Toronto, ON – The Toronto Jewish Film Foundation is proud to announce the 33rd annual Toronto Jewish Film Festival lineup consisting of over 80 films from across the globe. The Festival will screen in various locations across Toronto between June 5th - June 15th and will also host free virtual screenings for Canadians across the country to enjoy.
Opening this year’s festival will be the Toronto Premiere of Canadian director Ken Scott’s latest feature, ONCE UPON MY MOTHER with special guest, writer and film subject Roland Perez. Demonstrating that there is no love greater than that between a mother and her child, Scott (Starbuck) delivers a big-hearted, witty film based on a true story that is destined to be a crowd favourite. The film will premiere at 8 p.m. ET at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema in Toronto.
Other highlighted films include Berlinale 2025 selection and TJFF Centrepiece Film ALL I HAD WAS NOTHINGNESS, an emotional feat from director Guillaume Ribot, in which he explores 220 hours of unreleased footage from Claude Lanzmann’s landmark 1985 film Shoah. Ribot will join the audience for a post-screening Q&A. To close out this year’s Festival, CHARLES GRODIN: REBEL WITH A CAUSE will have its Ontario premiere along with a virtual Q&A with Grodin’s wife Elissa Grodin and Director James Freedman. The documentary is not only a tribute to Grodin’s legacy on-screen, but the many years he dedicated to advocating for social justice causes within the United-States, particularly surrounding prison reform and wrongful incarceration. Elaine May's THE HEARTBREAK KID starring Charles Grodin will also play at the festival.
For a local Toronto focus, guests can expect in-conversations exploring the Jewish community engrained in Toronto culture. The Festival will host a free double-feature of Harry Rasky’s NOBODY SWINGS ON SUNDAY which will be presented with Barry Avrich’s AGAINST ALL ODDS: THE UNSTOPPABLE STORY OF TORONTO'S MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL, which has been nominated for the Donald Brittain Award for Best Social/Political Documentary Program at this year’s Canadian Screen Awards. KENSINGTON MARKET: HEART OF THE CITY from director Stuart Clarfield will also screen at the Festival. The film explores the 150-year history of the beloved Kensington neighbourhood in Toronto through residents’ stories, combining archival footage and interviews to highlight the area's cultural richness and the ongoing struggle against gentrification. All three projects will feature an in-person Q&A.
TJFF will once again be taking a hybrid approach, making content accessible to a wider audience. Among virtual offerings, this year’s Festival has curated a free online screening programme taking place from June 6th - June 20th honouring the legacy of Winnipegger Larry Zolf, a bold figure in Canadian media. From his early days on CBC’s This Hour Has Seven Days to memorable appearances on The Originals and Firing Line with William F. Buckley, Zolf’s bold, irreverent take on politics and society made him a standout in the Canadian media landscape.
Additionally, this year’s TJFF2025 Artist-In-Residence programme features actor Sasson Gabay (The Band’s Visit, Shtisel, Gett), who will be attending the festival in-person. As part of this programme, TJFF has curated a series, which includes AN AFTERNOON WITH SASSON GABAY, where Gabay reflects on the last five decades of his illustrious career. Gabay will also present various works, including 2024 Toronto International Film Festival Official Selection BLISS. From Iraqi-Jewish roots, Gabay has performed internationally in Hebrew, Arabic, Yiddish, English and French across film, television and theatre; his body of work reflects the complexity of the international Jewish experience.
From horror to comedy to poignant documentaries, free programmes and engaging panels, discover the unexpected at the Festival. The full Festival lineup can be found at: https://tjff.com/lineup-2025/.
Tickets can be purchased online at: https://tjff.com/tjff2025-festival-passes/.
Discover this year’s top films…
Once Upon My Mother / Ma Mère, Dieu et Sylvie Vartan 🍁
Ken Scott | France, Canada
In-person
*Opening Night Film
*Toronto Premiere
All I Had Was Nothingness / Je n'avais que le neant
Guillaume Ribot | France
In-person
*Centrepiece Film
*North American Premiere
Charles Grodin: Rebel Without A Cause
James Freedman | United States
In-person
*Closing Night Film
*Ontario Premiere
Noé Debré | France
In-Person & Online
*Ontario Premiere
Tom Nesher | Israel, Italy
In-person
*Programmer’s Pick
*Ontario Premiere
Alex Osmolovky | Israel, Ukraine
In-person & Online
*Canadian Premiere
Uri Marantz | Israel, Portugal
In-person & Online
*Programmer’s Pick
*North American Premiere
Iair Said | Argentina, Italy, Spain
In-Person
*Programmer’s Pick
Klaus Härö | Finland
In-Person & Online
*Programmer’s Pick
*Ontario Premiere
Dani Rosenberg | Israel, Italy
In-Person
*Ontario Premiere
Dana Modan | Israel, Poland
In-Person
*Ontario Premiere
Danae Elon | Canada, Israel
*Programmer’s Pick
*Canadian Premiere
About TJFF
Co-founded in 1993 by Artistic Director, Helen Zukerman, the TJFF was created to heighten awareness of Jewish cultural diversity in Toronto and around the world. Films have included such world renowned hits as: Lune (Aviva Armour-Ostroff), Sublet (Eytan Fox), Shiva Baby (Emma Seligman), Tel Aviv on Fire (Sameh Zoabi), Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles (Max Lewkowicz), RBG (Betsy West, Julie Cohen), A Tickle in the Heart (Stefan Schwietert), and Hebrew Hammer (Jonathan Kesselman), as well as Academy Award-winners The Counterfeiters (Stefan Ruzowitzky), and West Bank Story (Ari Sandel). The Canadian Archival series shines a light on the rarely seen Jewish contributions to Canadian film and television. TJFF is presented by the Toronto Jewish Film Foundation, which runs programmes and events throughout the year and the GTA.
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Website: tjff.com
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