The Toronto Intl. Film Festival unveiled their short film showcase with 48 selections spread out among the six programmes plus Strange Cuts section and we find the likes of Cannes stand-outs in the Palme d’Or Winner by actor Tawfeek Barhom (I’m Glad You’re Dead Now) plus Adnan Al Rajeev‘s Ali (Cannes 2025 Special Jury Mention). Among the many Canadian entries we find Murmur‘s Heather Young bringing A Soft Touch and we have the soon to preem in Locarno What We Leave Behind by A Crab in the Pool’s Jean-Sébastien Hamel and Alexandra Myotte. Idris Elba steps behind the camera for the first time with Dust to Dreams – it stars the artist Seal. Here is the line-up:
A Small Fiction of My Mother in Beijing | Dorothy Sing Zhang | China – World Premiere
Agapito | Arvin Belarmino, Kyla Danelle Romero | Philippines – North American Premiere
DISC | Blake Winston Rice | United States of America – World Premiere
Healer | Chelsea McMullan | Canada – World Premiere
Jazz Infernal | Will Niava | Canada – World Premiere
Ramón Who Speaks to Ghosts | Shervin Kermani | Spain/Canada/Mexico – World Premiere
The Girl Who Cried Pearls | Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski | Canada – North American Premiere
Short Cuts Programme 2 (in alphabetical order)
Ambush | Yassmina Karajah | Jordan/Canada – World Premiere
Bots | Rich Williamson | Canada – World Premiere
I Fear Blue Skies | Salar Pashtoonyar | Canada – World Premiere
Not Scared, Just Sad | Isabelle Mecattaf | Lebanon/Bulgaria – World Premiere
Talk Me | Joecar Hanna | Spain/United States of America – North American Premiere
Water Girl | Sandra Desmazières | France/Netherlands/Portugal – North American Premiere
Short Cuts Programme 3 (in alphabetical order)
A South Facing Window | Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir | France/Mongolia – North American Premiere
Asparagus Bear | Ivan Grgur | Croatia – World Premiere
Demons | Kelly Fyffe-Marshall | Canada – World Premiere
Earworm | Patrik Eklund | Sweden – International Premiere
Sea Star | Tyler Mckenzie Evans | Canada – World Premiere
The Non-Actor | Eliza Barry Callahan | United States of America – North American Premiere
What We Leave Behind | Jean-Sébastien Hamel, Alexandra Myotte | Canada – North American Premiere
Short Cuts Programme 4 (in alphabetical order)
Ali | Adnan Al Rajeev | Bangladesh/Philippines – North American Premiere
Dust to Dreams | Idris Elba | Nigeria – World Premiere
Fiction Contract | Carolyn Lazard | United States of America – International Premiere
More Than Happy | Wei Keong Tan | Singapore – World Premiere
ripe | Solara Thanh Bình Đặng | Canada/Vietnam – World Premiere
To the Woods | Agnès Patron | France – North American Premiere
Year of the Dragon | Giran Findlay-Liu | Canada – World Premiere
Short Cuts Programme 5 (in alphabetical order)
Arguments in Favor of Love | Gabriel Abrantes | Portugal – North American Premiere
Dish Pit | Anna Hopkins | Canada – Canadian Premiere
I’m Glad You’re Dead Now | Tawfeek Barhom | France/Greece/Palestine – North American Premiere
Karupy | Kalainithan Kalaichelvan | Canada – World Premiere
Once in a Body | María Cristina Pérez González | Colombia/USA – North American Premiere
Pink Light | Harrison Browne | Canada – World Premiere
Poster Boy | India Opzoomer | Canada – World Premiere
The Contestant | Patrick Xavier Bresnan | USA/Germany – World Premiere
Short Cuts Programme 6 (in alphabetical order)
A Soft Touch | Heather Young | Canada – World Premiere
All the Empty Rooms | Joshua Seftel | United States of America – International Premiere
Divers | Geordie Wood | United States of America – North American Premiere
Niimi | Dana Solomon | Canada – World Premiere
Permanent Guest | Sana Zahra Jafri | Pakistan – World Premiere
The Death of the Fish | Eva Lusbaronian | France – North American Premiere
Strange Cuts
Klee | Gavin Baird | Canada – World Premiere
Marriaginalia | Hannah Cheesman | Canada – World Premiere
Praying Mantis | Joe Hsieh | Taiwan/Hong Kong – North American Premiere
Quietness | Gonçalo Almeida | Spain – World Premiere
Thanks To Meet You! | Richard Hunter | United Kingdom – World Premiere
The Veil | Gabriel Motta | Brazil – World Premiere
UM | Nieto | France – World Premiere
