TIFF Lightbox 2025 November/December programming highlights

After a milestone 50th Festival, TIFF is finishing the year strong with a winter slate featuring three retrospectives, tributes, anticipated new restorations, a selection of offbeat and traditional holiday films, and special guests at the Lightbox. Luc Moullet: High Altitude celebrates the reappraisal of the irreverent French filmmaker and one of the last living members of the nouvelle vague with newly-restored features and rarely-screened shorts, following retrospectives in New York and Los Angeles. Lyon-born Lucile Hadzihalilovic is spotlighted in Growing Pains: Lucile Hadzihalilovic’s New Worlds, a retrospective timed with the release of her latest film, The Ice Tower. Joining a North American tour organized by leading film institutions, TIFF Cinematheque presents its most extensive retrospective of Japanese visionary Mikio Naruse since his centennial in 2005.

TIFF also pays tribute to screen legend Robert Redford with Special Screenings of Ordinary People and The Sting, celebrating his legacy as a director and actor. Ahead of Viola Desmond Day on November 8, TIFF presents a free 35mm screening of Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit hosted by Jully Black on November 7. Other highlights include the Canadian premiere of the 2K restoration of Mary Stephen’s Ombres de soie; a centennial screening of Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush and a 30th anniversary screening of The White Balloon in 35mm by Jafar Panahi, whose TIFF 50 Official Selection It Was Just an Accident opens at the Lightbox on October 24.

For the holidays, the popular Magnificent 70mm series returns with widescreen classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Top Gun. Alternative festive favourites include the 25th anniversary screening of American Psycho with filmmaker Mary Harron in attendance on December 5, the 35th anniversary of Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands; and Lynne Ramsay’s Morvern Callar starring Samantha Morton, both screening in 35mm. Audiences can also catch Ramsay’s latest, Die My Love, at the Lightbox starting November 7. Plus, TIFF will once again screen Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, continuing its New Year’s Eve tradition. Rounding out the celebration is the return of TIFF’s popular Sing Along series hosted by local performers and packed with fun!

Look out for buzzworthy New Releases playing at the Lightbox in November, including Richard Linklater’s TIFF 50 features Blue Moon and the much-anticipated Nouvelle Vague; Harris Dickinson’s directorial debut Urchin, and Luca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt, screening in glorious 35mm. An exciting December lineup including Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent (TIFF 50), is on the way, just in time for the holidays, packed with awards-season hopefuls and hidden gems. Visit tiff.net for more details.

Tickets for November programming will be available to TIFF Members on Wednesday, October 15, and to the public on Friday, October 17. Tickets for December programming will be available to TIFF Members on Wednesday, November 12, and to the public on Friday, November 14. See tiff.net for up-to-date programming.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

TIFF Cinematheque

Luc Moullet: High Altitude with series curator Andréa Picard
November 1–23
TIFF Cinematheque is presenting a tribute to Luc Moullet, a major figure in French independent cinema and one of the last living filmmakers and critics from la nouvelle vague. Luc Moullet: High Altitude includes seven new feature restorations (courtesy of Cinema Guild) and four rarely-screened short films, which testify to Moullet’s singular brand of irreverence, satirical social commentary, and his passion for a certain Alpine landscape. Highlights include his 1966 debut feature, Brigitte et Brigitte, which Godard hailed as “revolutionary,” his Jean Vigo Prize–winning The Comedy of Work, and one of the greatest films made about cinephilia, Les Sièges de l’Alcazar. Curated by TIFF Senior Curator Andréa Picard, guests in this series include Dylan Adamson and Will Sloan.

Growing Pains: Lucile Hadzihalilovic’s New Worlds with guest curator Saffron Maeve
November 7–23
Spanning 30 years, Lucile Hadzihalilovic’s five features and three shorts offer a cinema of domestic dystopias — cloistered children, their odd caretakers, and the ominous higher-ups who pull the strings. Enduringly attuned to the ways that childhood is thwarted by the disorienting (and often violent) shift into adolescence, the French filmmaker has spent her career fashioning perverse fairytales, from the dreamy and sinister boarding school reverie Innocence to her latest, Marion Cotillard–starring The Ice Tower. Curated by film critic and curator Saffron Maeve.

Daughters, Wives, and Mothers: The Films of Mikio Naruse with series curator Robyn Citizen
November 28 – January 25
TIFF Cinematheque celebrates the 120th anniversary of Japanese filmmaker Mikio Naruse with a 19-film retrospective. Featuring six imported 35mm prints from the Japan Foundation, the tribute is currently touring North America with stops including Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Winnipeg. A devoted chronicler of Japan’s “shomin” — the common people — Naruse focused on resilient, flawed women navigating postwar social upheavals. The filmmaker’s frequent collaborations with Hideko Takamine and novelist Fumiko Hayashi are highlighted in this retrospective following his evolution from the stylistic flair and optimism of early films like Morning’s Tree-Lined Street to the understated visuals and emotional precision of later masterpieces such as Floating Clouds and When A Woman Ascends the Stairs. Curated by Robyn Citizen, TIFF Director of Programming & Platform Lead.

Generously supported by the Japan Foundation, Toronto.

See the North presented by MUBI

• November 4, 6:30pm: Jean of the Joneses (2016) dir. Stella Meghie, with recorded introduction by the director

• December 9, 6:30pm: Meditation Park (2017) dir. Mina Shum

TIFF Family Films

• November 8, 1:15pm: The White Balloon (1995) dir. Jafar Panahi, 30th anniversary, 35mm!

