Film-Forward

Musical

Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!

It features a winning and touching comic performance by Academy Award nominee Rinko Kikuchi (Babel).

Power Ballad

This lean drama makes great use of the chemistry between Paul Rudd and Nick Jonas.

Michael

The biopic offers a 1980s untainted, sanitized version of the singer that, in its own way, feels like a real-life version of Michael Jackson reaching Neverland.

Mother Mary

David Lowery’s new movie is, in many ways, unclassifiable, flirting with different genres and featuring a mise-en-scène both restrained and grandiose at once.

Song Sung Blue

The story of two Milwaukee musical sensations becomes a Hollywood saga, embodied by magnetic movie stars.

Merrily We Roll Along

The hottest ticket on Broadway two summers ago is now within everyone’s reach.

Wicked: For Good

Will audiences respond as they did before to darker material and songs offering less easy enchantment?

Kiss of the Spider Woman

The musical gives Jennifer Lopez a chance to unleash all her superstar powers—both musical and cinematic.

The Testament of Ann Lee | TIFF 2025

Director Mona Fastvold combines two “unforgiving” genres—the biopic and the musical—and focuses on a relatively unknown historical figure: the founder of the Shaker movement.