The 49th annual Toronto International Film Festival is just around the corner, and, pretty soon, it’s going to be all anyone in the city will be able to talk about. Running from September 5th to the 15th, movie lovers from around the globe will gather in the city for the star-studded event, during which some of the year’s most-anticipated movies will be screening. But let’s not forget that TIFF is also a tremendous showcase of homegrown talent and Canadian film—films that tell the story of our country. At TIFF 2024, you’ll find themes of togetherness, self-discovery, cultural preservation, community and more exploring Canadian art, culture and identity. Keep scrolling to discover some of the must-see Canadian films at TIFF 2024. 

TIFF 2024 Film: 40 Acres 

 

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Calgary-born writer and director R.T. Thorne is the director behind some of your favourite music videos—from Sean Paul’s “Temperature,” Shawn Desman’s “Shiver” and DJ Khaled’s ,“Staying Alive” featuring Drake and Lil Baby—as well as episodes of Degrassi: Next Generation and Degrassi: Next Class. Now, Thorne brings you 40 Acres, a dystopian film in which Black and Indigenous characters are at the forefront. 

The movie is set in a post-apocalyptic future where food is limited and follows the last descendants of a Black family of farmers (who settled in rural Canada in 1875 after the American Civil War) are thriving in isolation. Hailey Freeman (Danielle Deadwyler), a former soldier, and her partner, Galen Freeman (Michael Greyeyes) have taught their children how to fight and survive in this harsh reality. But when Hailey’s eldest, Emanuel (Kataem O’Connor), meets a young woman (Milcania Diaz-Rojas) just beyond their fence, their peace—and land—comes under threat.

TIFF 2024 Film: Bonjour Tristesse 

 

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Bonjour Tristesse is Montreal filmmaker Durga Chew-Bose’s adaptation of the 1954 Françoise Sagan novel of the same name. (The coming-of-age tale was so controversial for, among other things, its depiction of sex and relationship dynamics, it received a papal denunciation.) The story follows 18-year-old Cécile (Lily McInerny) and her father, Raymond (Claes Bang), who leads a tumultuous life as a womanizer. We meet the pair at the height of a summer holiday on the French seaside, where they are with Raymond’s lover Elsa (Naïlia Harzoune)—who is close in age to Cécile.Their trip is interrupted by a visit from friend (Chloë Sevigny) of Cécile’s late mother, leading to a summer of adultery, unearthed truths and revelations, all while the film digs into the labyrinthine nature of relationships among women.

TIFF 2024 Film: The Mother and the Bear 

Chinese Canadian filmmaker Johnny Ma returns to TIFF with The Mother and the Bear, a mother-daughter story audiences are sure to connect with. Set in a snowy Winnipeg, school teacher Sumi (Leere Park) is hospitalized after a fall and is now comatose. Her mother, Sara (Kim Ho-jung), then leaves her home in Seoul to be by her daughter’s side—only to discover that she has been excluded from a hidden world: Sumi’s real life. 

TIFF 2024 Film: Sharp Corner 

It has been 12 years since Nova Scotian filmmaker Jason Buxton’s captivating debut Blackbird, which means it’s been a long wait for his second. Sharp Corner opens with a shock: on the very night Josh (Ben Foster) and Rachel (Cobie Smulders) move away from the city into their new suburban home, a car crashes into a tree on their front lawn. The driver dies and the passengers are injured. This leads Josh to discover that car accidents are a frequent occurrence in their neighbourhood, which in turn fuels his obsession with finding a solution—learning CPR, policing the street. But the more obsessive and righteous Josh becomes, the more Rachel questions his true motivations. Is he truly a good samaritan, or is something more sinister unfolding?

TIFF 2024 Film: Really Happy Someday 

Directed by Calgary-born filmmaker J Stevens (who previously directed episodes of CBC’s Sort Of), Really Happy Someday is a story about Z (Breton Lalama, a producer and writer on the film), who was just finding his step in the Toronto musical-theatre scene before testosterone injections altered his vocal register. Determined to retrain his voice and continue doing what he loves, Z enlists the help of a vocal coach named Shelly (Ali Garrison). Really Happy Someday is a story about community, self-discovery and self-love—a story drawn from the lived experiences of Stevens and Lalama. 

TIFF 2024 Film: Seeds 

 

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Born in Ottawa and hailing from the banks of Saint-Lawrence, Kaniehtiio Horn (known for her roles in Letterkenny and Alice, Darling) now returns as the writer, director, and lead of revenge thriller Seeds. Horn plays Ziggy, a Toronto-based bike courier and influencer who has just landed a new client: a seed and fertilizer company. But when she returns to her community to house-sit for her aunt, Ziggy’s cousin (Dallas Goldtooth), offers two warnings: beware the shady things that happen around the aunt’s house, and don’t trust the seed company. Things begin to take a dark turn and Ziggy finds herself needing to protect her life and her home. 

TIFF 2024 Film: Shook 

 

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Born in Mumbai and a graduate of York University’s acclaimed film program, Amar Wala makes his dramatic feature debut with Shook. The movie is about struggling writer Ashish (Saamer Usmani), who spends most of his time in coffee shops (where he begins to fall for a barista) and out at clubs with friends—until he runs into his estranged father Vijay (Bernard White), that is. It turns out Vijay has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, and this news places everything into perspective for Ashish and begins to alter his priorities. Set in Scarborough and the GTA, this story takes us through themes of identity, love and self-discovery. 

TIFF 2024 Film: Aberdeen 

Writers Ryan Cooper and Eva Thomas make their feature directorial debut with Aberdeen, which follows the titular character (Gail Maurice) as she fights for her family, her grandchildren and another chance at life. As an adult, Aberdeen has grown distant from the Peguis First Nation community she grew up in, and is now houseless in Winnipeg. But when her brother (Ryan Black) becomes ill, landing her grandchildren in foster care, she must figure out how to navigate a difficult, unwelcoming system, fight generational trauma and maybe find a way back home.

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