Documentaries on sex work, whistlers, aeronauts join Toronto’s film festival lineup

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/08/2025 (233 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – Sex workers, champion whistlers and hot air balloon adventurers star in the documentaries bound for the Toronto International Film Festival.

Festival organizers say TIFF’s non-fiction slate will open with “The Eyes of Ghana,” from Oscar-winning Halifax director Ben Proudfoot and executive producers Barack and Michelle Obama.

Proudfoot’s short films won Oscars in 2024 and 2022. He now brings a feature on filmmaker and cinematographer Chris Hesse, who was the personal photographer to Ghana’s first president Kwame Nkrumah.

TIFF says the film is among 16 world premieres that also include “Modern Whore,” a look at the sex industry directed by Canada’s Nicole Bazuin, and based on the eponymous book by Bazuin and Andrea Werhun. 

Werhun was a consultant on last year’s stripper dramedy “Anora,” which won best picture at the Oscars and earned the best director trophy for Sean Baker, who executive produced “Modern Whore.”

Other films coming to the fest include John Dower’s look at pioneering aeronauts in “The Balloonists,” Christopher Nelius’ examination of competitive whistling in “Whistle,” and Tasha Van Zandt’s deep sea portrait “A Life Illuminated,” about marine biologist Dr. Edie Widder, an expert in mysterious bioluminescent creatures.

And there’s the Catholic Church critique “Nuns vs. the Vatican,” directed by Lorena Luciano and executive produced by Mariska Hargitay and a look at the downfall of a celebrity chef in “Canceled: The Paula Deen Story,” directed by Billy Corben.

The 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival runs Sept. 4 to 14.

Other Canadian documentaries include Jamal Burger and Jukan Tateisi’s “Still Single,” Darlene Naponse’s “Aki,” Shane Belcourt’s “Ni-Naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising,” Min Sook Lee’s “There Are No Words,” Michèle Stephenson’s “True North” and Peter Mettler’s ambitious “While the Green Grass Grows: A Diary in Seven Parts,” described as a a seven-part audio-visual diary.

International docs also include Raoul Peck’s George Orwell film, “Orwell: 2+2=5,” a look at the “1984” author’s legacy that debuted at Cannes.

Previously announced docs include festival opener “John Candy: I Like Me,” “Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery,” “Degrassi: Whatever It Takes,” “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” and “You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 6, 2025.