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Seventh Row does TIFF21

Discover the best films premiering at TIFF21

September 9–19 2021

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About the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival

This year, TIFF21 is a hybrid of in-person and digital screenings. At Seventh Row, we’ll be covering the festival digitally as we do not believe it is safe to attend in-person screenings in Toronto given the exponential rise in COVID-19 cases in Ontario and the lack of airborne spread precautions required by Ontario Public Health. We will be scouting for the best under-the-radar films by international and emerging filmmaking, as well as covering buzzed-about titles like Benediction and The Power of the Dog.

The latest from the festival

Here you’ll find our reviews of the best and most buzzed-about films at TIFF21, interviews with emerging filmmakers, and features on the festival. Keep an eye out for our coverage of the best acquisition titles at the festival as these are films without distribution and thus aren’t guaranteed to be available to see later!

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Yuni is a smart Indonesian coming-of-age story

A collage of stills from the best films of TIFF 2021.

The best films of TIFF 2021

The Worst Person in the World is deeply romantic but not a romance

A collage of stills of some of the best performances at TIFF 2021 against a blue, patterned background.

The best performances of TIFF 2021

A still from Ahed's Knee in which Y, a middle aged man, holds Yahalom's hand, a young woman in a dress, as they walk up a hill. The text on the images reads, 'TIFF Review'.

Ahed’s Knee review: A filmmaker fights personal and political battles

Arsalan Amiri on making a realistic genre film, Zalava, in Iran

A still from The Gravedigger's Wife behind a headshot of director Khadar Ayderus Ahmed. The text on the image reads, 'TIFF interview'.

‘We are a nation of stories and poems’: Khadar Ayderus Ahmed on The Gravedigger’s Wife

A still from Ali & Ava, in which a couple stands against a stormy sky, smiling together. The text on the image reads, 'TIFF Review'.

Ali & Ava review: Clio Barnard crafts a lovely Bradford-set romance

A still from Huda's Salon, in which a woman clasps her baby to her chest and holds out a knife, hiding in anticipation of attack. The text on the image reads, 'TIFF Review'.

TIFF Review: Huda’s Salon is a gripping thriller set in Occupied Palestine

TIFF Review: Alanis Obomsawin’s Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair

A collage of the best acquisition titles at TIFF 2021.

The best acquisition titles at TIFF 2021 (updating throughout the festival)

A still from The Hill Where Lionesses Roar, in which the three girls faces each other and scream into the sky. The text on the images reads, 'TIFF Review'.

The Hill Where Lionesses Roar is a smart, heartfelt debut from Luàna Bajrami

A still from DASHCAM, of a blurry figure in red, seem in the dark through a car's front window. The text on the images reads, 'TIFF Review'.

TIFF Review: DASHCAM is a wild, gory ride

A still from Good Madam, in which Tsidi, a Black woman in her thirties, holds out a tray of tea. The text on the image reads, 'TIFF Review'.

Good Madam review: A haunted house in post-Apartheid South Africa

The Gravedigger’s Wife offers a touching slice of Somali life

Holocaust drama The Survivor is a showcase for Ben Foster

A still from Mad Women's Ball, in which two women stare each other down in a dimly lit, dingy hospital room.

TIFF Review: The Mad Women’s Ball is a shallow look at ‘female hysteria’

Benediction thoughtfully depicts a community of gay men

‘The more we went inside Lise’s perspective, the better it got’: Tea Lindeburg on As in Heaven

TIFF Review: Learn to Swim is treading water

Oscar Peterson: Black + White does a disservice to its subject

A still from Scarborough in which three young kids lie down on a colourful floor, gazing happily at the ceiling. The text on the image reads 'TIFF Review'.

TIFF Review: Scarborough is one of the festival’s most stirring crowdpleasers

A still from Aloners, in which a young woman sits at a table, her head downturned, her face passive. The text on the image reads 'TIFF Review'.

TIFF Review: Aloners is a melancholy ode to society’s loners

TIFF Review: Neus Ballús’s The Odd-Job Men is a delightful comedy

A collage of stills of the best emerging actors at TIFF 2021.

Eleven emerging actors to watch at TIFF 2021

A collage of stills from the best shorts at TIFF 2021, plus the TIFF logo.

Ten must-see shorts at TIFF 2021

The best TIFF 2021 films we’ve already seen

We’ve already seen some of the best films of the 2021 Toronto International Film festival (TIFF21) at earlier festivals this year, including Sundance, Berlinale, and Cannes. Here’s a look at our coverage of the must-see films from these festivals that will screen at TIFF.

Berlinale Review: I’m Your Man — Are mirrors the perfect lovers?

By Alex Heeney

Berlinale Review: The long goodbyes of Céline Sciamma’s Petite Maman

By Alex Heeney

Danis Goulet on her Indigenous sci-fi thriller Night Raiders

By Alex Heeney

Ep. 102: Cannes 2021

By Seventh Row Editors

Ep. 79: Sundance 2021, part 2

By Seventh Row Editors

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