TORONTO & SAN SEBASTIAN 2025: Titles Selected From Asia, Africa & Midde East
Below is a list of films selected for the main sections of Toronto and San Sebastian film festivals, originating from or mostly filmed in Asia, Africa and the Middle East (or from filmmakers originating from these regions but based elsewhere) with sales agents and nationalities of co-production partners where known. See here for the line-ups of Locarno and Venice film festivals. **This list is a work in progress so please DM me if you have updates or additions.**
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL [SEPT 4-14]
TORONTO GALA PRESENTATIONS:
Homebound (India)
Dir: Neeraj Ghaywan
Int’l sales: WME Independent (Noth America), Paradise City Sales (rest of world)
No Other Choice (Korea)
Dir: Park Chan-wook
Int’l sales: CJ ENM
Palestine 36 (Palestine, UK, France, Denmark, Norway, Qatar, Saudi, Jordan)
Dir: Annemarie Jacir
Int’l sales: MK2 Films, Lucky Number
She’s Got No Name (China)
Dir: Peter Ho-Sun Chan
Int’l sales: Moebius Entertainment
Sholay (India, 1975)
Dir: Ramesh Sippy
TORONTO SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS:
A Pale View Of Hills (Japan, UK, Poland)
Dir: Kei Ishikawa
Int’l sales: Gaga Corporation
Good News (Korea)
Dir: Byun Sung-hyun
Contact: Netflix
It Was Just An Accident (Iran, France, Luxembourg)
Dir: Jafar Panahi
Int’l sales: MK2 Films
Kokuho (Japan)
Dir: Lee Sang-Il
Int’l sales: Pyramide International
Ky Nam Inn (Vietnam)
Dir: Leon Le
Prod: Hay Films, UFO Entertainment
Monkey In A Cage (India)
Dir: Anurag Kashyap
Prod: Saffron Magicworks
Project Y (Korea)
Dir: Lee Hwan
Int’l sales: Plus M Entertainment
Scarlet (Japan)
Dir: Mamoru Hosoda
Int’l distribution: Sony Pictures
The Ugly (Korea)
Dir: Yeon Sang-ho
Int’l sales: Plus M Entertainment
The Voice Of Hind Rajab (Tunisia, France)
Dir: Kaouther Ben Hania
Int’l sales: The Party Film Sales
TORONTO CENTREPIECE:
A Useful Ghost (Thailand, France, Singapore, Germany)
Dir: Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke
Int’l sales: Best Friend Forever
Diya (Chad, France, Germany, Ivory Coast)
Dir: Achille Ronaimou
Prod: SIC Productions
Eagles Of The Republic (Sweden, France)
Dir: Tarik Saleh
Int’l sales: Playtime
Exit 8 (Japan)
Dir. Genki Kawamura
Int’l sales: Goodfellas
Girl (Taiwan)
Dir: Shu Qi
Int’l sales: Goodfellas
In Search Of The Sky (India)
Dir: Jitank Singh Gurjar
Prod: Canvas Creation
Irkalla - Gilgamesh’s Dream (Iraq, UAE, Qatar, France, UK, Saudi)
Dir: Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji
Prod: Image Nation Abu Dhabi, Iraqi Independent Film Center
Left-Handed Girl (Taiwan, France, US, UK)
Dir: Shih-Ching Tsou
Int’l sales: Le Pacte
Mama (Israel, Poland, Italy)
Dir: Or Sinai
Prod: Baryo Film & TV Productions
Memory Of Princess Mumbi (Kenya, Saudi, Switzerland)
Dir: Damien Hauser
Int'l sales: Paradise City Sales
My Father’s Shadow (Nigeria, UK)
Dir: Akinola Davies Jr
Int’l sales: The Match Factory
Nomad Shadow (US, Spain, France)
Dir: Eimi Imanishi
Prod: Dialectic, Incognito Films, Peculiar Films
Palimpsest: The Story Of A Name (France, Hong Kong, Taiwan)
Dir: Mary Stephen
Renoir (Japan, France, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, Qatar)
Dir: Hayakawa Chie
Int’l sales: Goodfellas
The Fox King (Malaysia, Indonesia)
Dir: Woo Ming Jin
Prod: Sunstrong Entertainment, Greenlight Pictures, Da Huang Pictures, KawanKawan Media
The Little Sister (France, Germany)
Dir: Hafsia Herzi
Int’l sales: MK2 Films
The President’s Cake (Iraq, US, Qatar)
Dir: Hasan Hadi
Int’l sales: Films Boutique
The Sun Rises On Us All (China)
Dir: Cai Shangjun
Prod: Tianjin Maoyan Weying Media
Unidentified (Saudi)
Dir: Haifaa Al Mansour
Int’l sales: UTA Independent Film Group, Memento International
TORONTO DISCOVERY:
Amoeba (Singapore, Netherlands, France, Spain, Korea)
Dir: Siyou Tan
Int'l sales: Diversion
As We Breathe (Turkey, Denmark)
Dir: Seyhmus Altun
Bayaan (India)
Dir: Bikas Ranjan Mishra
Prod: Platoon One Films, Summit Studios, Guidant Films
Ghost School (Pakistan)
Dir: Seemab Gul
Prod: Cinelava
Mārama (New Zealand)
Dir: Taratoa Stappard
Prod: The Sweetshop, Vendetta Films
Sink (Jordan, Saudi, Qatar, France)
Dir: Zain Duraie
Prod: Tabi360, Jordan Pioneers
TORONTO PLATFORM:
Between Dreams And Hope (Iran)
Dir: Farnoosh Samadi
Int’l sales: True Colours
Bouchra (Italy, Morocco, US)
Dir: Orian Barki & Meriem Bennani
Prod: 2 Lizards Production
The World Of Love (Korea)
Dir: Yoon Ga-eun
Int’l sales: Barunson E&A
TORONTO MIDNIGHT MADNESS:
Junk World (Japan)
Dir: Takahide Hori
Prod: Yamiken
The Furious (Hong Kong, China)
Dir: Kenji Tanigaki
Int’l sales: XYZ Films
TORONTO WAVELENGTHS:
Magellan (Philippines, Portugal, Spain, France, Taiwan)
Dir: Lav Diaz
Int’l sales: Luxbox
Wavelengths Pairings:
It’s So Beautiful Here (Palestine)
Dir: Basma al-Sharif
With Hasan In Gaza (Palestine, Germany, France, Qatar)
Dir: Kamal Aljafari
Prod: Kamal Aljafari Productions
TORONTO PRIMETIME:
Gandhi (India)
Dir: Hansal Mehta
Origin: The Story Of The Basketball Africa League (Rwanda, UK, US)
Dir: Richard Brown, Tebogo Malope
The Savage (Iran)
Dir: Houman Seyyedi
TIFF INDUSTRY SELECTS:
[An annual showcase bringing a sample of standout, audience-ready available features among many other titles that will be traded during the festival, ahead of the launch of the inaugural TIFF: The Market in 2026]
Hana Korea (Denmark, Korea)
Dir. Frederik Sølberg
Int’l sales: REinvent International Sales
Holy Days (New Zealand, Canada)
Dir. Nathalie Boltt
Int’l sales: Blue Fox Entertainment
Stitches (Nigeria)
Dir. Shirley Frimpong-Manso
Int’l sales: Blue Pictures Entertainment
SAN SEBASTIAN FILM FESTIVAL [SEPTEMBER 19-27]
OFFICIAL SELECTION:
Climbing For Life (Japan)
Dir: Junji Sakamoto
Prod: Kinoshita Group
Her Heart Beats In Its Cage (China)
Dir: Xiaoyu Qin
Prod: Shanghai Dax Pictures
Sai: Disaster (Japan)
Dirs: Yutaro Seki, Kentaro Hirase
Prod: Dentsu, Bitters End
NEW DIRECTORS:
As We Breathe (Turkey, Denmark)
Dir: Seyhmus Altun
Before The Bright Day (Taiwan)
Dir: Tsao Shih-Han
Int’l sales: Life Scenery Films
Nighttime Sounds (China)
Dir: Zhang Zhongchen
Prod: Beijing San Yue Culture Media
Shape Of Momo (India, Korea)
Dir: Tribeny Rai
Prod: Dalley Khorsani Production, Kathkala Films, Aizoa Pictures
White Flowers And Fruits (Japan)
Dir: Yukari Sakamoto
Prod: Bitters End, Yamamoto Teruhisa
