Overview
- TIFF announced the Midnight Madness slate on Thursday, finalizing a ten-film program that runs during the festival from Sept. 10–20.
- The strand opens with the world premiere of Joshua Giuliano’s River and closes with Duncan Jones’ Rogue Trooper, and it includes six world premieres among films from ten countries.
- Shudder is reported to have acquired River for its streaming service with a theatrical release planned, while the other titles will be available for buyers during TIFF.
- Curry Barker’s Obsession will return for a special reprise screening with Barker and star Inde Navarrette taking part in a Dialogues event and TIFF will host a special Sept. 9 screening of Na Hong-jin’s Hope.
- Programmer Peter Kuplowsky framed the selection as a hunt for authentic, Gen Z‑aware genre voices, a strategy sharpened by last year’s Obsession pickup and by TIFF’s new industry market between Venice and San Sebastián that could drive more acquisitions and breakout careers.