10 Must-See Queer Films at TIFF 2025

2025 is a milestone year for the Toronto International Film Festival, which kicks off its 50th edition on September 4. For 11 days over 200 new features will screen, ranging from world premieres to award winners from other festivals like Cannes and Berlin. Awards season obsessives consider TIFF to be one of the major film events of the year because of its tendency to screen Oscar hopefuls, and because it’s open to the public the festival can double as a barometer for what films might become frontrunners. And if you ever plan on attending TIFF yourself, make sure you save up some money because some of those premiere tickets can carry a hefty price tag.

As in previous years, EDGE combed through the entire programme to find ten queer films to keep an eye on for this year’s edition. And even with some big gay names in this year’s programme like Bryan Fuller and Gus Van Sant, there are plenty of other films that put queer themes, characters, and stories front and center. Read on to learn more about these films and when you might get a chance to see them for yourself.

Between Dreams and Hope

Iranian filmmaker Farnoosh Samadi’s newest feature follows trans man Azad (Fereshteh Hosseini) and his partner Nora (Sadaf Asgari) as they navigate the process to get Azad gender-affirming surgery. And while transgender individuals are recognized in Iran, the approval process is far from easy, as Azad is told he must have his father’s written approval in order for his application to proceed. Despite Azad not speaking to his father for years, he travels with Nora to Azad’s hometown in the hopes his father will sign the necessary paperwork, but things quickly spiral out of control once they reunite. Part love story, thriller, and procedural drama, “Between Dreams and Hope” uses its queer protagonists to examine ongoing tensions between the older, conservative generation in power and a younger, idealistic one fighting against them.   

“Between Dreams and Hope” is currently seeking distribution.

A Useful Ghost

Back at Cannes, “A Useful Ghost” by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke won the main jury prize in the Critics’ Week programme. EDGE called the film a queer discovery at the festival, saying it’s “the kind of confident and ambitious effort that's sure to make it one of the best first features of the year.” It’s a very dry, very funny, and very gay comedy, where a man’s dead spouse comes back from the dead to possess a vacuum cleaner in order to stay with him. But what starts out as a silly, deadpan fantasy takes several unexpected turns, delivering a powerful and political message in a riotous conclusion.

“A Useful Ghost” will receive a limited theatrical release in 2026.

Maddie’s Secret

Comedian John Early makes his feature directorial debut this year with “Maddie’s Secret,” a dark comedy that sounds right in line with his past work in shows like “Search Party” and “555.” Early plays Maddie Ralph, a woman who works for a content creation company that hides her issues with eating disorders from those around her. Described by TIFF as a “stunning satire,” the film features supporting roles from comedians like Kate Berlant, Conner O’Malley, and Vanessa Bayer, while Kristen Johnson plays Maddie’s mother. We expect nothing less from Early and his cast than the kinds of hilarious, pointed takedowns of superficial fame-seekers he loves to play.  

“Maddie’s Secret” is currently seeking distribution.   

Blood Lines

Actor and director Gail Maurice returns to TIFF after her 2022 feature debut “Rosie” with “Blood Lines,” a romantic drama set within a small Métis community in Canada. The film follows Beatrice (Dana Solomon), a young clerk who’s thrown into disarray when her estranged mother (Maurice) shows up at her door, now a recovering alcoholic looking for forgiveness. At the same time, Beatrice befriends a young woman named Chani (Derica Lafrance) who’s come to town looking for her biological family, and the two quickly fall for each other. While Beatrice experiences the joy of new love alongside the pain of reconnecting with her mother, these two parts of her life soon collide in ways she doesn’t expect. Besides its representation of a same-sex Métis romance, the film also has part of its dialogue in Michif, a language that only has over 1,100 speakers worldwide.

“Blood Lines” is currently seeking US distribution.

