Toronto International Film Festival doesn’t only recognize feature films.
On Thursday, TIFF announced the lineup for its television section, the Primetime program, meant to recognize episodic and serialized storytelling. This included 10 different series, six of which will host their world premieres at TIFF. This year’s 50-year celebration of TIFF also marks the 10th anniversary of its Primetime program, which departs from the festival’s film-heavy lineup.
One of the six series to have its world premiere in TIFF Primetime will be “The Lowdown.” The Tulsa-set series for FX stars Ethan Hunt, who also serves as an executive producer. “The Lowdown” was created by Sterlin Harjo (a fellow EP alongside Hawke), who was a co-creator for “Reservation Dogs,” also for FX.
“Black Rabbit,” starring Jude Law and Jason Bateman, will also have its world premiere in TIFF’s Primetime section. The miniseries was created for Netflix by Zach Baylin and Kate Susman, who previously collaborated on the 2024 Jude Law/Nicholas Hoult crime film “The Order” (Susman served as EP on the film, which Baylin wrote). Bateman directed the first two episodes of the series, and his “Ozark” co-star Laura Linney directed the third and fourth. All eight episodes of “Black Rabbit” will release on Netflix Sept. 18, just days after TIFF concludes.
Last year, Alfonso Cuarón’s thriller miniseries “Disclaimer” had its Canadian premiere in TIFF’s Primetime lineup. The Apple TV+ project went on to pick up nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie (Cate Blanchett) and Outstanding Cinematography For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie at the 2025 Emmys. In 2022, the fifth season of “The Handmaid’s Tale” had its world premiere at the festival.
TIFF also unveiled its Short Cuts program Thursday morning. This section of the Toronto festival includes 48 short films in total this year, representing 28 different countries. These include narrative, documentary and animated short films. The Short Cuts section itself is split into seven different programs. Among these shorts will be the world premiere of “Dust to Dreams,” directed by Idris Elba.
There will be 10 animated shorts among the Short Cuts lineup. One of these films, “The Girl Who Cried Pearls,” comes from Canadian animators Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski. In 2008, Lavis and Szczerbowski’s animated short film “Madame Tutli-Putli” received a nomination at the Academy Awards. The festival will also feature “Strange Cuts” for the second year, a short film equivalent of TIFF’s “Midnight Madness” genre division.
Some of the short films represented at TIFF have already made waves on the festival circuit. “I’m Glad You’re Dead Now” by Tawfeek Barhom won the Short Film Palme d’Or at Cannes 2025. Barhom, an actor born to a Palestinian family in Israel, wrote, directed and starred in the short. Adnan Al Rajeev’s “Ali” received a Special Jury Mention in the short film section at Cannes 2025.
The 50th Toronto International Film Festival will begin on Sept. 4 and run through Sept. 14.
TIFF Primetime series
“A Sámi Wedding,” Åse Kathrin Vuolab, Pål Jackman (World Premiere)
“Black Rabbit,” Zach Baylin, Kate Susman (World Premiere)
“Gandhi,” Sameer Nair, Hansal Mehta (World Premiere)
“Origin: The Story of the Basketball Africa League,” Richard Brown, Tebogo Malope (World Premiere)
“Portobello – The Fall of Enzo Tortora,” Marco Bellocchio (International Premiere)
“Reunion,” William Mager, Luke Snellin (North American Premiere)
“Rise of the Raven,” Balázs Lengyel, Robert Dornhelm (North American Premiere)
“The Lowdown,” Sterlin Harjo (World Premiere)
“The Savage,” Houman Seyyedi (International Premiere)
“Wayward,” Mae Martin, Ryan Scott (World Premiere)
Short Cuts Program 1
“A Small Fiction of My Mother in Beijing,” Dorothy Sing Zhang (World Premiere)
“Agapito,” Arvin Belarmino, Kyla Danelle Romero (North American Premiere)
“DISC,” Blake Winston Rice (World Premiere)
“Healer,” Chelsea McMullan (World Premiere)
“Jazz Infernal,” Will Niava (World Premiere)
“Ramón Who Speaks to Ghosts,” Shervin Kermani (World Premiere)
“The Girl Who Cried Pearls,” Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski (North American Premiere)
Short Cuts Program 2
“Ambush,” Yassmina Karajah (World Premiere)
“Bots,” Rich Williamson (World Premiere)
“I Fear Blue Skies,” Salar Pashtoonyar (World Premiere)
“Not Scared, Just Sad,” Isabelle Mecattaf (World Premiere)
“Talk Me,” Joecar Hanna (North American Premiere)
“Water Girl,” Sandra Desmazières (North American Premiere)
Short Cuts Program 3
“A South Facing Window,” Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir (North American Premiere)
“Asparagus Bear,” Ivan Grgur (World Premiere)
“Demons,” Kelly Fyffe-Marshall (World Premiere)
“Earworm,” Patrik Eklund (International Premiere)
“Sea Star,” Tyler Mckenzie Evans (World Premiere)
“The Non-Actor,” Eliza Barry Callahan (North American Premiere)
“What We Leave Behind,” Jean-Sébastien Hamel, Alexandra Myotte (North American Premiere)
Short Cuts Program 4
“Ali,” Adnan Al Rajeev (North American Premiere)
“Dust to Dreams,” Idris Elba (World Premiere)
“Fiction Contract,” Carolyn Lazard (International Premiere)
“More Than Happy,” Wei Keong Tan (World Premiere)
“ripe,” Solara Thanh Bình Đặng (World Premiere)
“To the Woods,” Agnès Patron (North American Premiere)
“Year of the Dragon,” Giran Findlay-Liu (World Premiere)
Short Cuts Program 5
“Arguments in Favor of Love,” Gabriel Abrantes (North American Premiere)
“Dish Pit,” Anna Hopkins (Canadian Premiere)
“I’m Glad You’re Dead Now,” Tawfeek Barhom (North American Premiere)
“Karupy,” Kalainithan Kalaichelvan (World Premiere)
“Once in a Body,” María Cristina Pérez González (North American Premiere)
“Pink Light,” Harrison Browne (World Premiere)
“Poster Boy,” India Opzoomer (World Premiere)
“The Contestant,” Patrick Xavier Bresnan (World Premiere)
Short Cuts Program 6
“A Soft Touch,” Heather Young (World Premiere)
“All the Empty Rooms,” Joshua Seftel (International Premiere)
“Divers,” Geordie Wood (North American Premiere)
“Niimi,” Dana Solomon (World Premiere)
“Permanent Guest,” Sana Zahra Jafri (World Premiere)
“The Death of the Fish,” Eva Lusbaronian (North American Premiere)
Strange Cuts Program
“Klee,” Gavin Baird (World Premiere)
“Marriaginalia,” Hannah Cheesman (World Premiere)
“Praying Mantis,” Joe Hsieh (North American Premiere)
“Quietness,” Gonçalo Almeida (World Premiere)
“Thanks To Meet You!,” Richard Hunter (World Premiere)
“The Veil,” Gabriel Motta (World Premiere)
“UM,” Nieto (World Premiere)
