Canadian ’Youngblood’ remake, Charli XCX drama added to TIFF lineup

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TORONTO — The Toronto International Film Festival has revealed its lineup of international films, including a Canadian remake of the hockey classic “Youngblood.”

The reimagined drama is co-written by late Toronto filmmaker Charles Officer, and it’s among the 55 titles in TIFF’s Centrepiece program.

The 2025 version of “Youngblood” revisits the 1986 cult classic that starred Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze and a young Keanu Reeves, this time following a Black hockey prodigy played by Ashton James.

Officer was originally set to direct the film before he died in December 2023, and Oscar-nominated Canadian filmmaker Hubert Davis, who helmed the 2022 hockey documentary “Black Ice,” has since taken the reins.

“He was a friend of the festival,” TIFF programmer Robyn Citizen said of Officer. “He was a supporter of the festival and what TIFF was trying to do, and our mission, which is really to change the world through film.”

Officer’s fingerprints are all over the film, Citizen said, and Davis brought his heart to it too.

Among other world premieres are Richard Linklater’s Ethan Hawke and Margaret Qualley-led dramedy “Blue Moon.” The director of “Boyhood” is also bringing his new French-language film “Nouvelle Vague” to the fest.

Also among the Centrepiece lineup is the Polish/U.S. indie “Erupcja,” which stars “360” singer Charli XCX as a British tourist in a combustible relationship with a florist. That’s two TIFF films for the U.K. pop star best known for her album “Brat.” She’s also in Romain Gavras’ “Sacrifice.”

Meanwhile, “Left-Handed Girl,” helmed by Shih-Ching Tsou and co-written by “Anora” director Sean Baker, will make its North American bow.

Also making its first appearance on the continent is “Space Cadet,” an animated sci-fi feature and the directorial debut of Canadian DJ Kid Koala.

“TIFF is making an effort to create more space for animated titles,” Citizen said. “Over the last few years, we’ve all seen the success of ‘Flow’ and ‘The Wild Robot.’ Animated films are positioned on the world stage for major awards and a different type of prestige.”

She pointed to two other animated features in the Centrepiece lineup: “Arco,” a sci-fi film produced by Natalie Portman and “Dandelion’s Odyssey,” which stars four dandelion seeds searching for a new home following Earth’s annihilation.

TIFF runs from Sept. 4 to 14 and will open with “John Candy: I Like Me,” a documentary on the late Canadian comic.

-with files from Nicole Thompson in Toronto.