Frontmezzjunkies reports: TIFF Classics Series Announced
TORONTO — TIFF is celebrating its 50th edition with a robust Classics programme, presented by MUBI, and supported by Ontario Creates and the Canada Council for the Arts. Programmed by Robyn Citizen, TIFF’s Director of Programming, and Senior Curator Andréa Picard, TIFF Classics offers audiences a curated selection of influential classic films from around the world. Presented in a slate of new 4K restorations, these landmark works return to the big screen to be experienced as they were meant to be seen, and are presented alongside special 50th anniversary screenings of Jaws in 35mm. The 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, presented by Rogers, will take place September 4–14, 2025.
An exhilarating and eclectic mix, this year’s Classics comprise a wide breadth, from lesser-known films from established auteurs, discoveries, films with rising cult status, and revered blockbusters. Rarely shown and largely out of circulation, Aniki-Bóbó is the impressive debut by the late, great Portuguese filmmaker Manoel de Oliveira; a sly, delightful children’s tale set in a working-class neighbourhood in Porto. Once voted the best Iranian film of all time, Bashu, the Little Stranger by Iranian New Wave pioneer Bahram Beyzaie, tells the story of a boy orphaned by the Iraq-Iran war with pathos and gentle humour. Satyajit Ray’s lesser-known modernist masterpiece Days and Nights in the Forest is incandescent in this new restoration, initiated by Wes Anderson. Rediscoveries of trailblazing voices include The Archby T’ang Shushuen, adapted from a 17th-century Chinese tale and one of the first independent films made in Hong Kong (and by a woman), and iconoclast Michael Almereyda’s hip interpretation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula by way of nineties New York in Nadja, which first premiered at TIFF in 1994. Finally, celebrating its 50th anniversary alongside TIFF is Steven Spielberg’s iconic summer blockbuster chiller Jaws, presented in 35mm as a Canadian exclusive.
2025 Classics (in alphabetical order)
Aniki-Bóbó | Manoel de Oliveira | Portugal | 1942
North American Premiere of 4K restoration
Bashu, the Little Stranger(Bashu Gharibeh Kouchak) | Bahram Beyzaie | Iran | 1986
North American Premiere of 4K restoration
Days and Nights in the Forest (Aranyer Din Ratri) | Satyajit Ray | India | 1970
North American Premiere of 4K restoration
Jaws | Steven Spielberg | USA | 1975
50th Anniversary – 35mm Canadian exclusive
Nadja | Michael Almereyda | USA | 1994
World Premiere of 4K restoration
Sholay | Ramesh Sippy | India | 1975
50th Anniversary and North American Premiere of 4K restoration | Gala (previously announced), co-presented by Classics
The Arch (董夫人) | T’ang Shushuen | Hong Kong | 1968
North American Premiere of 4K restoration
Tickets go on sale to TIFF Members by level beginning on Friday, August 15. For more details, visit tiff.net/join. The full Festival schedule will be released on Tuesday, August 12. The 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, presented by Rogers, runs September 4–14, 2025.
