The story of a century: a decades-long second World War leaves plague and anarchy, then a rational state rebuilds civilization and attempts space travel. The future imagined by director William Cameron Menzies in 1936, based on the works of famous writer H.G.
Schedule
Schedule
Friday 13.06
1984
TIFF.24
In a totalitarian future society, Winston Smith, whose work is rewriting history, tries to rebel. He meets a kindred spirit named Julia and they fall into a love affair, but soon they start to realize that happiness might be impossible in such a society.
Germany - 1984
110 minute
Tomorrow is Fear
Cadet
TIFF.24
Single mother Alina tries to enroll her son, Serik, in an elite military academy, but he is bullied by his classmates because of his girlish appearance, and the principal deems him unfit for the school. Alina succeeds in getting Serik reinstated, but the consequences will be terrible…
Kazakhstan - 2024
123 minute
3 x 3
Man of Marble
TIFF.24
A young Polish filmmaker sets out to find out what happened to Mateusz Birkut, a bricklayer who became a propaganda hero in the 1950s but later fell out of favor and disappeared. Soon the filmmaker discovers that her investigation may put her in serious danger...
Poland - 1977
165 minute
Together as One
Escape from the 'Liberty' Cinema
TIFF.24
During the screening of the film "Daybreak" at the Liberty Cinema, movie characters suddenly begin to talk to the viewers. The situation surprises communist authorities who send a censor to the theatre...
Poland - 1990
92 minute
Together as One
When the Light Breaks
TIFF.24
Preceded by the short film O (dir. Rúnar Rúnarsson, Islanda)
When the light breaks on a long summer’s day in Iceland, from one sunset to another, Una, a young art student encounters love, friendship, sorrow and beauty.
Iceland - 2024
82 minute
Supernova
2000 Meters to Andriivka
TIFF.24
Amid a failing counteroffensive in 2023, the director and his Associated Press colleague Alex Babenko follow a Ukrainian brigade battling through approximately one mile of a heavily fortified forest on their mission to liberate the Russian-occupied village of Andriivka.
Ukraine - 2025
108 minute
No Limit
A Year in the Life of a Country
TIFF.24
Martial law, which was imposed in Poland on 13 December 1981, targeted the Solidarity movement, but it had other faces, too. On the basis of exclusively archival footage, the film questions the mythicised image of Polish society as a victim of the system...
Poland - 2024
85 minute
Together as One
The Things You Kill
TIFF.24
Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, Ali, a university professor coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance. As long-buried family secrets resurface, the police tighten their noose, and doubts begin eroding his conscience.
France - 2025
114 minute
Supernova
The Tirana Conspiracy
TIFF.24
December 2000. The famous photographer Oliviero Toscani accepts an invitation from the art critic Giancarlo Politi to curate a section of the first edition of the Tirana Biennial.
Italy - 2024
71 minute
No Limit
Layla
TIFF.24
Layla is a struggling Muslim drag performer in London whose confident façade hides their desperate desire for love. At the lowest point in their life, they are surprised to win the affection of Max, a charming, successful white gay man who is bewitched by Layla’s power on stage.
United Kingdom - 2024
100 minute
Give Me 5: UK Debuts
The Prefab People
TIFF.24
A man finally decides he's had it, and he's walking out on his wife. But this is not a story about a cruel man abandoning a woman.
Hungary - 1982
102 minute
Close Up: Bela Tarr
United States - 2024
91 minute
Supernova
Where the Wind Comes From
TIFF.24
Alyssa, a rebellious 19-year-old girl, and her friend Mehdi, an introverted 23-year-old man, use their imagination to escape their unpromising reality.
Tunisia - 2025
100 minute
Teen Spirit
The Helsinki Effect
TIFF.24
An essay documentary that explores the power narratives and myths of the Cold War era. The film deconstructs the anatomy of an often misunderstood diplomatic process, and reveals how it came to impact the world in a decisive way.
Finland - 2025
88 minute
Special Screenings
They Will Be Dust
TIFF.24
After being diagnosed with a terminal illness, Claudia decides to make her final journey in Switzerland. Flavio, who hasn’t left her side for over forty years, decides to accompany her on this one-way trip.
Spain - 2024
107 minute
No Limit
Buried
TIFF.24
Paul is a U.S. truck driver working in Iraq. After an attack by a group of Iraqis he wakes to find he is buried alive inside a coffin. With only a lighter and a cell phone it's a race against time to escape this claustrophobic death trap.
Spain - 2010
95 minute
3 x 3
Sunlight
TIFF.24
Two people on the edge of life find purpose and romance through an unlikely connection, escaping the darkness in search of some sunlight. A hilariously dark and unconventional love story where one of the protagonists is always dressed in a monkey costume...
United Kingdom - 2024
96 minute
Give Me 5: UK Debuts
Fahrenheit 451
TIFF.24
Books are the enemy! That is why, in an unnamed country at an unspecified time, reading is strictly forbidden. The fire brigade’s sole mission is not to put fires out but to hunt down people who possess books and to reduce these objects to ashes.
United Kingdom - 1966
113 minute
Tomorrow is Fear
A Woman Heats the Sauna
TIFF.24
Preceded by the short film Sauna Day (dir. Anna Hints, Tushar Prakash)
Estonia - 1979
69 minute
FOCUS Estonia
About a Hero
TIFF.24
After a local factory worker named Dorem Clery dies under mysterious circumstances, Werner Herzog travels to Getunkirchenburg to investigate his perplexing death.
Denmark - 2024
84 minute
Tomorrow is Fear
2001: A Space Odyssey
TIFF.24
When a mysterious artifact is uncovered on the Moon, a spacecraft manned by two humans and supercomputer HAL 9000 (probably one of the most iconic representations of AI in SF) is sent to Jupiter to find its origins.
United Kingdom - 1968
149 minute
Tomorrow is Fear
20:45
TIFF 2025 OPENING GALA: CHRISTY
The 24th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival (Cluj-Napoca, June 13–22, 2025) will open with Christy (dir. Brendan Canty, Ireland/UK, 2025), a hopeful coming-of-age story about resilience and the power to start over, recently awarded at the Berlinale.
November
TIFF.24
In 19th-century Estonia, werewolves and spirits roam free, and Jesus co-exists with kratts, the farmers’ mythological helpers made of tools and bones.
Estonia - 2017
115 minute
3 x 3
Christy
TIFF.24
Christy, seventeen, is forced to move in with his estranged older half-brother after being thrown out of his suburban foster home.
Ireland - 2025
94 minute
Teen Spirit
I'm Still Here
TIFF.24
Rio de Janeiro, early 1970s. Brazil faces the tightening grip of a military dictatorship. One day, Rubens Paiva, the patriarch of a happy family, vanishes without trace...
This instant classic is screened at the 100th anniversary of FIPRESCI!
Brazil - 2024
137 minute
Special Screenings
Yellow Cat
TIFF.24
Ex-con Kermek and his beloved Eva want to give up their crime-ridden lives in the steppes of Kazakhstan. He has a dream: to build a cinema in the mountains. Will Kermek's love for Alain Delon be strong enough to keep them away from crime gangs' violent clutches?
Kazakhstan - 2020
90 minute
3 x 3