The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced its full schedule and program today. The 49th edition of the festival will take place September 5-15, 2024 in Toronto and feature 278 films on its slate — including a good mix of films and episodic projects by and featuring LGBTQ talent.
Josh Greenbaum‘s Will & Harper will have its international premiere at TIFF. The documentary bowed at Sundance earlier this year and it follows Saturday Night Live alumni and close friends Will Ferrell and Harper Steele on a cross-country trip after Steele announced her transition.
Ahead of the film’s wide release on Netflix, Sydney Freeland‘s Rez Ball is set to debut at TIFF. Produced by new Olympic gold medalist LeBron James, Rez Ball is set in the Navajo Nation and spotlights the inspiring story of the Chuska Warriors basketball team in their quest for championship glory after a devastating loss.
Known for dipping his toe in LGTBQ narratives and themes (or sometimes doing a full dive), Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name, Challengers) will premiere Queer, inspired by William S. Burroughs’s autobiographical novel, the drama stars Daniel Craig, Jason Schwartzman, and Lesley Manville. Queer is described as “a hallucinogenic odyssey bathed in aching desire”.
Documentaries Elton John: Never Too Late and Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara will have their world premiere at TIFF while filmmakers Rachel Morrison and Rebel Wilson will make their feature directorial debuts at the fest with The Fire Inside and The Deb, respectively. With the Olympics fresh on our minds, The Fire Inside chronicles the real life of two-time gold medal boxer Claressa Shields (played by Ryan Destiny). Meanwhile, Wilson steps behind the camera for a musical comedy in The Deb.
In On Swift Horses, Daniel Minahan (who has directed episodes of Fellow Travelers and Halston) adapts the Shannon Pufahl novel with Daisy Edgar-Jones playing Muriel, a newlywed married to Will Poulter‘s Lee. When Lee’s wayward brother Julius (Jacob Elordi) visits them, he causes a bit of a stir with Muriel. He ends up in Las Vegas where he befriends Henry (Diego Calva) — all the while he stays in contact with Muriel.
There are tons of international LGBTQ titles including Canadian filmmaker J Stevens‘s world premiere of Really Happy Someday which follows a music theater star, Z (Breton Lalama) before his transition. Set in present-day Berlin, Sad Jokes from Fabian Stumm follows the life of Joseph (Stumm) and Sonya (Haley Louise Jones) who are co-parenting a child. Joseph is still trying to navigate a breakup with his boyfriend Marc (Jonas Dassler) while Sonya is suffering from depression. In Trương Minh Quý‘s Viet and Nam, we see an intimate romance between the titular miners — 1,000 meters underground.
Whether it is filmmakers, characters, stories, or actors in the project, the TIFF lineup is filled with queerness from in front of and behind the camera.
In addition, there are great movies that aren’t necessarily queer, but definitely speak to LGBTQ audiences. This includes The Last Showgirl starring Pamela Anderson, Alfonso Cuarón‘s Disclaimer starring Cate Blanchett, and Pedro Almodóvar‘s The Room Next Door starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore
Halina Reijn, who directed Bodies Bodies Bodies is set to debut Babygirl at TIFF. The film stars Nicole Kidman as a high-powered executive who risks everything when she starts a sexual relationship with an intern (Harris Dickinson). Karrie Crouse and Will Joines‘s psychological thriller Hold Your Breath starring Sarah Paulson will also make its world premiere.
Below, GLAAD has curated a list of queer-centered, and other queer-friendly films, episodic projects and shorts. Click here to read the complete schedule for TIFF ’24.
FEATURES AND DOCUMENTARIES
DAUGHTER’S DAUGHTER
Huang Xi
World Premiere
This emotionally faceted, masterfully assembled second feature from Huang Xi stars screen legend Sylvia Chang as a woman forced to decide the fate of her recently deceased daughter’s embryo.
THE DEB
Rebel Wilson
World Premiere
Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut is a bold, outrageous, and funny Australian musical about two very different teenage cousins who initially clash but eventually join forces to make their mark on their town’s annual debutante ball.
DO I KNOW YOU FROM SOMEWHERE?
Arianna Martinez
World Premiere
Several years after their meet-cute — at a wedding, of course — Olive (Caroline Bell) and Benny (Ian Ottis Goff) are spending an entirely ordinary day at their lake house. Until, that is, things start to shift, little by little. At first it’s just an apparently misplaced package or some scrambled letters on the fridge. Then, it’s more meaningful stuff. And then, almost casually, Olive finds Benny replaced by a woman named Ada (Mallory Amirault), who can’t understand why Olive doesn’t know her. They’ve been together for years, after all. Since they met at that wedding.
ELTON JOHN: NEVER TOO LATE
R.J. Cutler, David Furnish
World Premiere
With candid interviews and newly revealed archival footage, co-directors R.J. Cutler and David Furnish, Sir Elton John’s husband, paint a riveting and highly intimate portrait of a musical icon and trailblazer.
EMILIA PEREZ
Jacques Audiard
Canadian Premiere
Featuring fearless performances from Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez, and the amazing Karla Sofía Gascón, the latest from director Jacques Audiard (Rust and Bone, TIFF ’12; The Sisters Brothers, TIFF ’18) audaciously merges pop opera, narco thriller, and gender affirmation drama.
FANATICAL: THE CATFISHING OF TEGAN AND SARA
Erin Lee Carr
World Premiere
This gripping documentary charts the global rise of Canadian pop duo Tegan and Sara, their advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community, and their at once liberating and fraught relationship with social media.
THE FIRE INSIDE
Rachel Morrison
World Premiere
Renowned cinematographer Rachel Morrison makes her feature directorial debut with this film about boxer Claressa Shields’ true-life ascent to the Olympics. It’s a unique sports story that goes beyond the triumph of the underdog to ask what comes after.
