#TIFF: TIFF ANNOUNCE 2025 CANADA’S TOP TEN LIST

TIFF is announcing its annual Canada’s Top Ten list, celebrating the year’s most outstanding Canadian feature films and shorts. The 25th edition of Canada’s Top Ten, presented by MUBI, runs February 5–8, 2026 at the Lightbox. Audiences will have an opportunity to catch screenings of these films during the four-day showcase.

Among the 10 features in the 2025 selection is Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband), the winner of the Best Canadian Feature Film Award at TIFF ’25, at which director Zacharias Kunuk was also honoured with a Special Tribute Award. Two more highlights of this year’s Canada’s Top Ten, Chandler Levack’s second feature Mile End Kicks and Bretten Hannam’s third feature and Platform selection Sk+te’kmujue’katik (At the Place of Ghosts), both made their World Premieres at TIFF ’25. This year’s lineup also features four debut feature-length films: Sophy Romvari’s Blue Heron, recipient of the Best Canadian Discovery Award at TIFF ’25 and the First Feature Award at the Locarno Film Festival; Eric K. Boulianne’s French-language comedy Follies; Kid Koala’s animated film Space Cadet; and Amalie Atkins’ Agatha’s Almanac, named Best Canadian Feature Documentary at Hot Docs 2025. Another standout, Tuner, marks the narrative debut of Daniel Roher, whose documentary Navalny won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2023.

Further highlights include Matt Johnson’s Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, recipient of the TIFF ’25 People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award; and The Things You Kill, Canada’s official Oscar submission for Best International Feature, from Iranian-Canadian director Alireza Khatami.

The short film lineup includes seven films that screened at this year’s Festival, including Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski’s The Girl Who Cried Pearls, which won the Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film and was recently included on the Academy Awards shortlist in the category of Best Animated Short Film; Heather Young’s A Soft Touch, which earned an honourable mention from the jury; and Klee, a mashup of body horror and Prairie Gothic by director Gavin Baird. See the full list of short films below.

“This year’s Canada’s Top Ten films reflect the remarkable breadth of perspectives shaping contemporary Canadian cinema,” said Anita Lee, TIFF’s Chief Programming Officer. “Spanning globally minded stories and deeply personal visions, these films reveal the profound ways Canadian artists are interpreting the world around them. I’m especially inspired to see four first features in the lineup, an exciting testament to the bold new voices emerging across the country. I’d like to acknowledge all the Canadian programmers from coast to coast that participated in Top Ten.”

The opening ceremony for Canada’s Top Ten will take place on February 5 to celebrate this year’s selections, including a presentation of the second annual Charles Officer Legacy Award by TIFF: The Market and CBC. This award recognizes a Black Canadian director and/or writer whose body of work exemplifies the creative excellence, strong point of view, and community-mindedness of the award-winning late filmmaker. Last year’s winner was Montreal-based filmmaker Miryam Charles.

A selection of Canada’s Top Ten films will once again be featured in TIFF’s popular Donald Shebib Film Circuit. The programme provides access to 100+ Circuit locations in rural, remote, and under-served communities that otherwise would not have an opportunity to see these films, extending their theatrical life beyond their initial release.

TIFF Members have early access to tickets starting Thursday, January 15 at 12pm, and public tickets go on sale on Friday, January 16 at 12pm.

Canada’s Top Ten Feature Films

Sk+te’kmujue’katik (At the Place of Ghosts) | dir. Bretten Hannam | English, Mi’kmaw, French

This is directed by acclaimed Two-Spirit, L’nu filmmaker Bretten Hannam, has been selected as part of TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten for 2025, celebrating the year’s outstanding Canadian feature films and shorts. 

The film will screen at TIFF Lightbox from February 5–8, 2026, ahead of its theatrical release on March 6, 2026 by VVS Films.

Siblings Mise’l and Antle, close confidants as children, have drifted apart as adults. When a malevolent spirit begins tormenting them, the siblings are forced to reunite and journey into Sk+te’kmujue’katik (the Place of Ghosts), a primordial forest that exists outside of time, to confront their violent upbringing.

Agatha’s Almanac | dir. Amalie Atkins | English

Blue Heron | dir. Sophy Romvari | English, Hungarian

Follies | dir. Eric K. Boulianne | French

Mile End Kicks | dir. Chandler Levack | English

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie | dir. Matt Johnson | English

Space Cadet | dir. Kid Koala | no dialogue

The Things You Kill | dir. Alireza Khatami | Turkish

Tuner | dir. Daniel Roher | English

Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband) | dir. Zacharias Kunuk | Inuktitut

Canada’s Top Ten Short Films

A Soft Touch | dir. Heather Young | 20 minutes | English

Ambush | dir. Yassmina Karajah | 21 minutes | Arabic

Jazz Infernal | dir. Will Niava | 16 minutes | French

Klee | dir. Gavin Baird | 20 minutes | English

La Mayordomía | dir. Martin Edralin | 23 minutes | Spanish

Lloyd Wong, Unfinished | dir. Lesley Loksi Chan | 29 minutes | English

Pidikwe (Rumble) | dir. Caroline Monnet | 10 minutes | no dialogue

Ramón Who Speaks to Ghosts | dir. Shervin Kermani | 8 minutes | Spanish

ripe | dir. Solara Thanh Bình Đặng | 19 minutes | Vietnamese

The Girl Who Cried Pearls | dirs. Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski | 17 minutes | English, French

On February 5, TIFF: The Market will host a session focused on the Canadian screen sector. Charles Tremblay, Head of Market, and Geoff McNaughton, Vice President, Market Programming & Theatrical, will lead an in‑depth discussion, followed by a panel featuring Market Advisory Committee members, offering guidance to Canadian creators and companies on navigating next September’s launch of The Market. For registration details, please visit here.

Canada’s Top Ten is selected by TIFF programming in consultation with programmers from festivals across the country, including:

Atlantic International Film Festival

Calgary International Film Festival

Edmonton International Film Festival

Festival du Nouveau Cinéma de Montréal

Gimli International Film Festival

imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival

REGARD: Le Festival international du court métrage au Saguenay

Reel Canada

Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montréal (RIDM)

Toronto Outdoor Picture Show

Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival

Vancouver International Film Festival

Windsor International Film Festival