The Windsor International Film Festival has announced its lineup, bringing films from around the world to our doorstep. Taking place in Windsor, Ontario, from October 23 through November 2, 2025, this year’s festival is definitely one to seek out. Boasting a great lineup of Canadian films, hidden gems, award-worthy titles, and movies that have left audiences and critics buzzing, there is something for everyone in Windsor.
Not sure what to see? Here are 20 exciting titles to put on your radar for the 2025 Windsor International Film Festival.
Mile End Kicks
Mile End Kicks, the sophomore feature from I Like Movies director Chandler Levack, will kick off WIFF. The film tells the story of Grace (Barbie Ferreira) a music critic from Toronto who moves to Montreal with plans to write a book, only to be sidetracked by falling for two guys in the same struggling indie rock band.
After the Hunt
Filmmaker Luca Guadagnino’s star-studded After the Hunt will close out WIFF on November 2. The psychological drama sees a college professor (Julia Roberts) at a crossroads when her star student (The Bear’s Ayo Edibiri) levels an accusation at a colleague (Andrew Garfield), which threatens a dark secret from her own past.
Four Mothers
A charming script and solid ensemble bring the Irish comedy Four Mothers to life. When Edward’s (James McArdle) pals ditch him to celebrate Pride in Spain, he’s left to care for their aging mothers, as well as his own (Finnoula Flanagan). It’s what That Shelf’s Emma Badame calls, “a loving tribute to mothers everywhere, their loving, middle-aged gay sons, and to letting the past go for the sake of the future.”
Lovely Day
The latest from Monsieur Lazhar director Philippe Falardeau is a playful wedding comedy. Taking a unique structural approach to the story, Alain (Neil Elias) and Virginie’s (Rose-Marie Perreault) big day unfolds multiple times, revealing the groom’s actions in a new light each time we see them.
Rental Family
Starring Brendan Fraser as a struggling American actor in Tokyo who starts getting gigs as a surrogate in people’s lives, Rental Family is a whimsically warmhearted tale of belonging and makeshift families.
The History of Sound
Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor headline director Oliver Hermanus’ (Living) tale of love and music. Lionel (Mescal) reconnects with David (O’Connor) on an impromptu journey to collect folk songs, rekindling memories of their brief love affair from 1917 and shaping the course of Lionel’s future.
Little Lorraine
Ever hear a story so wild it can only be true? Little Lorraine is the true story of how a small Cape Breton mining village became home to an international cocaine smuggling ring in the 1980s. Critic Courtney Small calls it a “taut crime drama that shows what can occur when a community is pushed to the brink.”
Aontas
A great crime thriller from Northern Ireland, Aontas follows three women as they plan to rob a rural credit union. The twist? It’s all told in reverse, so viewers get to see the crime first, then fill in the “why” as the details come together like pieces of a puzzle.
Sirat
Breathtaking, gutwrenching, viscerally beautiful, Oliver Laxe’s Sirat defies categorization. The winner of the Cannes Competition Jury Prize, the film is ostensibly about a desperate father searching for his missing adult daughter in the Moroccan desert, but through unexpected narrative turns, it becomes about so much more. With a pulsating score and incredible performances by a supporting cast of non-actors, Sirat is one of the best films of the year.
My Favourite Cake
My Favourite Cake is a charming and heartwarming tale of Mahin, a 70-year-old widow who decides to break up her routine and open herself to the possibility of a new romance. A tender drama with strong performances, My Favourite Cake is a quiet film that will leave a lasting impression.
Nika & Madison
Director Eva Thomas finds inspiration in Thelma & Louise for her story about two young Indigenous women on the run after a violent incident. With strong performances from Ellyn Jade and Star Slade as the titular leads, Nika & Madison shows real promise from Thomas for her first solo directing feature film.
Wrong Husband
Nunavut’s Zacharias Kunuk was awarded Best Canadian Feature Film at TIFF for Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband). A captivating historical epic set 4000 years ago, the drama tells the story of an arranged marriage, drawing upon Inuit culture and breathtaking imagery.
No Other Choice
A darkly funny satire from famed Korean director Park Chan-wook, No Other Choice follows a desperate unemployed man (superstar Lee Byung Hun) who decides the only path to a new job is to eliminate his competition, one by one. Critic Victor Stiff calls it, “a whip-smart black comedy, driven by a knockout lead performance”.
Predators
Dateline NBC’s “To Catch A Predator” proved to be a formula for success. Now, Predators, takes a look at the complex hows and whys viewers latched onto the program that spawned endless copycats and entertainment clickbait.
Nino
After a star-making performance in 2023’s Solo, Théodore Pellerin plays Nino, a young man blindsided by a devastating diagnosis on the eve of his 29th birthday in the debut feature from director Pauline Loquès. Pellerin won a Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award at Cannes for his performance in the film.
A Private Life
Jodie Foster plays a Parisian psychotherapist who teams up with her ex-husband to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of a patient in this surprisingly offbeat psychological French-language thriller.
Souleymane’s Story
The heartbreakingly beautiful tale, Abou Sangare won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival for his role as Souleymane, a food delivery driver on the streets of Paris with an impending asylum hearing. Film critic Emma Badame called it one of the best films of 2025.
Youngblood
The late Canadian filmmaker Charles Officer co-wrote the script for Youngblood and intended to direct it before his passing in 2023. Hubert Davis steps into the director’s chair, continuing Officer’s legacy with a fresh take on the hockey movie. With compelling performances by Ashton James in the lead, Blair Underwood, and Shawn Doyle, Youngblood expertly blends drama and storytelling with on-ice action.
The Librarians
Librarians are on the frontlines fighting for intellectual freedom, as highlighted in the timely documentary by Kim A. Snyder, which showcases the efforts of librarians in the U.S. to combat the banning of literature focused on race and LGBTQIA+ stories.
Sentimental Value
Earning buzz from audiences and critics alike as one of the year’s best films, Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value portrays the fraught relationship between aging film director Gustav Borg (Stellan Skarsgard) and his daughters Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas). Also featuring Elle Fanning as an American film actress keen to work with Borg, this empathetic family drama “seems bound for Oscars”, according to That Shelf’s Pat Mullen.
Tickets are now on sale for the Windsor International Film Festival, which runs from October 23 through November 2. See the full line-up of films HERE.