LINDA
Mariana Wainstein
World Premiere
Self-assured, mysterious, and captivating Linda agrees to work at an affluent home in Buenos Aires. Her charm sparks strong sexual attraction among all members of the family, exposing how fragile their externally happy veneer really is.
LOVE IN THE BIG CITY
E.oni
World Premiere
No one believes roommates Jae-hee and Heung-soo are just friends, but they’re used to being misunderstood. Kim Go-eun and Steve Sanghyun Noh star in this romance exploring how young adults live and love in the big city of Seoul.
MISERICORDIA
Alain Guiraudie
Canadian Premiere
The latest feature by acclaimed French writer-director Alain Guiraudie (Stranger by the Lake, TIFF ’13) is a deliciously twisted tale of sexual repression in a small town marked by death.
MY SUNSHINE
Hiroshi Okuyama
North American Premiere
From Hiroshi Okuyama, a rising star in Japanese cinema, this beautifully crafted film follows adolescent figure skaters as they navigate budding emotions. It evokes the nuanced storytelling of master director Kore-eda Hirokazu.
ON SWIFT HORSES
Daniel Minahan
World Premiere
Set in the 1950s, this gorgeous adaptation of Shannon Pufahl’s 2019 novel follows a seemingly sensible newlywed (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her wayward brother-in-law (Priscilla’s Jacob Elordi) as they undertake parallel journeys of risk, romance, and self-discovery.
THE PARADISE OF THORNS
Boss Kuno
International Premiere
When a tragedy takes Sek away from Thongkam, it’s as though the whole world is denying the love between the two men. Thongkam has no option but to fight for the fruits of his labour and love.
QUEER
Luca Guadagnino
North American Premiere
Brilliant, audacious author, meet brilliant, audacious director: it takes chutzpah to translate the work of William S. Burroughs for the screen, but Oscar-nominated filmmaker Luca Guadagnino’s (Call Me by Your Name, TIFF ’17) spin on the Beat legend’s autobiographical novel matches its source material in vulnerability and taboo-smashing adventurousness. Starring Daniel Craig (Knives Out, TIFF ’19) and featuring supporting turns from Jason Schwartzman (Quiz Lady, TIFF ’23) and Oscar nominee Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread), Queer is a hallucinogenic odyssey bathed in aching desire.
REALLY HAPPY SOMEDAY
J Stevens
World Premiere
A rising musical-theatre star before his transition, Z (Breton Lalama) has to figure out how to sing in his new register in order to return to the thing he loves most — and, in the process, integrate his past and present selves.
REZ BALL
Sydney Freeland
World Premiere
Set in the beautiful Navajo Nation, Rez Ball shares the inspiring story of the Chuska Warriors basketball team in their quest for championship glory after a devastating loss. Executive produced by LeBron James.
SAD JOKES
Fabian Stumm
International Premiere
Set in present-day Berlin, this tragicomical second feature from writer-director-actor Fabian Stumm poignantly portrays modern queer life and the perseverance required of an artist.
SWEET ANGEL BABY
Melanie Oates
World Premiere
Eliza is an unassuming and beloved member of a small fishing community in Newfoundland who sees all of her relationships put in jeopardy after her secret social media persona is exposed.
VIET AND NAM
Trương Minh Quý
North American Premiere
Amidst the darkness 1,000 metres underground sparkles an intimate romance between Viêt and Nam in this mystical story of two young miners in search of a brighter future.
WENT UP THE HILL
Samuel Grinsven
World Premiere
Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things) and Vicky Krieps (The Dead Don’t Hurt) deliver haunting performances in Samuel Van Grinsven’s atmospheric ghost story that explores the legacy of loss and dark family secrets.
WILL & HARPER
Josh Greenbaum
International Premiere
This heartfelt documentary from director Josh Greenbaum (Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar) follows Saturday Night Live alumni and close friends Will Ferrell and Harper Steele as they traverse the US by car following Steele’s announcement of her transition.
SHORT FILMS
ARE YOU SCARED TO BE YOURSELF BECAUSE YOU THINK THAT YOU MIGHT FAIL?
Bec Pecaut
Short Cuts 2024 Programme 04
As played superbly by Lío Mehiel in Bec Pecaut’s deeply affecting drama, Mad wrestles with turbulent emotions while recovering from top surgery at home with their partner and mother.
F*CK ME
Anette Sidor
Short Cuts 2024 Programme 02
Out clubbing with friends, a woman acts according to the roles and rules she’s been taught only to discover that different ones may apply in Anette Sidor’s incisive look at gender norms and modern mores.
GENDER REVEAL
Mo Matton
Short Cuts 2024 / Strange Cuts
When a people pleaser and their two partners end up at a thoroughly obnoxious gender reveal party in Mo Matton’s hilariously anarchic satire, the gathering goes in a direction no one could’ve anticipated.
JULIAN AND THE WIND
Connor Jessup
Short Cuts 2024 Programme 01
A mysterious case of sleepwalking becomes a tentative means of connection between two boarding school students in Connor Jessup’s elegantly rendered story of adolescent longing.
ONE DAY THIS KID
Alexander Farah
Short Cuts 2024 Programme 02
As told by filmmaker Alexander Farah through a deftly composed array of small yet pivotal moments, a first-generation Afghan Canadian man takes steps toward establishing an identity of his own while always conscious of his father’s shadow.
SAUNA DAY
Anna Hints, Tushar Prakash
Short Cuts 2024 Programme 01
Shifting their perspective away from the fascinating female-centric spaces the team explored in Smoke Sauna Sisterhood, directors Anna Hints and Tushar Prakash offer a thoroughly enthralling view of what goes on between two men who inhabit the same steamy places.