For a film, to have a world premiere at a major film festival is a great way to attract media attention and generate buzz on the way to a wide release. As far as major film festivals go, there aren’t many in North America that are bigger or more impactful than the Toronto International Film Festival. Not coincidentally, TIFF has seen the world premiere of some truly exceptional movies.
From beloved modern gems like The Perks of Being a Wallflower to essential classics like The Princess Bride, the best movies that have ever had their world premiere at TIFF are proof of just how big this festival is. With TIFF 2025 well underway and movies as noteworthy as Christy and John Candy: I Like Me having had their world premieres at the festival, it’s as good a time as any to look back at the best movies that started their success journeys in Toronto.
‘Land of Mine’ (2015)
Simultaneously one of the most underrated and one of the best war movies of the 2010s, the Danish historical drama Land of Mine is set in post-World War II Denmark, where a group of young German POWs are forced to clear a beach of thousands of land mines under the watch of a sergeant who slowly learns to understand their circumstances.
The film premiered at TIFF to a standing ovation, and the reception following its debut remained incredibly positive. It’s one of the freshest and most emotionally stirring tales of forgiveness and the nature of cruelty of the decade, full of harrowing suspense and hard-hitting payoffs. It’s a crowd-pleaser, but one that never sacrifices complexity in favor of cheap melodrama.
‘Dead Ringers’ (1988)
The Toronto-born legend that is David Cronenberg is one of the most influential horror directors in history, arguably the biggest authority in the realm of body horror. He has always been, however, a gleefully controversial filmmaker. He was already a well-established cult figure going into 1988, the year that saw the premiere of the first film of his that ever screened at TIFF: Dead Ringers, one of Cronenberg’s biggest masterpieces.
Peculiarly enough, Dead Ringers was picked as the opening film of the 1988 installment of TIFF. It was a very odd choice, and to the surprise of absolutely no one, the reaction to the film was visceral, potent, and as divided as one might expect from any Cronenberg premiere. In the years since, Dead Ringers has retained its label as one of the greatest Canadian films in history, but it undoubtedly remains an acquired taste to those not already converted to Cronenberg’s approach.
‘Gattaca’ (1997)
When done right, dystopian sci-fi can bring up the most fascinating parallels that make viewers question the reality they live in today. That’s certainly the case with Gattaca. It’s one of the best speculative sci-fi movies of the ’90s, a smart and thought-provoking Orwellian drama with one of the best screenplays the genre has offered in years.
Gattaca was a hit from the moment it premiered at TIFF. Audiences knew they were watching one for the history books, and there was praise across the board for the airtight script, Andrew Niccol‘s sharp direction, and the stylish futuristic aesthetics. Gattaca is far more than just a genre flick: It’s a clever landmark of modern sci-fi that uses the genre’s usual tropes and elements in all sorts of interesting ways.
‘But I’m a Cheerleader’ (1999)
Plenty of ’90s cult classics have gotten worse with time, but But I’m a Cheerleader is different: It only keeps getting better as it ages. This queer romp was initially rated NC-17 (which some have retroactively pointed to as an act of discrimination by the MPAA), but was later cut down to an R-rated version. Still, it remains as delightfully transgressive as ever.
Though critics like Roger Ebert loved the movie, TIFF was generally quite divided in its reception of the film. To this day, But I’m a Cheerleader only holds a 43% acceptance rate from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the film found its niche immediately: Queer viewers and queer media loved it, and have never stopped loving it ever since. It may not have caused a splash in Toronto, but it sure took fans of LGBTQ+ cult cinema by storm later.
‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ (2012)
Directed by Stephen Chbosky and based on his own 1999 novel of the same title, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is genuinely one of the best coming-of-age movies of the 21st century thus far. With a killer soundtrack, exceptional performances, and a quirky yet effective indie tone, it has stood the test of time as a cult classic of the Tumblr era.
