Shook

Director Amar Wala
Year 2024
Run Time 113min
Genre Drama, Romance
After a run-in with his estranged father, an aspiring writer learns a secret that will force him to balance family, love, and success while navigating the divide between the exciting city life he wants and his suburban reality.

Director

Amar Wala

Amar Wala is an award-winning Toronto-based filmmaker and alumni of York University’s Film Program. His debut feature The Secret Trial 5 earned him jury recognition as an Emerging Filmmaker at Hot Docs and was named as one of the Top Ten Docs of the Decade by Realscreen. Wala has also directed and produced award-winning television series such as the acclaimed CBC Arts program In The Making and the award-winning comedy series Next Stop.   

Writer

Adnan Khan

Cast

Saamer Usmani, Amy Forsyth, Pamela Sinha

Genres

Drama, Romance

Interest

Family Relationships

Original Language

English

The New Romantic

Director Carly Stone
Year 2018
Run Time 82min
Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
Frustrated with the lack of chivalrous guys her own age, a college senior gives up on dating for love to date an older man in exchange for gifts instead.

Director

Carly Stone

Writers

Carly Stone, Kyle Mann

Cast

Jessica Barden

Genres

Comedy, Drama, Romance

Original Language

English

Les Amours Imaginaires (Heartbeats)

Director Xavier Dolan
Year 2010
Run Time 97min
Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance

With Heartbeats, Xavier Dolan captures the beautiful absurdity of unrequited love. Two friends fall for the same enigmatic stranger, and their friendship slowly unravels under the weight of fantasy and projection. Stylish, playful, and emotionally raw, the film examines how desire often says more about our own longing than about the person we chase. Dolan’s pop-infused aesthetic turns heartbreak into something both painfully relatable and strangely glamorous.

Director

Xavier Dolan

Dolan is an acclaimed filmmaker and actor, whose films have won over 90 awards internationally. J’ai tué ma mere and Heartbeats both won the Regards Jeunes Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Laurence Anyways won the Queer Palm at Cannes, and Best Canadian Feature at TIFF, and Mommy won the Jury Prize at Cannes, 10 Jutra awards and nine CSAs. He also directed Tom at the Farm, It’s Only the End of the World, Matthias & Maxine, and others.

 

Writer

Xavier Dolan

Genres

Comedy, Drama, Romance

Original Languages

English, French

Dead Lover

Director Grace Glowicki
Year 2025
Run Time 83min
Genre Comedy, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Thriller

A foul-smelling gravedigger's romance ends in tragedy, spurring her to attempt a resurrection through a madcap series of science experiments. Grace Glowicki and Ben Petrie’s film is a zany DIY horror that zaps fresh life into Mary Shelley's classic.

Director

Grace Glowicki

Producers

Yona Strauss, Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie

Genres

Comedy, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Thriller

Original Language

English

The Mourning Suit

Director Leonard Yakir
Year 1975
Run Time 90min
Genre Drama, Romance
Allan Moyle plays Herschel, a young Jewish cellist who returns to his hometown looking to reconnect with those he left behind. He rents loft space in a warehouse where an old tailor lives out his fantasies of a once-thriving garment factory.
 

Director

Leonard Yakir

Writers

Leonard Yakir, Joe Wiesenfeld

Cast

Helen Cooperstein

Genres

Drama, Romance

Original Language

English

Midnight at the Paradise

Director Vanessa Matsui
Year 2022
Run Time 96min
Genre Drama, Romance
In this heartfelt ode to independent theatres, Iris (Liane Balaban), feeling something is missing in her life, reconnects with her old fling Alex (Allan Hawco) who is back in town. With their paths colliding at a fateful screening at her favourite theatre, the two will soon face a potentially life-altering decision.

Director

Vanessa Matsui

Writer

Bill Robertson

Cast

Liane Balaban, Allan Hawco, Kenneth Welsh

Producer

Bill Robertson

Genres

Drama, Romance

Interests

Arts and Culture, Female Filmmaker, Strong Female Leads

Original Language

English

Mile End Kicks

Director Chandler Levack
Year 2025
Run Time 105min
Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
In this dazzling sophomore feature from Chandler Levack (I Like Movies), a young music reporter leaves her job in Toronto and strikes out on her own in Montreal, armed with a book deal and a desire to start fresh. However, as she becomes romantically entangled with a band that she’s covering, her carefully made plans quickly start to fall apart.
 

