TIFF just hit fifty with its biggest party ever. The Toronto International Film Festival, called Tiffty for this edition, wrapped up a massive 2025 run. That year's festival, the fiftieth since founders Bill Marshall, Henk Van der Kolk, and Dusty Cohl started it back in 1976, saw over seven hundred thousand guests. Films screened at places like the TIFF Bell Lightbox, Roy Thomson Hall, and the Princess of Wales Theatre. Nigeria's Omotola Jalade Ekeinde debuted her first film as a director there, titled Mother's Love. American star Scarlett Johansson also premiered her own directorial debut, Eleanor the Great.
The event was a total spectacle, living up to the Tiffty nickname. Festival Street on King Street West shut down for pedestrians, with open-air screenings at David Pecaut Square. The CN Tower glowed gold every hour after dark for the whole thing. Meanwhile, Omotola's premiere drew distributors and Nigerian filmmakers who praised her shift behind the camera. Her movie dealt with heavy themes like grief and the bonds between mothers and daughters. Other notable premieres included new work from directors like Baz Luhrmann and James McAvoy.
This was not Nigeria's first time at the festival. Genevieve Nnaji had previously shown her directorial debut, Lionheart, ten years before. The 2025 edition, however, with its two hundred ninety-one total films, felt like a landmark. It proved the festival's growth from its early days at the Windsor Arms Hotel into a global creative hub. The Nigerian contingent joined everyone else in celebrating half a century of one of the world's most attended film events.
The event was a total spectacle, living up to the Tiffty nickname. Festival Street on King Street West shut down for pedestrians, with open-air screenings at David Pecaut Square. The CN Tower glowed gold every hour after dark for the whole thing. Meanwhile, Omotola's premiere drew distributors and Nigerian filmmakers who praised her shift behind the camera. Her movie dealt with heavy themes like grief and the bonds between mothers and daughters. Other notable premieres included new work from directors like Baz Luhrmann and James McAvoy.
This was not Nigeria's first time at the festival. Genevieve Nnaji had previously shown her directorial debut, Lionheart, ten years before. The 2025 edition, however, with its two hundred ninety-one total films, felt like a landmark. It proved the festival's growth from its early days at the Windsor Arms Hotel into a global creative hub. The Nigerian contingent joined everyone else in celebrating half a century of one of the world's most attended film events.
