The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced the lineup for its 2025 Classics program, revealed on August 8, and it promises a richly varied celebration of film history. The centrepiece is a special 50th-anniversary presentation of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, a landmark in popular cinema whose taut direction, unforgettable score and pioneering summer release strategy helped define the modern blockbuster. Half a century on from its 1975 debut, the thriller’s ability to grip audiences remains undiminished, and TIFF’s choice to spotlight it reflects the festival’s interest in works that have shaped both the art and business of film.
The Classics strand has long been a pillar of TIFF’s programming, giving new life to restored or rarely screened works from around the world. This year’s roster underscores that international reach. Manoel de Oliveira’s Aniki-Bóbó, a 1942 portrait of childhood in Porto, offers a window into early Portuguese neorealism and the beginnings of a career that would span more than seven decades. Iranian director Bahram Beyzai’s Bashu, the Little Stranger is celebrated for its sensitive handling of themes of displacement and cultural integration, set against the backdrop of the Iran-Iraq war. Satyajit Ray’s Days and Nights in the Forest, one of the Indian master’s most acclaimed films, examines class, friendship and alienation through the deceptively simple tale of four young men on holiday in rural Bengal. Michael Almereyda’s Nadja brings a postmodern, black-and-white sensibility to the vampire genre, blending avant-garde flourishes with a moody downtown New York aesthetic.
For TIFF, bringing these titles together is about more than nostalgia. Many of the works in the Classics program are presented in new digital or photochemical restorations, often the result of years of work by archives, rights holders and filmmakers’ estates. Such presentations allow audiences to experience the films as close as possible to their original form, often on the large screens for which they were intended. In past editions, TIFF has paired these screenings with introductions from filmmakers, scholars or critics, adding context that deepens appreciation and understanding.
The inclusion of Jaws also offers a moment to reflect on Spielberg’s enduring influence. When it premiered, the film not only terrified viewers with its unseen menace but also demonstrated how a combination of high-concept storytelling, wide distribution and savvy marketing could galvanise global audiences. Its restoration and revival at TIFF speak to a broader trend in festival programming: an eagerness to revisit films that were both critical and commercial milestones, and to reassess their impact in a new cultural moment.
By curating a program that moves from mid-century European realism to American genre innovation, from Iranian social drama to Indian art cinema and experimental American indie work, TIFF underscores its role as a bridge between eras and cultures. For festival-goers, the Classics program offers a chance not only to see these films anew, but also to place them in dialogue with contemporary cinema showcased elsewhere in the festival.
The 2025 Toronto International Film Festival will run from September 4 to 14, drawing filmmakers, industry professionals and audiences from around the world. As ever, the Classics section will provide a reflective counterpoint to the premieres and red-carpet galas, reminding attendees that the future of film is enriched by a deep engagement with its past.