Plenty of films have tried and failed to deal with the topic of mental health and teen angst with sensitivity and accuracy, but The Perks of Being a Wallflower is among the very few that succeed wonderfully and unequivocally. That was the consensus when it premiered at TIFF, where it received a standing ovation and was praised as a bona fide romance classic for a new generation of teens.
‘A Serious Man’ (2009)
The Coen brothers have graced audiences worldwide with some of the greatest films of their generation, as well as several of the most underappreciated. A Serious Man falls into the latter group. The Coens’ cinematic treatise on the topics of predetermination and existential absurdity has aged like fine wine, and it deserves far more love than it gets nowadays.
A Serious Man was praised right out of TIFF as a darkly amusing and incredibly mature dramedy.
A gloriously dry and brilliantly witty return to the Coens’ Minnesota roots, A Serious Man was praised right out of TIFF as a darkly amusing and incredibly mature dramedy. Michael Stuhlbarg delivers an impeccable lead performance, and the Coens’ writing and direction both feel so personal and sharp that it’s impossible to take one’s eyes off the screen at any point.
‘The Fabelmans’ (2022)
Some directors get better with age; others start struggling to deliver work as strong as their classics with the passage of time. All in all, Steven Spielberg has mostly fallen into the latter group, his 21st-century work not really standing up to the standard of his ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s gems. There are exceptions, however, and one of the most noteworthy is probably the director’s best work of the past 25 years: The Fabelmans.
Largely autobiographical, The Fabelmans unsurprisingly feels like one of Spielberg’s most intimate films to date. It’s one of the best late-career movies by any veteran director, and the extended standing ovation that it received at TIFF was proof enough of that. It’s a deeply emotional and surprisingly complex coming-of-age, as well as a love letter to filmmaking itself.
‘The Princess Bride’ (1987)
Coming-of-age, fantasy, and romance all have one thing in common: The Princess Bride, one of the loveliest entries in each of these genres. With a clever genre-bending script and Rob Reiner‘s exquisitely fresh direction, it has been able to stand the test of time as one of the most beloved and iconic cult classics of the 1980s.
Even those who don’t typically like fantasy are guaranteed to get something out of The Princess Bride. Whether it’s the fun sense of adventure, the adrenaline-pumping swashbuckling, the tender romance, or the hilarious comedy, there’s something in it for everyone. At TIFF, reception of the movie was warm and enthusiastic, pushing it to box office success just a couple of weeks before its wide release.
‘Boogie Nights’ (1997)
Paul Thomas Anderson has spent his entire career proving time and time again why he’s one of the most talented auteurs of his generation. Cinema is lucky to have him, and for proof, one needn’t look much further than Boogie Nights, many people’s favorite PTA film from the 20th century. It’s not every day that you get such a stacked cast packed into a single film—and the acting isn’t nearly the only thing that Boogie Nights has going for it.
Anderson’s Oscar nomination snub is one of the most ludicrous in the Academy Awards’ history, but the court of public opinion is ultimately far more important, and audiences have been nothing but kind to Anderson’s work on Boogie Nights. Its reception at TIFF launched it right into big awards conversation, and audiences were absolutely electrified by it right off the bat. Decades later, the movie’s effect is still that: utterly electric.
‘The Shawshank Redemption’ (1994)
For years, The Shawshank Redemption (based on a story by Stephen King) has been the highest-rated feature film on IMDb. Many would accordingly call it the greatest film of all time. As such, the Toronto International Film Festival having this as arguably the most famous film that has ever premiered there is no small brag.
Shawshank is about as close to perfection as movies get. The performances, particularly those by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, are transcendental. The writing and direction, both in charge of Frank Darabont, are complex and beyond gorgeous. The third act and ending, perfectly executed, are among the most life-affirming finales in movie history. Though warm, reception for the movie at TIFF wasn’t particularly uproarious. It would take some time for Shawshank to be held up as one of the biggest cinematic achievements of the ’90s.
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