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· collected 2026-09-04 · by Nicole Thompson, Kathryn Mannie and Tara Deschamps The Canadian Press
The Toronto International Film Festival may be shifting more of its focus to the business side of things with the launch of TIFF: The Market, but at its heart, it’s still a place for people to see great cinema.
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people → shift → cinema
From Oscar bait to social media stars breaking into film, The Canadian Press has picked out some of the buzziest titles this year.
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Press → break → titles
BABIES
An increasingly common question for modern couples is whether to have kids and director Lauren Miller Rogen is no exception.
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Rogen → have → kids
When “Babies” was picked up by distributors, she revealed how personal her second feature film is.
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film → pick → distributors
Babies is the exploration of the funny, weird, and life-changing things that happened to me along the way to the answer,” she said in a statement to Deadline.
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she → change → Deadline
The dramedy, set to make its world premiere at TIFF, stars the director’s husband and frequent collaborator, Canadian comedian Seth Rogen, who appears opposite Anna Kendrick.
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who → set → Kendrick
The onscreen couple test drive parenthood when their divorced friend comes to stay with them, toddler in tow.
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friend → drive → tow
Off-screen, the Rogens have been open about choosing not to have kids.
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Rogens → choose → kids
In a 2023 episode of the podcast “Diary of a CEO,” Seth Rogen said he attributed some of his success in Hollywood to not doing the additional work of raising children.
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he → say → children
Before that, he told Howard Stern that his wife was even less interested in having kids than he was.
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he → tell → kids
Seven years after his last film, Werner Herzog returns to the director’s chair with a bizarre tale of sisters who share everything.
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who → return → everything
The renowned German auteur cast real-life siblings Rooney and Kate Mara as the Holbrooke twins, sisters who speak the same, dress the same, and eventually fall for the same man.
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who → cast → man
Eventually, the courts step in.
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courts → step → ?
The film mirrors the true story of British twins whose court case made them a media spectacle in the 1980s when they defended themselves in unison.
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they → mirror → unison
Premiering at the Venice Film Festival the week before TIFF, “Bucking Fastard” was a late — and welcome — addition to the Toronto lineup.
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Fastard → premier → lineup
Cody Fern’s directorial debut comes with a built-in audience, given the filmmaker’s profile.
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debut → come → profile
Fern, an Australian actor, co-wrote the script with Canadian actor Devon Bostick, who recently starred in “Mile End Kicks.”
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who → co → Kicks
He has written a couple of short films before, but this marks his first screenwriting credit on a feature film.
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this → write → film
Fern, meanwhile, has appeared in numerous Ryan Murphy productions including “American Horror Story” and “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.”
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Fern → appear → Versace
The film stars Sarah Paulson — another frequent collaborator of Murphy’s — as Sandra Vale, a famous movie star who invites her estranged family to the opening of her Broadway play after decades without contact.
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who → star → contact
It promises to be an explosive reunion, filled with cutting remarks designed to reopen old wounds.
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It → promise → wounds
CLUB KID
Jordan Firstman is turning out to be another TikTok success story.
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Firstman → turn → ?
The American comedian rose to online prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic for his in-character confessional-style videos.
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comedian → rise → videos
He took that social media fame and spun it into a bona fide film career, first as an actor, including HBO’s “I Love LA,” and now as a director.
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I → take → director
“Club Kid,” his acclaimed first feature film, became one of Cannes’ most talked about movies this spring and reportedly sparked a studio bidding war.
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Kid → become → war
Now, the story of a queer New York party boy who has fatherhood thrust upon him when he finds out he has a 10-year-old son, is coming to TIFF.
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he → thrust → TIFF
Described as heartwarming and sobering, “Club Kid” stars Firstman and child actor Reggie Absolom as father and son, and sees Cara Delevingne return to the silver screen.
Praised for its sentimental charm and unapologetic queerness, “Club Kid” promises hedonistic mania that gives way to touching domesticity and later, despair, mirroring the rise and fall of a partier’s high.
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that → describe → high
The film has also been lauded for its soundtrack and score, the latter of which composed by Canadian Cristobal Tapia de Veer of “White Lotus” fame.
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latter → laud → fame
Jesse Eisenberg has in recent years vaulted from an actor best known for compelling portrayals of socially awkward characters to one of Hollywood’s most exciting new directors.
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Eisenberg → vault → directors
His debut feature, “When You Finish Saving the World,” came out in 2022 but he really broke through with 2024’s “A Real Pain,” which saw Kieran Culkin take home an Academy Award and was nominated for best screenplay.
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Culkin → finish → screenplay
Its followup, “The Debut,” is among the more talked-about films headed to Toronto.
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followup → talk → Toronto
It stars Julianne Moore as a bored suburban housewife who lands a role in a community theatre production and is determined to give the performance of a lifetime while clashing with the show’s tyrannical director, portrayed by Paul Giamatti.
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who → star → Giamatti
Poking fun at the self-serious world of community theatre (in the vein of Christopher Guest’s iconic 1996 film “Waiting for Guffman”), early reports suggest “The Debut” ultimately has a soft spot for its subject.
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Debut → poke → subject
His first stint in the director’s chair came in 2003’s political satire “Head of State,” and his next two films (released in 2007 and 2014) were romantic comedies.
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films → come → 2007
“Misty Green” promises a much more serious cinematic experience.
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Green → promise → experience
Rosalind Eleazar, best known for her role in the Apple TV Plus show “Slow Horses,” stars as the titular character, a down-on-her-luck actress who was once the toast of Hollywood.
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who → know → Hollywood
She’s looking for one last break as she struggles to make ends meet while supporting her mentally ill brother.
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ends → look → brother
Though the film is a showpiece for Eleazar’s talents, she’s supported by an All-Star cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Adam Driver and Anna Kendrick.
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she → support → cast
Long before this documentary was anywhere close to completion, it had rankled its subject — the world’s richest man.
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it → rankle → subject
Elon Musk took to X in 2023 to label it “a hit piece.”
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Musk → take → it
…and 23 more, not listed.
