The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is one of the world’s leading public film festivals, celebrated for its vibrant mix of global cinema, red-carpet premieres, and industry innovation. Each September, Toronto transforms into a hub for filmmakers, artists, and audiences who come together to discover bold new stories, connect with diverse voices, and celebrate the art of film. This year, TIFF turns 50 and the festival will take place between September 4-14, 2025.
Read below to discover the films with B.C. ties that will be screened at TIFF 50:
MEADOWLARKS
TIFF Special Presentation | World Premiere
Based on her 2017 documentary BIRTH OF A FAMILY, Tasha Hubbard’s MEADOWLARKS is an emotional drama that follows four siblings, separated by the Sixties Scoop, as they come together over a week spent in Banff. The film was produced by Tyler Hagan of Experimental Forest Films.
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. Their forced separation at birth was part of the Sixties Scoop, the term given for the then-common practice of removing Indigenous children from their families, often without consent, and placing them with the child welfare system. While documentaries have covered this topic over the years, nothing has ever fictionalized the experience of uniting as adults and coping with the consequences.
MEADOWLARKS is an emotional journey handled with care, respect, and beauty.
HOLY DAYS
TIFF Industry Selects
HOLY DAYS is a heartfelt adventure about love, loss, and family. The story follows young Brian (Elijah Tamati), who sets out on a touching quest to bring back his late mother back from heaven before his father’s new girlfriend, Liz (Nathalie Boltt), takes her place. Armed only with the clue that his mother is on a snowy mountain, Brian joins forces with three elderly nuns: Sisters Agnes, Mary Clare, and Luke. What begins as a reluctant partnership soon grows into a deep bond as they journey together on an emotional, once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
Produced by Michelle Morris and Sushant Desai of Lily Pictures and directed by Nat Boltt in her feature debut, HOLY DAYS is a moving story of resilience and hope.
YOUNGBLOOD
TIFF Centerpiece Strand | World Premiere
YOUNGBLOOD is a high-stakes hockey drama that unfolds both on and off the ice. Written by Vancouver-based Josh Epstein and Kyle Rideout, along with Seneca Aaron and the late Charles Officer, the story follows Dean Youngblood, a talented player held back by his own volatility.
Dean’s shot at redemption comes when he earns a place with the Hamilton Mustangs. But success doesn’t come easy: he must face toxic teammates, win over a doubtful coach, and stay focused even as he grows close to the coach’s daughter, Jessie, an accomplished athlete herself. A remake of the 1986 film starring Rob Lowe, YOUNGBLOOD brings fresh intensity to a classic story of ambition, struggle, and second chances.
BLUE HERON
TIFF Centerpiece Strand | North American Premiere
In a moving and formally inventive debut feature, BLUE HERON is a deeply personal story about family, memory, and loss. Set on Vancouver Island in the late 1990s and filmed in Vancouver and Nanaimo, the film follows Sasha, the youngest daughter in a Hungarian-Canadian family of six, as they adjust to a new home. Through her eyes, we see the joys of childhood in beach days, park outings, summer play in the yard, but also the shadows that emerge as a family member’s struggles come to light. Years later, Sasha attempts to make sense of this painful past.
Blurring the line between fiction and documentary, Blue Heron is an intimate and formally daring meditation on grief, love, and memory.
Here are the B.C. delegates who will be attending the festival this year:
Ambrose Okundaye – DLite Pictures
Brian Hamilton – Omnifilm
Derik Murray – Network Entertainment
Jonathan Kyle Mann – Independent Edge Films
Kristyn Stilling – Instilling Entertainment
Lori Watt – Triquele Productions
Lynn Booth – Make Believe Media
Mark Ratzlaff
Mostafa Keshvari
Ron French – Unity Pictures Group
Sammie Astaneh – Service Street Pictures
Scott Allan – BC Production Office Inc.
Sean Harris Oliver
Sepideh Yadegar
Steph Song – Werewolves of London Productions Inc.
Stephen Hegyes – Reality Distortion Field
Tchadas Leo – TSL Enterprises Ltd./CHEK Media
Thea Loo
Trish Neufeld
To learn more about TIFF and to explore the complete programming, visit the festival’s website.
