For youth, by youth: TIFF Next Wave Film Festival turns 15

The annual festival returns April 16–19 at TIFF Lightbox with free tickets to Official Selections for Under-25 passholders

Festival opens with Canadian Premiere of Chandler Levack’s Roommates

Special guests include Chandler Levack, Avalon Fast, Miss Moço, Oscar Boyson, Thomas Percy Kim, Ethan Hwang, Stella Marie Markert, Jaeden Martell, Hanna Puley, and more

TIFF Next Wave Film Festival presented by Takis® and supported by the Ontario Arts Council and the City of Toronto returns April 16–19 for its 15th edition, featuring a weekend of youth-driven international cinema curated by TIFF’s youngest programmers, the TIFF Next Wave Committee. Tickets to Official Selection films are free for anyone under 25 with TIFF’s Under-25 Free Pass, with special Under-25 pricing available for special events. Tickets will be available March 25 for TIFF Members and Under-25 Free Pass holders, and to the public on March 27.

The weekend kicks off with the Canadian Premiere of Chandler Levack’s Roommates starring Sadie Sandler, Chloe East, Billy Bryk, Sarah Sherman, Natasha Lyonne, and Nick Kroll, followed by Oscar Boyson’s Our Hero, Balthazar starring Jaeden Martell and Asa Butterfield. Both screenings are followed by director Q&As.

This year’s festival spotlights nine feature films from seven countries alongside Q&As, interactive workshops, and special events including the highly-anticipated opening night party.

“Next Wave Film Festival is helmed by our next generation for a new generation,” says Anita Lee, Chief Programming Officer, TIFF. “The Next Wave committee curates with fresh eyes, bringing original and thoughtful new voices to the screen, and young audiences bring inspiring dialogue and passion.”

The TIFF Next Wave Committee is made up of 12 teens from across the GTA who are dedicated to introducing their peers to boundary-pushing international cinema. Beyond curating the Next Wave Film Festival each April, the committee meets at TIFF Lightbox year-round to program the monthly “Next Wave Presents” series – a lineup curated for the next generation of movie lovers.

For 15 years, Next Wave has supported the next generation of filmmakers, writers and programmers, with alumni including filmmaker Emma Seligman (Shiva Baby, Bottoms), actors Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel) and Emma Cheuk (Late Bloomer, Mile End Kicks), programmer and critic Winnie Wang (Toronto Review), and dozens of the city’s most enthusiastic and passionate film fans.

“This year’s Next Wave Film Festival lineup emphasizes self-expression through passionate, diverse, and DIY modes of storytelling and provides a platform for rising voices who thoughtfully disrupt conventions and embrace experimentation. We want the festival to be a place for the celebration of life in motion and the chaos that comes with growing up in this current moment. There is something for everyone at Next Wave, and we can’t wait for it to bring new opportunities for conversation, connection, and discovery.” —TIFF Next Wave Committee 2025-2026

The festivities begin with Battle of the Scores, a high-energy live showcase in which four up-and-coming bands compose scores for a silent short film, with the audience voting for the winner. Co-programmed by Insomniac Film Festival, this year’s competition features musical acts Ceippo, LAPDANCE, Soulair, and Tribunals. The films being scored are Missed U (dir. Ella Saini) and Rent is Due (dir. Alex Dombek). The Opening Night Party, themed “Motion Blur,” promises a larger than life, immersive celebration.

The festival closes with the Young Creators Showcase, a short film programme highlighting emerging Canadian filmmakers, with juried awards for Best Film, Best Cinematography, Best Writing, and Best Editing, presented by MUBI.

New this year, the Drop-in: Young Creators Launch Pad runs alongside the Young Creators Showcase, offering emerging creators the opportunity to connect one-on-one with post-secondary schools, film organizations, and industry experts for practical advice and feedback on their projects and creative careers.

In celebration of the milestone 15th edition, Creators on a Wave brings alumni back to the screen with a programme of new short films from past Young Creators Showcase filmmakers and Next Wave Committee members, including Katherine Lynn-Rose, Paul Daniel Torres, Ellie Tripp, and Presley Flores-Holz, the winner of last year’s Young Creators Showcase Award for Best Film, who is now a 2026 Next Wave Committee Member.

