#TIFF25: DAY SIX SIGHTINGS – COLIN FARRELL, JODIE FOSTER, FALA CHEN, SHU QI, MATT JOHNSON, JAY MCCARROL AND MORE

it’s a bittersweet feeling as we near the half-way point of tiff50. but we are thrilled that we finally get a chance to see some films, which is always what has made this festival so special for us! make no mistake though, there are still some very notable names in-town!

some day six sightings:

•shu qi (pronounced “shoo chee”) at tiff for girl

•rebecca zlotowski and jodie foster at tiff for a private life

•colin farrell and fala chen at tiff for ballad of a small player

•plus a day four flashback with matt johnson and jay mccarrol of nirvanna the band the show the movie

highlights here:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by William Wong (@mrwillwong)

(photo/video credit: mr. will wong)

#TIFF25: “NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE” REVIEW

By Nicholas Porteous

Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol bring Nirvanna The Band The Show to the big screen in what is likely the single most Toronto movie of all time–Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie. For those unfamiliar with the early 2000s web series and VICE TV show–watch it all right now!–but if you can’t, you’ll be completely fine. Matt and Jay once again attempt to land a gig at The Rivoli, only this time they’re unintentionally warped back to 2008–a vastly different era than you might imagine, in a bonkers tribute to Back to the Future (Parts 1 AND 2).

It’s a fool’s errand to try to pin down the magic of Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie in words, but I’ll do my best. It takes place in a hyper-specific and yet all-too-relatable world of stunts and in-jokes, idiotic schemes and deceptively complex filmmaking that wraps Toronto in a thick blanket of Matt and Jay’s mischief, pulling in unsuspecting real humans and manufacturing situations that can’t possibly be real but also can’t possibly be fake. There’s always a question in the air about what percentage of their misadventures is staged and how much is legit–and that’s half the fun. The other half–we’re talking another metric TON of fun, here–is the unhinged situations themselves. Right up front, we get their most daring stunt yet, involving a trip to the top of the CN Tower. A minor qualm–The Movie never totally matches the sheer scope and awe of this opening sequence again. But even if it was just this sequence–The Movie would be worth a full-priced festival ticket.

Explosively gleeful from the first to the final frame, Nirvanna is meant for a big crowd. The sheer volume and length of audience reactions is so intense, you’ll likely miss several jokes at your screening. At 100 convoluted-as-hell minutes, The Movie might be just slightly too dense with ideas, even for its minor runtime. The shorter length of the show and web series gave more license to sustain this very specific level of crazed storytelling in concentrated chonks. Still, there’s nothing else in the world like it. Aside from tracing the faintest outline of Back to the Future, I could never predict where it was heading next, and it’s impossible not to be swept up in the tidal wave of its audacious aura.

The midnight screening is one of the main events at TIFF ’25, but if you can’t secure a spot there, it’s also showing in IMAX–for perhaps the only time EVER–on the 8th. Don’t miss it.

Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie screens at TIFF ’25:

Thurs. Sept 4 at 11:59 PM at The Royal Alexandra Theatre

Mon. Sept 8 at 7:30 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Sat. Sept 13 at 10:30 AM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto