Babajide FADOJU
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has announced its 2025 award categories, jury members, and prizes, offering African filmmakers a global platform to showcase their stories during its 50th edition, running September 4–14, 2025. An in-person awards ceremony, also livestreamed at 10 am ET on September 14 at TIFF Lightbox, will honor outstanding cinematic works, with a special invitation for African talent to compete. The Best Canadian Discovery Award, carrying a $10,000 cash prize, celebrates emerging filmmakers, including African-Canadian directors, with first or second feature films in TIFF’s Official Selection, as seen with last year’s winner, Matthew Rankin’s Universal Language.
The Best Canadian Feature Film Award, also with a $10,000 prize, honors seasoned Canadian directors, excluding first or second features, with Sophie Deraspe’s Shepherds taking the 2024 prize. The jury for these awards includes Jennifer Baichwal, a documentarian with a TIFF history; Sophie Jarvis, whose debut Until Branches Bend earned accolades; and R.T. Thorne, director of the acclaimed 40 Acres. The FIPRESCI Prize, awarded by the International Federation of Film Critics, recognizes debut features in TIFF’s Discovery programme, offering African filmmakers with world premieres a chance for international acclaim.
The FIPRESCI jury comprises Katharina Dockhorn, a German film policy expert; Francisco Ferreira, a Portuguese critic; Jean-Philippe Guerand, a French journalist; Andy Hazel, an Australian Golden Globes voter; and Justine Smith, a Canadian editor and programmer. The NETPAC Award, presented by the Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema, honors Asian films by first or second-time directors, with opportunities for African filmmakers involved in co-productions. Its jury includes Dina Iordanova, a global cinema scholar; Helen Lee, a Seoul-born filmmaker; and Keoprasith Souvannavong, a Laotian-born journalist.
TIFF’s People’s Choice Awards, presented by Rogers, continue their 48-year tradition as an Oscars predictor, with categories including the People’s Choice Award, Documentary Award, Midnight Madness Award, and the new International People’s Choice Award, open to all Official Selection films and series, inviting African narratives to resonate globally. The Platform jury, led by Carlos Marqués-Marcet with Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Chloé Robichaud, will evaluate TIFF’s competitive programme, while the Short Cuts jury, featuring Ashley Iris Gill, Marcel Jean, and Connor Jessup, will award prizes for Best Animated, International, and Canadian Short Films, encouraging African short filmmakers. With African cinema gaining global traction through films like Mami Wata, TIFF 2025 invites filmmakers from the continent to submit their work and compete for these prestigious honors. Full award details are available at tiff.net/awards