The 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which runs from Sept. 4-14, features 292 titles, including 66 shorts, and a small portion of them are music-related from documentaries to plots to musician actors. No artist biopics this year.
Instead, there are documentaries on Sarah McLachlan’s pioneering all-female-fronted music festival Lilith Fair, the famed Las Vegas concert run of Elvis Presley, and the Drake-included retrospective on the Degrassi TV phenom, while rock band Green Day partnered with Live Nation to deliver a fictional band comedy.
On the acting front, you can see Shania Twain, Seal, J Balvin and Charli xcx in roles. Jack White is the music director on a film, and Kid Koala directs an animated feature. There are also a bunch of films with music central to the plot.
Now Toronto combed through the schedule to highlight most, if not all, the music-related films. Tickets are on sale now on TIFF.net or, if sold out, try same-day box office or the rush line.
Green Day
New Years Rev
Director Lee Kirk
WORLD PREMIERE
United States of America | 2025 | 103m | English
TIFF program: Centrepiece
Screenings: Fri., Sept. 12, TIFF Lightbox 9:30 p.m.; Sat., Sept. 13, TIFF Lightbox 6:30 p.m.
A late addition to the TIFF 50 lineup, Green Day announced the debut of this “wild road trip” comedy on their social media last week. “So big news, we made a movie!” A garage band, The Analog Dogs — played by Mason Thames, Kylr Coffman and Ryan Foust — think they have an opening slot for Green Day, but, as the trio writes, “plot twist, it’s actually a prank.” Of course, the soundtrack features the legendary punk-pop band’s music, and we’re certain they haven’t given away the ending. We don’t know if Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool have cameos, but supporting roles are played by Fred Armisen, Angela Kinsey, Bobby Lee, and Mckenna Grace.
Elvis Presley
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert
Director Baz Luhrmann
WORLD PREMIERE
Australia | 2025 | 96m | English
TIFF program: Special Presentations
Screenings: Sat. Sept. 6, Princess of Wales Theatre, 2:45 p.m.; Sun. Sept. 7, Scotiabank Theatre, 8 p.m.; Fri. Sept. 12, Scotiabank Theatre, 7:30 p.m.; Sun. Sept. 14, Scotiabank Theatre, 2:15 p.m.
Baz Luhrmann, the man behind 2022’s biopic Elvis, starring Austin Butler, returns with this concert doc on the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll as he rehearses and gears up for his Las Vegas stint originally booked for a few weeks but lasted over seven years. It features recently unearthed archival footage and no present-day interviews with Elvis experts or music journalists. Some of us expect Elvis to be in the building for the world premiere.
Sarah McLachlan
Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery
Director Ally Pankiw
WORLD PREMIERE
Canada | 2025 | 99m | English
TIFF program: Gala Presentation
Screenings: Sat. Sept. 13, Roy Thomson Hall, 3 p.m.; Sun. Sept. 14, Scotiabank Theatre, 11:55 a.m.
While Sarah McLachlan is not behind this comprehensive documentary about her ground-breaking and brave female-centred music festival, launched in 1997 and on the road for three years, the Canadian singer-songwriter is fully behind it. The film is directed by Ally Pankiw (I Used To Be Funny) and includes new interviews with performers Jewel, Bonnie Raitt, Erykah Badu, and Emmylou Harris. Expect all things Sarah this September, as she’s not only on tour, but has a long-awaited new album, Better Broken, coming out Sept. 19.
Jack White
Motor City
Director Potsy Ponciroli
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
United States of America | 2025 | 103m | English
TIFF program: Centrepiece
Screenings: Thurs. Sept. 4, TIFF Lightbox, 8:45 p.m.; Fri. Sept. 5, Scotiabank Theatre, 2:15 p.m.
Detroit native Jack White is the musical director and scored this film set in Motor City and described on the TIFF site as a “violent revenge tale” set in the 70s. Stars Alan Ritchson, Ben Foster, and Shailene Woodley.
Shania Twain
Easy’s Waltz
Director Nic Pizzolatto
WORLD PREMIERE
United States of America | 2025 | 103m | English
TIFF program: Special Presentations
Screenings: Thurs. Sept. 11, Princess of Wales Theatre, 6:30 p.m.; Fri. Sept. 12, Scotiabank Theatre, 3:45 p.m.; Sun. Sept. 14, Scotiabank Theatre, 8:40 a.m.
We’re not sure what role the Canadian country music star, who recently teamed up with McDonald’s for “Shania’s Sides,” including all-dressed McShaker fries, and Strawberry pie, is playing in the True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto’s new film, but given that the plot is about a Las Vegas crooner (Vince Vaughn) who’s offered a “big shot” by an older star (Al Pacino), we can bet she’s a fellow singer.
J Balvin
Little Lorraine
Director Andy Hines
WORLD PREMIERE
Canada | 2025 | 115m | English
TIFF program: Discovery
Screenings: Fri. Sept. 5, Scotiabank Theatre, 5:30 p.m.; Sat. Sept. 6, Scotiabank Theatre, 11:30 a.m.
