TIFF Docs presents a bold slate of documentaries that take audiences from the depths of the ocean to the sky

TIFF is thrilled to announce the 2025 Docs programme presented by A&E IndieFilms, featuring 23 titles from 18 countries and 16 World Premieres. Audiences will encounter a wide range of real-life characters, including explorers, journalists, sex workers, activists, soldiers, and champion whistlers. This year’s lineup includes new work by celebrated directors such as Jimmy Chin, Billy Corben, Tamara Kotevska, Lucrecia Martel, Raoul Peck, Laura Poitras, Ben Proudfoot, Gianfranco Rosi, Michèle Stephenson, Peter Mettler, and Chai Vasarhelyi. The 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, presented by Rogers, will take place September 4–14, 2025.

The TIFF Docs programme features attention-grabbing non-fiction cinema from around the world. The programme will open with Academy Award–winning Canadian director Ben Proudfoot’s The Eyes of Ghana, which profiles the filmmaker Chris Hesse and is backed by executive producers Barack and Michelle Obama. High-profile World Premieres coming to TIFF as sales titles include: The Balloonists, directed by John Dower, capturing adventurers who set out to circle the globe in a balloon; A Life Illuminated, directed by Tasha Van Zandt, following marine biologist Dr. Edie Widder on a stunning journey to the ocean depths; Whistle, directed by Christopher Nelius, portraying a competition of champion whistlers; Nuns vs. the Vatican, directed by Lorena Luciano and executive produced by Mariska Hargitay, exposing new allegations of abuse inside the Catholic Church; Canceled: The Paula Deen Story, directed by Billy Corben, which re-investigates the scandal of a celebrity chef; and Modern Whore, directed by Canadian Nicole Bazuin, which explores the sex industry and is based on the book of the same name by Andrea Werhun and Bazuin.

Other World Premieres include Vasarhelyi and Chin’s LOVE+WAR, Stephenson’s True North, Sky Hopinka’s Powwow People, Zahraa Ghandour’s Flana, and a notable cluster of Canadian titles including Jamal Burger and Jukan Tateisi’s Still Single, Darlene Naponse’s Aki, Shane Belcourt’s Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising, Min Sook Lee’s There Are No Words, and Mettler’s While the Green Grass Grows: A Diary in Seven Parts.

These TIFF Docs titles join a number of documentaries already announced for TIFF 50, including the World Premieres of John Candy: I Like Me and Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery in the Gala programme; Degrassi: Whatever It Takes, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, and You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution... in Special Presentations; and Palimpsest: the Story of a Name, announced yesterday in the Centrepiece programme.

Hear more from Docs Lead Programmer Thom Powers:

Thom Powers | TIFF DOCS2025 TIFF Docs programme (in alphabetical order):

A Life Illuminated | Tasha Van Zandt | USA
World Premiere

A Simple Soldier | Juan Camilo Cruz, Artem Ryzhykov | Ukraine
North American Premiere

Aki | Darlene Naponse | Canada
World Premiere

Below the Clouds | Gianfranco Rosi | Italy
International Premiere

Canceled: The Paula Deen Story | Billy Corben | USA
World Premiere

Cover-Up | Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus | USA
Canadian Premiere

Flana | Zahraa Ghandour | Iraq/France/Qatar
World Premiere

LOVE+WAR | Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin | USA
World Premiere

Modern Whore | Nicole Bazuin | Canada
World Premiere

Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising | Shane Belcourt | Canada
World Premiere

Nuestra Tierra | Lucrecia Martel | Argentina/USA/Mexico/France/Denmark/Netherlands
North American Premiere

Nuns vs. The Vatican | Lorena Luciano | USA
World Premiere

Orwell: 2+2=5 | Raoul Peck | USA/France
North American Premiere

Powwow People | Sky Hopinka | USA
World Premiere

Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk | Sepideh Farsi | France/Palestine/Iran
North American Premiere

Still Single | Jamal Burger, Jukan Tateisi | Canada
World Premiere

The Balloonists | John Dower | USA/United Kingdom/Austria
World Premiere

The Eyes of Ghana | Ben Proudfoot | USA | Opening Film
World Premiere

The Tale of Silyan | Tamara Kotevska | North Macedonia
North American Premiere

There Are No Words | Min Sook Lee | Canada
World Premiere

True North | Michèle Stephenson | USA/Canada
World Premiere

While the Green Grass Grows: A Diary in Seven Parts | Peter Mettler | Canada/Switzerland
World Premiere

Whistle | Christopher Nelius | Australia
World Premiere

The 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, presented by Rogers, runs September 4–14, 2025

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About TIFF
TIFF is a not-for-profit cultural organization with a mission to transform the way people see the world through film. A global leader in film and entertainment, TIFF initiatives include the annual Toronto International Film Festival® in September; TIFF Lightbox, which features five cinemas, learning and entertainment facilities; the Donald Shebib TIFF Film Circuit, an innovative national distribution program; and TIFF: The Market launching in 2026. The organization generates an estimated annual economic impact of $240 million CAD. TIFF Lightbox is generously supported by contributors including the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, the City of Toronto, the Reitman family (Ivan Reitman, Agi Mandel, and Susan Michaels), The Daniels Corporation, and RBC. For more information, visit tiff.net.

TIFF is generously supported by Festival Presenting Sponsor Rogers Communications.

TIFF is generously supported by Major Sponsors RBC and Visa and Major Supporters the Government of Ontario, Telefilm Canada, and the City of Toronto.

TIFF Docs is presented by A&E IndieFilms.