Berger’s “Ballad of a Smaller Player.” The designation of those premieres suggests “Frankenstein” and “The Smashing Machine” will first play Venice, while Zhao’s and Berger’s films will likely play both Venice and Telluride.
Other notable films premiering in Toronto include James Vanderbilt’s Nuremberg trials drama “Nuremberg,” with Rami Malik and Russell Crowe; Rachel Lee Goldenberg’s “Swiped,” starring Lily James as Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd; and Agnieszka Holland’s Franz Kafka drama “Franz.”
Several directorial debuts will be landing in Toronto including those by Brian Cox (“Glenrothan”) and Maude Apatow (“Poetic License”). Other selections include “Bad Apples,” with Saoirse Ronan as a teacher with a poorly behaved student; “Easy’s Waltz,” a Las Vegas-set drama starring Vince Vaughn and Al Pacino; and Alex Winter’s “Adulthood.”
A number of standouts from May’s Cannes Film Festival will also play in Toronto, such as Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner “It Was Just an Accident,” Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” Oliver Laxe’s “Sirât” and Richard Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague.”