Director

Chandler Levack

Levack got her start directing music videos, which earned her two Juno Award nominations for Video of the Year. She went on to debut her first narrative short, We Forgot to Break Up, at TIFF 2017. Her first feature film, I Like Movies, premiered at TIFF 2022 and was named to TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten list. She also directed several episodes of the 2024 Crave series My Dead Mom

Writer

Chandler Levack

Cast

Devon Bostick, Barbie Ferreira, Jay Baruchel

Producers

Matthew Miller, Pat Kiely

Genres

Comedy, Drama, Romance

Interests

Arts and Culture, Female Filmmaker

Original Language

English

Amour apocalypse (Peak Everything)

Director Anne Émond
Year 2025
Run Time 100min
Genre Comedy, Romance
Adam, a kennel owner gripped by climate anxiety finds unexpected solace in conversations with a customer service representative. When he hears about a natural disaster where she works, he sets out on a cross-provincial journey to rescue her. Nominated for 15 Prix Iris, including Best Picture.

Director

Anne Émond

Émond's debut feature, Nuit #1, won the Claude Jutra Award for Best Feature by a first time filmmaker at the 2012 Genie Awards. Her other credits include the shorts La vie commence, Sophie Lavoie and Plus rien ne vouloir, and the features Nelly and Les êtres chers, which received seven Jutra Award nominations and won for Best Direction. Her most recent film is Manuel de la vie sauvage

Writer

Anne Émond

Cast

Gilles Renaud, Eric K. Boulianne, Patrick Hivon, Piper Perabo

Producer

Sylvain Corbeil

Genres

Comedy, Romance

Interests

Environment, Female Filmmaker

Original Language

French

The End of Sex

Director Sean Garrity
Year 2022
Run Time 87min
Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
2026 spotlight contributor Emily Hampshire
Gifted a brief reprieve from the pressures of parenthood with their kids off at a sleepaway camp, Josh (Jonas Chernick) and Emma (Emily Hampshire) decide to use the opportunity to attempt to rekindle the passion in their relationship. Their efforts to spice things up quickly lead to a series of hilarious misadventures with unexpected complications.

Featuring outrageous performances by a terrific cast, this witty look at long term relationships is a fun and fresh entry into the romantic comedy genre.

“Heartfelt and funny in all the right places.” — Rachel Ho, Exclaim!

Director

Sean Garrity

Writer

Jonas Chernick

Cast

Jonas Chernick, Emily Hampshire

Producer

Justin Rebelo

Genres

Comedy, Drama, Romance

Interest

Family Relationships

Original Language

English

Youngblood

Director Hubert Davis
Year 2025
Run Time 105min
Genre Drama, Romance
2026 spotlight contributor Staff Pick
Dean Youngblood, a top hockey prospect in the minor leagues, faces the prospect of his career ending early when he’s suspended for an on-ice incident. Given a new chance on a new team, he has to face his aggression head-on to get back on track and lead his team to a championship.

Drawing inspiration from the 80s cult classic of the same name, Director Hubert Davis expertly captures the drama both on and off the ice, with incredible performances and exhilarating hockey sequences. 

“In an age when sports movies often feel either overly sentimental or clumsily macho, ‘Youngblood’ finds a refreshing sweet spot that’s emotionally intelligent, grounded, and deeply human.” — Louisa Moore, Screen Zealots
 

Director

Hubert Davis

Davis’s first film, Hardwood, was nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Documentary. He went on to receive the Don Haig award at Hot Docs for Invisible City, and direct numerous award winning commercials, as well as the short films Aruba and Rivolta, which won a Cannes Film Lion, and the feature documentaries Giants of Africa and Black Ice, which premiered at TIFF in 2022 where it won the People’s Choice Documentary Award.

 

Writers

Seneca Aaron, Josh Epstein, Peter Markle

Cast

Shawn Doyle, Ashton James, Blair Underwood

Producers

Anthony Leo, Andrew Rosen

Genres

Drama, Romance

Interest

Sports

Original Language

English