“Steve,” directed by Tim Mielants and starring Cillian Murphy, will open the Platform program for the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, the festival announced Monday.
Nine other films will compete alongside “Steve” in the annual section at TIFF, including Farnoosh Samadi’s “Between Dreams and Hope” and Yoon Ga-eun’s “The World of Love.”
The Platform section of TIFF celebrates up-and-coming directors, selecting 10 entries each year from filmmakers relatively early in their careers. One film entered in the competition wins the Platform Award, which comes with $20,000 CAD for the filmmaker.
A small jury selects the annual Platform Award winner. In 2025 (the 50th anniversary of TIFF), the jury will be chaired by Carlos Marqués-Marcet, who won the Platform Award last year for his film “They Will Be Dust.” Also on the panel are the Oscar-nominated actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste (whose latest Mike Leigh collaboration “Hard Truths” premiered in the Special Presentations section at TIFF in 2024) and director Chloé Robichaud (whose films have screened at TIFF multiple times).
“Steve” will be Murphy’s second film since the release of “Oppenheimer,” which earned the Nolan alum an Academy Award for Best Actor. The first, “Small Things Like These,” was also helmed by “Steve” director Tim Mielants. It released in 2024. Murphy and Mielants had previously collaborated during the third season of “Peaky Blinders,” for which Mielants directed all six episodes. “Steve” is written by Max Porter, who wrote “Shy,” the book on which the film is based.
The only film labeled an International Premiere, Pauline Loquès’ “Nino” already screened during the Critics’ Week section during Cannes 2025. The film follows the titular “Nino” (portrayed by Théodore Pellerin) over three key days in his life that take him throughout Paris. All other entries in the Platform program will be World Premieres.
Other entries in the Platform section are Orian Barki and Meriem Bennani’s “Bouchra,” Milagros Mumenthaler’s “The Currents,” György Pálfi’s “Hen,” Bretten Hannam’s “Sk+te’kmujue’katik (At the Place of Ghosts),” Valentyn Vasyanovych’s “To the Victory!” and Kasia Adamik’s “Winter of the Crow.” Past entries in the Platform program include William Oldroyd’s “Lady Macbeth,” Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” and Darius Marder’s “Sound of Metal.”
Additional films will be announced for the 50th Toronto International Film Festival in a string of different releases between July 23 and Aug. 8. The festival will take place from Sept. 4-14, 2025.
2025 Platform films
“Between Dreams and Hope,” Farnoosh Samadi (World Premiere)
“Bouchra,” Orian Barki, Meriem Bennani (World Premiere)
“The Currents,” Milagros Mumenthaler (World Premiere)
“Hen,” György Pálfi (World Premiere)
“Nino,” Pauline Loquès (International Premiere)
“Sk+te’kmujue’katik (At the Place of Ghosts),” Bretten Hannam (World Premiere)
“Steve,” Tim Mielants (World Premiere)
“To The Victory!,” Valentyn Vasyanovych (World Premiere)
“Winter of the Crow,” Kasia Adamik (World Premiere)
“The World of Love,” Yoon Ga-eun (World Premiere)