Festival-goers can participate in the Young Creators Co-Lab, a series of talks and workshops connecting budding artists with industry professionals, and introducing pathways to careers in film. This year’s sessions include Music in Motion with R.T. Thorne, Ievy Stamatov, and Nathan Lau, Costume in Conversation with Hanna Puley, Courtney Mitchell, and Charlene Akuamoah, Aesthetic Overload: Finding Your Visual Style with Avalon Fast, Thomas Percy Kim, and Stella Marie Markert, and drop in workshop: Camera Obscurities. The Young Creators Co-Lab is presented by the City of Toronto.

Also returning to Next Wave is Canada’s Drag Race star Miss Moço, hosting a participatory screening of High School Musical 3: Senior Year.

• Big Girls Don’t Cry: dir. Paloma Schneideman: New Zealand Canadian Premiere In the ambiently homophobic environment of a rural town in the mid-2000s, a 14-year-old girl navigates sexual curiosity and a desire for acceptance over one transformative summer.
  
  Virtual Q&A with director Paloma Schneideman
• Burn: dir. Makoto Nagahisa: Japan Canadian Premiere A runaway teen (Nana Mori of Kokuho, TIFF ‘25) finds comfort and solace in a group of other young misfits. But she soon discovers that danger can lurk even in what looks like a safe haven.
  
  
• CAMP: dir. Avalon Fast: Canada Toronto Premiere A group of counsellors at a Christian grief camp find catharsis through the occult — but not without consequence.
  
  In-person Q&A with director Avalon Fast
• If I Go Will They Miss Me: dir. Walter Thompson-Hernández: USA Canadian Premiere A 12-year-old who’s struggling to connect with the father he idolizes starts seeing ghostly figures of boys around his neighbourhood.
  
  
• Ish: dir. Imran Perretta: United Kingdom Toronto Premiere A childhood friendship is torn apart after a traumatic interaction with the police in this poetic and poignant drama.
  
  
• Isle Child: dir. Thomas Percy Kim: South Korea/USA Canadian Premiere An adopted New England teen, played by Ethan Hwang (Riceboy Sleeps, TIFF ‘22), is forced to confront his feelings of otherness when he discovers his Korean birth mother is terminally ill.
  
  In-person Q&A with director Thomas Percy Kim and actor Ethan Hwang
• Niñxs: dir. Kani Lapuerta: Mexico/Germany Toronto Premiere Shot over eight years in the small town of Tepoztlán, Mexico, this vibrant documentary follows Karla through an adolescence marked by joy, resilience, and transition.
  
  
• Our Hero, Balthazar: dir. Oscar Boyson: USA Toronto Premiere In a misguided attempt to impress a crush, a lonely New York teen flies to Texas, where he thinks he can stop a future school shooter — but his plan quickly spirals out of control.
  
  In-person Q&A with director Oscar Boyson and actor Jaeden Martell
• Thanks for Nothing: dir. Stella Marie Markert: Germany Canadian Premiere Four teens living in a Berlin group home have created their own anarchic utopia. But the unhelpful adults in their lives, combined with the harsh realities of the world, threaten to tear it apart.
  
  In-person Q&A with director Stella Marie Markert

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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 the TIFF Content 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 Major Sponsors RBC and Visa, and Major Supporters: the Government of Canada, Government of Ontario, and City of Toronto.

TIFF Next Wave is supported by The Bennett Family Foundation, The Hal Jackman Foundation, The Kyle Brandon Traves Foundation, and The Rossy Foundation

Next Wave Film Festival is presented by Takis® and supported by the Ontario Arts Council and the City of Toronto

Young Creators Showcase Awards are presented by MUBI

The Young Creators Co-Lab is presented by the City of Toronto.

IMAGE CAPTION:

TIFF Next Wave Committee 2025-2026 from L to R, F to B: Sally Shen, Presley Flores-Holz, Maya Satkunaratnam, Yehia El-Aboudy, Lillie Fauteux, Hana Nour-Eldin, Desmond Cudmore, Nikhil Gupta, Suhana Khatri, Sophia Pollard, Darania Taylor. Not pictured: Hamza Hashim