New Steven Soderbergh, Nia DaCosta Films to Premiere at Toronto International Film Festival

Steven Soderbergh’s “The Christophers,” Alejandro Amenábar’s “The Captive,” Byun Sung-hyun’s “Good News,” Nia DaCosta’s “Hedda” and Chandler Levack’s “Mile End Kicks” are among the films that will have their world premieres at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF organizers announced on Thursday.

The five films will be part of the festival’s Special Presentation section. They join the opening-night selection, Colin Hanks’ documentary “John Candy: I Like Me,” as the first films to be announced by TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey.

Soderbergh’s “The Christophers” is written by Ed Solomon and stars Ian McKellen, Michaela Coel, James Corden and Jessica Gunning; it focuses on the estranged children of a famous artist, who hire a forger to finish their father’s uncompleted paintings.

“The Captive” is a historical drama focusing on the time that “Don Quixote” author Miguel de Cervantes spent in an Algerian prison. The Chilean-Spanish director Amenábar’s previous films include “The Others,” “Open Your Eyes,” “While at War” and the Oscar-winning “The Sea Inside.”

“Good News” is the latest film from South Korean director Byun Sung-hyun, who is best known for the action films “The Merciless” and “Kill Boksoon.”

“Hedda” is an adaptation of the Henrik Ibsen play “Hedda Gabler” from director Nia DaCosta (“Little Woods,” “Candyman,” “The Marvels” and the upcoming “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple”), with a cast that includes Tessa Thompson, Imogen Poots and Tom Bateman.

Mile End Kicks” is the second feature from Canadian director Chandler Levack, whose feature debut “I Like Movies” premiered at TIFF in 2022. The film is set in Montreal’s Mile End music scene that Levack chronicled when she was a young music critic.

“These first five films of our Official Selection reflect the innovation, heart and global perspective that have made our festival a home for great cinema over the past 50 editions.” Bailey said in a statement accompanying the announcement of the five films. “We’re excited to kick off our Special Presentations with Chandler Levack’s ‘Mile End Kicks,’ a young Canadian director who has close ties to TIFF in addition to these established directors.”

This year marks the 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, which began in 1976 as the Festival of Festivals and began using the TIFF name as well two years later, dropping the “Festival of Festivals” name entirely in 1994.

The 2025 festival will run from Sept. 4-14, 2025.