The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2025 by curating a wide variety of programming. The world’s largest public film festival ran from Sept. 4-14 and operated out of the TIFF Lightbox cultural center on King Street. The surrounding areas were closed off by security to allow attendees to stroll about a cinematic street festival. This outdoor block party packed in huge crowds, promotional pop-ups and celebrity-filled red carpets.
TIFF reflected many of the same films as the upcoming 61st Chicago International Film Festival on Oct. 15-26. Queer-focused films for both festivals include animated autobiography Bouchra, a haunted vacuum flick titledA Useful Ghost and Henrik Ibsen’s classic reimagined as Hedda.
TIFF opened with the first screening of Colin Hanks’s documentary John Candy: I Like Me, with members of Candy’s family walking down the red carpet beforehand. For Windy City audiences, the doc will be screened at the Chicago Theatre on Sunday, Oct. 5, with special guests attending.
Netflix has evolved into a major international contender at film festivals, presenting French New Wave flickLa Nouvelle Vague and Taipei dramaThe Left-Handed Girl. The festivals offer a chance to see Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein and Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery on the big screen before they stream on Netflix. Both Frankenstein and Dead Man proved popular and placed as runner-ups for the People’s Choice Award.
The star-studded cast of the third movie in the Knives Out franchise assembled for a press conference after the premiere in Canada. The legendary Glenn Close told Windy City Times how her religious character Martha Delacroix was born: “One of the first steps for me is my first costume fitting. When I saw the costume and the kind of uniform that she wore, I started to understand who she is. I wore a crucifix that I had worn in The House of the Spirits. It was 98 percent imagination and not based on anyone.”
The Choral was also not based on real-life characters but used World War I as a historical setting. Several of the gay-identifying cast and crew members of the British choir film spoke on the red carpet at Roy Thomson Hall on Sept. 5.
As producer and part of the LGBTQ+ community, Kevin Loader mentioned, “Like a lot of writer Alan Bennett’s work, there are emotional affairs going on between men and men. The doctor has been living in Germany for 20 years but has to leave because World War I is breaking out. He has to leave behind his German love, who is signed up to be on the battleship and we see how that story evolves across the film. The accompanist that Ralph is working with has a crush on him. There is a sad, bittersweet thing going on with a bit of yearning. They are discovering where their hearts lie in a tricky situation of World War I.”
Out actor Roger Allam played straight while straight actors portrayed gay characters in The Choral. Loader described the storyline as “very complicated. It’s about community and a gay love affair. This film feels important for the moment we are in and I hope it resonates with everyone.”
Director Nicholas Hytner talked about representation: “I am gay and the writer is gay. There is a melancholy to all of the relationships in this film, but it is without cynicism. Finding love can be hard and the character played by Robert Emms falls in love with the character of Dr. Guthrie, played by Ralph Fiennes. Their relationship is full of pain and frustration. It’s also very English because Ralph’s character does many men do and withdraws. The movie is not about how gay relationships can work, but shows how all relationships, gay or straight, can be. Everyone falls in love with the wrong people like a Chekhov play.”
With 110 red carpets running throughout TIFF, the A24 film Maddie’s Secret held one of the queerest carpets on the block before the screening at the Royal Alexandra Theatre.
Out artist John Early served as director, writer and actor on the piece. He wore many hats for this particular gig, including a wig. He described the makeup preparation as quick, adding, “She is the ingenue in all of us and I was shocked at how easy it was to step right in. On the physical level, the drag took about an hour and a half. I was going for a natural look and it was not a beat. I wanted her to look real with a sun-kissed, no makeup look. The wig was restyled and I just plopped it on my head. I had hip pads and bras, too. I got it down to a science.”
The talented gay writer spoke on his inspiration: “It came from a performance aspect because I really want to play a sweet girl. I thought something interesting would happen if I did that for longer than a sketch. I hoped that if I did it for a feature that it would be more emotionally compelling. That’s where it started and then it picked up many other associations.”
Early’s best friend Kate Berlant described her character as “a butch lesbian and an archetype, so I had a lot to draw on while playing her.” Berlant brought her queer comedy act to Chicago in May of this year.
Saturday Night Live alum Vanessa Bayer is also part of the Maddie’s Secret cast and reminisced on the carpet about the comedy scene in the Windy City: “I love Chicago and Conner O’Malley, who is in the movie, is an old friend of mine from Chicago. I loved being in improv shows there.”
Other red carpet highlights included the same sex marriage film Julian, directed by Cato Buster, plus stars Nina Meurisse and Laurence Roothooft, followed by Dust Bunny from gay writer Bryan Fuller in his directorial debut.
Other LGBTQ+ screenings included centerpieces Blue Moon, Follies andThe Little Sister. The world premiere of Erupcja caused a stir at TIFF with star Charli XCX in attendance. Thriller Steal Away told an erotic tale about two women and Modern Whore documented sex work after expanding from a 2020 short film.
Executive produced by Spike Lee, Spanish queer film Talk Me took home the Short Cuts Award for Best International Short Film at TIFF.
Inside Out Film Festival hosted a queer brunch at the TIFF Lightbox on Sept. 7 to highlight its upcoming 35th annual festival in May of 2026.
The Toronto International Film Festival welcomed over 700,000 guests and facilitated 1,200 screenings. Film Fests such as this one have predicted future award winners and created a buzz to drive audiences into the theaters for the holiday season.
The 61st edition tickets are on sale now at chicagofilmfestival.com or call 312-332-FILM. Visit tiff.net for the 51st edition next year in Toronto.
Don’t miss the Criterion Mobile Closet, which houses over 1,700 films and travels all over the world. Cinephiles waited in long lines for a chance to enter the Closet at TIFF and CIFF will offer the Criterion Collection for the first time onsite at Newcity, 1457 N. Clybourn Ave., from Oct. 17-19. Click on criterion.com for more information.