TIFF QUEER GUIDE 2025

As summer winds down and the city slips into warm autumnal colours and fashions, TIFF 2025 is ready to snatch wigs, break hearts, and make audiences cry in at least three languages—sometimes all at once—adding fresh memories to an already unforgettable season. With 291 films representing every shade of identity and desire, plus events celebrating queer talent and trans brilliance (don’t miss this year’s Trans Filmmakers Summit), Toronto’s cinematic celebration promises both powerful stories and a vibrant sense of community. There’s still time to heal—and maybe even hurt yourself a little—while laughing, reflecting, and diving into a powerful lineup of storytellers and their visions. So jump aboard cinephiles - let’s dream together once again!

Features

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100 Sunset

Dir. Kunsang Kyirong
Screening Sept, 6, 7, 8, 13

With 100 Sunset, Canadian-Tibetan director Kunsang Kyirong makes a striking feature debut after her acclaimed shorts Yarlung and Dhulpa. A chabrolesque mystery set on the shores of Lake Ontario, the film traces the bond between two young women (Tenzin Kunsel and Sonam Choekyi), a relationship whose hidden tensions ripple through a west Toronto apartment complex, unsettling the fragile balance of a Tibetan immigrant community. With her distinctive eye for place and culture, Kyirong crafts a story of intimacy, secrecy, and belonging that resonates far beyond its setting.

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Blood lines

Dir. Gail Maurice
Screeening 5, 8, 10, 11

Language is identity and culture in Gail Maurice’s (Rosie, TIFF ’22) new Indigenous queer drama, set in the small Métis community of Wapamon Sipi in Northern Ontario. Dana Solomon stars as Beatrice, a storyteller and store clerk whose world shifts when she’s urged to reconcile with her estranged mother, Leonore (Gail Maurice), while simultaneously drawn into a budding romance with Chani (Derica Lafrance), a newcomer searching for her biological family.

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Bouchra

Dir. Orian Barki, Meriem Bennani
Screening Sept 4, 5, 6, 10

Step into Bouchra, the innovative debut feature from Orian Barki and Meriem Bennani, which reimagines storytelling with 3D animation and docu-fiction techniques. The film follows Bouchra, a queer Moroccan Coyote filmmaker in New York, as she navigates the complexities of her strained relationship with her cardiologist mother in Casablanca. Through humor, vulnerability, and inventive narrative, Bouchra explores how art serves as both escape and confrontation in the quest to bridge a complicated mother-daughter divide.

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Flana

Dir. Zahraa Ghandour
Screening Sept 7, 9, 10

In her powerful debut, Zahraa Ghandour returns to her childhood home in Baghdad to unravel the mystery of her missing friend Noor. Along the way, she meets Laila, a young woman facing similar struggles of abandonment and gender-based violence, worsened by war and entrenched patriarchy. Drawing from her personal journey and the stories of many Iraqi women, Ghandour captures the hidden lives and diverse experiences of the “flana”—forgotten women whose voices too often go unheard. Through this intimate exploration, she sheds light on deep social wounds while highlighting a striking resilience and hope.

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Ky Nam Inn

Dir. Leon Le
Screening Sept 7, 9, 13

If you’re in the mood for love, Leon Le’s gentle sophomore feature truly delivers. In post-war Saigon, Khang (Lien Binh Phat), a young translator eager to prove himself beyond family privilege, is tasked with a new version of The Little Prince. Moving into his new home, he meets Ky Nam (Do Thi Hai Yen), a widowed cook whose hardened reserve recalls her namesake agarwood, kynam—a rare resin formed through wounds. Though opposites at first glance, the two soon become emotionally entwined.

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Maddie’s secret

Dir. John Early
Screening Sept 5, 10

Comedian John Early, widely recognized for his lead role on the TBS and HBO Max series “Search Party,” debuts his feature film “Maddie’s Secret” in the festival’s Discovery program. Early stars as Maddie Ralph, a passionate foodie and dishwasher at a trendy Los Angeles food content company. Though her life seems flawless—with a devoted husband (Eric Rahill), a lively lesbian best friend (Kate Berlant), and a pantry stocked with artisanal, ethically made chili crisp—she struggles to hide a painful past of a severe eating disorder. Despite projecting a perfect image to her followers, Maddie secretly battles bulimia, even as she begins to relapse.

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Nomad shadow

Dir. Eimi Imanishi
Screening Sept 8, 9

How would it feel to finally return home after years in exile, only to discover that everything you once knew has changed forever? Eimi Imanishi’s debut film, Nomad Shadow, follows Mariam (Nadhira Mohamed), a rebellious young Sahrawi woman deported from Spain back to Western Sahara. Estranged from her family and unable to leave, she finds comfort in her friendships as she struggles to adjust to a place that no longer feels like home, brought to life through moving performances and sensitive direction.

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Shorts

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A Small Fiction of My Mother in Beijing

Short Cuts Programme 1
Dir. Dorothea Sing Zhang
Screening Sept 4, 9

Fiction and documentary intertwine in this beautiful portrait of Dorothea Sing Zhang’s mother, Chinese opera singer Geng Qiaoyun. A Small Fiction of My Mother in Beijing, the second installment of the MOTHER trilogy, traces the discipline of her art—her physical and vocal rigor as she trains students and prepares for a new performance—while quietly revealing the solitude of her private life, her longing for her absent daughter, and the looming fear of losing her voice with age.

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Not scared, just sad

Short Cuts Programme 2
Dir. Isabelle Mecattaf
Screening 5, 6, 10

Turning her camera on her own family during the November 2024 Israeli bombings in Beirut, Isabelle Mecattaf’s Not Scared, Just Sad captures the uneasy blend of daily life and ever-present grief at the edge of war. Using inventive split screen, the film powerfully contrasts attempts at normalcy with the deep impact of conflict, offering a moving, personal look at resilience and loss.

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Talk me

Short Cuts Programme 2
Dir. Joecar Hanna
Screening Sept 5, 6, 10

Joecar Hanna’s Talk Me, which premiered at Cannes 2025, imagines a society where speech is taboo and emotional intimacy comes through forbidden conversation. Pedro, an outsider in a loveless marriage, finds a risky connection with Kira, exploring what it means to belong, the dangers of emotional bonds, and the loneliness of being “in between.” Executive-produced by Spike Lee, the film uses voice and music as symbols of intimacy and longing.

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Pink Light

Short Cuts Programme 5
Dir. Harrison Browne
Screening Sept 8, 9 13

The film offers a sharp, honest look at the often-overlooked realities of transgender lives. Centered on Scott (Harrison Browne), a trans man and former pro hockey player, the story blends past and present as a hit during a beer league game triggers memories of his pre-transition days and struggles with identity. The nuanced depiction captures the messiness and beauty of navigating self-acceptance, belonging, and change.

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Special mention

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Lilith Fair: Building A Mystery

Dir. Ally Pankiw
Screening Sept 13, 14

We had to... Some of us here at Yohomo headquarters are old enough to have LIVED through Lilth Fair, and it was definitely a musical moment in time. So queer, so femme, so masc, so tender...

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EVENTS

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Bruce LaBruce vs TIFF
Saturday, Sept 6

Bruce LaBruce's notorious queer TIFF party returns to the Bovine Sex Club with a nasty night of DJs, performers and pole dancing from the Strangers crew.

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Trans Filmmakers Summit
Sunday, Sept 7

The annual TFS is always one of our fave events and this year includes Emmy Award-Nominated Director and Producer Zackary Drucker who will be honoured at the event with the CMF Barrier Breaker Award for her outstanding contributions to the industry.

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