From the Collection with Cameron Bailey

• November 11 , 6:30pm: A Separation (2011) dir. Ashgar Farhadi, 35mm!

• December 2, 6:30pm: An Education (2009) dir. Lone Scherfig, 35mm!

TIFF Wavelengths Presents

• November 12, 6:30pm: Hair, Paper, Water... (2025) dirs. Nicolas Graux & Trương Minh Quý, with recorded introduction by the directors

• December 3, 7:00pm: Heart of the World: 50 years of the Winnipeg Film Group with guest curator Vivian Belik

MDFF Selects

• November 27, 6:30pm: Fiume o morte! (2025) dir. Igor Bezinović

TIFF Next Wave Presents

• November 26, 6:30pm: The Pee Pee Poo Poo Man (2024) dir. Braden Sitter Sr., with New Toronto Bizarre, post-screening Q&A with the director

TIFF Special Screenings

• November 1, 3:30pm and November 2, 4pm: Robert Redford tribute featuring Ordinary People (1980) dir. Robert Redford, 45th anniversary, and The Sting (1973) dir. George Roy Hill

TIFF Cinematheque New & Restored

• November 15, 2pm: The Gold Rush (1925) dir. Charlie Chaplin, 100th anniversary, new 4K restoration!

• November 15 & 25, 6:30pm: The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005) dir. Cristi Puiu, 20th anniversary, digital restoration

• November 20, 6:30pm: Ombres de soie (1978) dir. Mary Stephen, post-show recorded Q&A with the director, Canadian Premiere of new 2K restoration

TIFF Public Programming Spotlight: Special Guests & Signature Events

• November 7, 9:30pm: Free event! Viola Desmond Day: Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993) dir. Bill Duke, with special guest Jully Black
  To commemorate the 79th anniversary of Viola Desmond’s historic stand against racial segregation on November 8, 1946, TIFF proudly presents a free 35mm screening of Bill Duke’s beloved sequel to Sister Act, co-curated by “Canada’s Queen of R&B Soul” Jully Black. Before the screening, Black will join TIFF for an onstage conversation moderated by Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe, host-producer of The Block on CBC Music, about how the film shaped her voice and its enduring message, in Black’s words, “that music can be protest and praise all at once.”

• November 12, 8pm: TIFF Advance Screening: The Running Man (2025) dir. Edgar Wright, in-person Q&A with the director
  Edgar Wright attending! TIFF Members’ exclusive special screening of The Running Man, followed by a conversation with screenplay writer-director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Last Night in Soho) about the process of adapting Stephen King’s prescient novel for the big screen. Tickets will go on sale for TIFF Members on Wednesday, October 22 at 10am.

• November 22, 1pm: Princess Mononoke (1997) dir. Hayao Miyazaki, with Skills for Change
  Marking the 40th anniversary of Studio Ghibli, TIFF Community Impact is thrilled to join Skills for Change to co-present a new 4K restoration of Hayao Miyazaki’s eco-masterpiece Princess Mononoke. Before the screening, representatives from Skills for Change’s Youth Climate Action Initiative (YCAI) will join TIFF for an onstage conversation about mobilizing youth as leaders in building sustainable futures.

• December 6, 12pm: Free event! Silver Screenings: Amélie (2001) dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, with TIFF Next Wave
  TIFF Silver Screenings, a film community for seniors, teams up with the TIFF Next Wave Committee for an intergenerational screening of Amélie, winner of the People’s Choice Award at TIFF ’01. Audrey Tautou stars as the titular character in this nostalgic romantic comedy about a quirky waitress who combats isolation through her vivid imagination, and seeks connection with her fellow Parisians through random acts of kindness. Before the screening, audiences can join TIFF for a talk and activities inspired by the film’s bold visual style.

Holiday Programming Listings

Tickets to Cinematheque series are free to TIFF Members. 70mm and Special Presentations have paid ticketing. Ticket pricing can be found here.

TIFF Public Programming Spotlight: Special Guests & Signature Events

Sing Alongs: Mary Poppins, The Greatest Showman, and The Lion King
December 14, 18, 20
TIFF’s Sing Along screenings return with a lineup of beloved movie musicals for all ages that celebrate spectacle, everyday magic, and finding joy together. Award-winning comedian Martha Chaves hosts Mary Poppins on December 14, and The Greatest Showman on December 18. Actor Salvatore Antonio, who played Scar in the latest Toronto production of Disney’s The Lion King, hosts the beloved 1994 animated story of Simba on December 20. Fun for the whole family, these immersive events will feature warm-up activities, prop bags, and onscreen lyrics.

TIFF Cinematheque

Magnificent 70mm
December 5 – January 1
Spend your winter in widescreen with the return of Magnificent 70mm. This holiday season, TIFF Cinematheque presents a slate of rare 70mm prints including favourites like 2001: A Space Odyssey, North by Northwest, and Top Gun. TIFF is one of the few theatres in Toronto where audiences can watch classics on 70mm and celebrate the way these films were meant to be seen.

TIFF Special Screenings

• November 8, 4:15pm and November 22, 4pm: Morvern Callar (2002) dir. Lynne Ramsay, 35mm!

• December 5, 6:30pm: American Psycho (2000) dir. Mary Harron, in-person Q&A with the director, 25th anniversary

• December 31, 6:30pm: Eyes Wide Shut (1999) dir. Stanley Kubrick

TIFF Family Films

• December 28, 4pm: Edward Scissorhands (1990) dir. Tim Burton, 35th anniversary, 35mm!