Erupcja

Last year saw pop star Charli XCX reach the height of mainstream success and cultural influence she’s been aiming for since the start of her career. So how do you top that? You go even harder, starting with a pivot to movies. “Erupcja” stars Charli XCX as a tourist in Poland who, believing her boyfriend plans to propose to her on the trip, runs off and reunites with childhood friend Nel (Lena Góra). Their reunion results in what TIFF describes as a “chaste but burning tryst predicated on sapphic synchronicity.” With a collaborative and experimental approach to filming by director Pete Ohs and multiple collaborators (including Jeremy O. Harris in the cast), “Erupcja” looks like the kind of bold, independent work we’ve come to expect from its star.

“Erupcja” is currently seeking distribution.

The Little Sister

Based on Fatima Daas’ autofictional novel, “The Little Sister” portrays a queer coming of age story about Fatima (Nadia Melliti), a teenage girl whose faith as a devout Muslim clashes against her sexuality. Caught between her family and her identity, she must decide whether to fully accept herself once she falls in love with another woman. “The Little Sister” premiered earlier this year in competition at Cannes, where Melliti won Best Actress and director Hafsia Herzi won the Queer Palm.

The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo

Another queer award winner at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Diego Céspedes’ “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo” took home the Un Certain Regard prize for his feature debut. Set in a Chilean mining town in the 1980s, the film follows Lidia (Tamara Cortés), an 11-year-old girl being raised by a queer community. When rumors begin to spread about a plague killing several villagers, one that people believe is caused by looking too long at a gay or transgender person, Lidia and her family become targets for bullying and harassment. The film received positive reviews out of Cannes, with critics calling it funny, touching, and hopeful.

Bouchra

It can be confidently said that there won’t be another film to come out this year like “Bouchra,” a 3D animated hybrid documentary about a queer, Moroccan filmmaker (who’s also a coyote) working on her new project in New York City. While she figures out ways to get extra work and reconnects with an ex-girlfriend, Bouchra (voiced by co-director Meriem Bennani) frequently calls her mother Aicha in Casablanca, demanding they have a frank, overdue discussion about how Aicha reacted to her daughter coming out to her. The film also shows the project Bouchra is working on, a story set back home where she falls in love with a woman while dealing with her mother and extended family. The combination of documentary elements blending Bennani’s family into the story, real environments combined with animation, and a structure shifting between reality and fantasy, “Bouchra” exists in its own, undefined space, one that links to the conflicted state of its lead character.

Julian

In 2017, Fleur Pierets and Julian P. Boom launched Project 22, which was named after the 22 nations that legalized same sex marriage at that time. The two women planned to travel to every country on the list and get married each time, an art project meant to bring awareness to same sex rights across the globe. Unfortunately, after several weddings the project ended after Julian was diagnosed with brain cancer and passed away, a tragedy that Pierets wrote about in her memoir named after her wife. Director Cato Kusters adapts “Julian” by following Pierets (Nina Meurisse) as she prepares to speak about the project and Julian’s (Laurence Roothooft) passing for an event in New York, while flashbacks show their relationship from the beginning to its tragic end. While this is Kusters’ directorial debut, she comes with the endorsement of award-winning queer filmmaker Lukas Dhont (“Close”) who’s credited as a producer on the film. 

“Julian” is currently seeking distribution.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

If watching detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) sing Sondheim in 2019’s “Knives Out” didn’t tip you off, ts sequel “Glass Onion” confirmed it: the lead character of Rian Johnson’s massively popular whodunit franchise is gay, with his longtime partner played in a cameo by Hugh Grant. It’s more than likely that Grant will show up again in “Wake Up Dead Man,” which sees Blanc solving yet another murder in a new location with a new ensemble of suspects that includes Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Kerry Washington, Josh Brolin, Andrew Scott, and more. Details on the plot are still a mystery until the film’s world premiere at TIFF, although based on the small town setting of the trailer and the festival’s description, Johnson’s third entry will go in a darker direction, with Edgar Allen Poe cited as a big influence.

“Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” will receive a limited theatrical release in November before streaming on Netflix worldwide on December 12.