Colombian reggaeton star J Balvin lands his first live action role in this Canadian film, set in Nova Scotia. Inspired by a true story, it starts with the 1986 mining explosion outside Cape Breton that left 10 men dead and “merges coastal fishing with an international cocaine smuggling ring,” it reads on the TIFF description. It also stars Stephen Amell, Stephen McHattie and Sean Astin. Canadian director Andy Hines has made music videos for Anderson .Paak, Missy Elliott and Alicia Keys and numerous short films. Little Lorraine is his feature debut.
Drake
Degrassi: Whatever It Takes
Director Lisa Rideout
WORLD PREMIERE
Canada | 2025 | 111m | English
TIFF program: Special Presentations
Screenings: Sat. Sept. 13, Scotiabank Theatre, 6:15 p.m.; Sun. Sept. 14, Scotiabank Theatre, 3:45 p.m..
Aubrey Drake Graham, better known as Drake, is interviewed in this documentary about the landmark, long-running wildly popular Canadian-made teen drama that launched the rapper’s career in entertainment. While the film is not about him, he is the most famous of all the alumni and is seen in the trailer reflecting on the years he played the character Jimmy Brooks. The series, created by a Toronto teacher named Linda Schuyler and then-partner Kit Hood, also gave sync opportunities to countless bands and solo artists, but the doc likely doesn’t explore this angle.
Kid Koala
Space Cadet
Director Kid Koala
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Canada | 2025 | 86m | No Dialogue
TIFF program: Centrepiece
Screenings: Thurs. Sept. 11, Princess of Wales Theatre, 6:30 p.m.; Fri. Sept. 12, Scotiabank Theatre, 3:45 p.m.; Sun. Sept. 14, Scotiabank Theatre, 8:40 a.m.
The Canadian DJ and music-maker directed and scored this silent animated film based on his graphic novel, Space Cadet, along with original songs by Karen O and Digable Planets’ Mariana “Ladybug Mecca” Vieira. The family-friendly tale, that does not include any dialogue, is described on the TIFF site as “the tender story of a young girl, Celeste, and the first-generation Guardianbot she loves.” It was created by Canadian’s 2D designs, animator/illustrator Lillian Chan and 3D modelling artist Gilles Renault (How to Train Your Dragon).
Seal
Dust to Dreams
Director Idris Elba
World Premiere
Nigeria | 2025 | 20m |English, Yoruba
TIFF program: Short Cuts Programme 4
Screenings: Mon. Sept. 8, TIFF Lightbox, 6:30 p.m.; Fri. Sept. 12, TIFF Lightbox, 6 p.m.
Grammy-award winning singer Seal stars in Idris Elba’s short film, “set in Lagos, Nigeria, and follows a nightclub owner’s succession plan as the club faces a new era,” the TIFF press release states. IMDB says, “A mother navigates the challenges of introducing her teenage daughter to her estranged father for the first time, exploring the complexities of their relationship.”
Charli xcx
Erupcja
Director Pete Ohs
WORLD PREMIERE
United States of America, Poland | 2025 | 71m | Polish, English
TIFF program: Centrepiece, TIFF Next Wave Selects
Screenings: Thurs. Sept. 4, TIFF Lightbox, 3:45 p.m.; Fri. Sept. 5, Scotiabank Theatre, 8:40 p.m.; Sun. Sept. 14, Scotiabank Theatre, 12:10 p.m.
British singer-songwriter Charli xcx has a starring role in this film, described as a postcard romance. On holiday with her boyfriend, Rob, played by Will Madden, she is afraid he’s going to propose so she links with an old friend, Nel, played by Lena Góra, and according to the TIFF synopsis, “The two women rekindle a uniquely combustible chemistry over the course of a few days.”
Sacrifice
Director Romain Gavras
WORLD PREMIERE
United Kingdom, Greece | 2025 | 103m | English
TIFF program: Special Presentations
Screenings: Sat. Sept. 6, Princess of Wales Theatre, 9:30 p.m.; Sun. Sept. 7, Scotiabank Theatre, 6:45 p.m.
Charli xcx is also in this satirical thriller about an environmental conference disrupted by celebrities and then by eco-terrorists. It has a major cast: Chris Evans, Salma Hayek Pinault, John Malkovich, Anya Taylor-Joy, Vincent Cassel, Ambika Mod, and Jonatan “Yung Lean” Leandoer.
Music Plots
California Schemin’
Director James McAvoy
WORLD PREMIERE
United Kingdom, United States of America | 2025 | 107m | English
TIFF program: Special Presentations
The Choral
Director Nicholas Hytner
WORLD PREMIERE
United Kingdom | 2025 | 113m | English
TIFF program: Gala Presentations
Primavera
Director Damiano Michieletto
WORLD PREMIERE
Italy, France | 2025 | 110m | Italian
TIFF program: Special Presentations
Mile End Kicks
Chandler Levack
WORLD PREMIERE
Canada | 2025 | 105m | English
TIFF program: Special presentations, TIFF Next Wave Selects
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie
Director Matt Johnson
CANADIAN PREMIERE
Canada | 2025 | 98m | English
TIFF program: Midnight Madness
Jazz Infernal
Director Will Niava
WORLD PREMIERE
Canada | 2025 | 16m | French
TIFF program: Short Cuts Programme 1
Blue Moon
Director Richard Linklater
CANADIAN PREMIERE
USA, Ireland | 2025 | 100m | English
TIFF program: Centrepiece
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