The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, founded in 1976 and taking place each September. It is also a permanent destination for film culture operating out of the TIFF Lightbox cultural centre, located in Downtown Toronto.
S. Epatha Merkerson is an American actress. She has received accolades for her work, including an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, four NAACP Image Awards, two Obie Awards, and two Tony Award nominations. She is known for her portrayal of NYPD Lieutenant Anita Van Buren on the NBC police procedural drama series Law & Order, a role she played from 1993 to 2010, appearing in 388 episodes of the series. She is also known for playing Reba the Mail Lady on Pee-wee's Playhouse and Sharon Goodwin in the NBC medical drama Chicago Med since the series premiered in November 2015
Eve's Bayou is a 1997 American Southern Gothic drama film written and directed by Kasi Lemmons, who made her directorial debut with this film. Samuel L. Jackson served as a producer, and starred in the film with Lisa Nicole Carson, Jurnee Smollett, Lynn Whitfield, Debbi Morgan, Meagan Good, and Diahann Carroll. The film premiered at the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in theaters on November 7, 1997. The film grossed $14 million domestically on a budget of $4 million, making it the most commercially successful independent film of 1997.
Stage 6 Films, Inc. is an American film production label of Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions that acquires and produces feature films that are low budget and that are being released direct-to-disc, on demand, or through streaming services. Some of their films are also being released theatrically. Once a film is finished, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions will decide if the film will be released theatrically or on a different platform.
MiltonHowery Jr., better known as Lil Rel Howery, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. Howery is known for playing Robert Carmichael in NBC's television comedy series The Carmichael Show (2015–2017) and Rod Williams in the horror film Get Out (2017). He starred in the short-lived TV series Rel (2018–2019), which he created and co-produced.
Brittany Runs a Marathon is a 2019 American comedy film written and directed by Paul Downs Colaizzo, in his directorial debut. It stars Jillian Bell, Michaela Watkins, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Lil Rel Howery, and Micah Stock. The film follows an overweight woman in New York City who sets out to lose weight and train for the city's annual marathon.
Harold and the Purple Crayon is an upcoming American live-action/animated fantasy comedy film directed by Carlos Saldanha from a screenplay by David Guion and Michael Handelman, based on the 1955 children's book Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson. It will star Zachary Levi in the titular role, with Lil Rel Howery, Jemaine Clement, Tanya Reynolds, and Zooey Deschanel in supporting roles. The film serves as a sequel to the original book, where, after the adventurous Harold grows up with his magical purple crayon and draws himself off the book's pages and into the physical world, he finds that he has a lot to learn about real life.
Fatherhood is a 2021 American comedy-drama film directed by Paul Weitz from a screenplay by Weitz and Dana Stevens based on the 2011 memoir Two Kisses for Maddy: A Memoir of Loss and Love by Matthew Logelin. The film stars Kevin Hart, Alfre Woodard, Frankie R. Faison, Lil Rel Howery, DeWanda Wise, Anthony Carrigan, Melody Hurd, and Paul Reiser, and follows a new father who struggles to raise his daughter after the sudden death of his wife.
Isabel May is an American actress. She is most known for the role of Elsa Dutton as the narrator and protagonist of the Paramount+ series 1883 (2021–2022), reprising the role as the narrator of its sequel series 1923 (2022–2023). She starred as Katie Cooper on the Netflix series Alexa & Katie and had a recurring role as Veronica Duncan on the CBS series Young Sheldon. She held the lead role of Zoe Hull in the film Run Hide Fight.
Minhal Baig is an American director, producer, and writer from Chicago, Illinois. She has written and directed three films, 1 Night, Hala and We Grown Now, and written for the television shows Ramy and Bojack Horseman.
Vacation Friends is a 2021 American buddy comedy film directed by Clay Tarver, and co-written by Tom Mullen, Tim Mullen, Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. The film stars John Cena, Lil Rel Howery, Yvonne Orji, Meredith Hagner, Robert Wisdom, Lynn Whitfield, and Andrew Bachelor.
Home is a 2020 internationally co-produced drama film written and directed by Franka Potente, in her directorial debut. It stars Jake McLaughlin, Kathy Bates, Aisling Franciosi, Derek Richardson, James Jordan, Lil Rel Howery and Stephen Root.
National Champions is a 2021 American sports drama film directed by Ric Roman Waugh, based on the play of the same name by Adam Mervis. The film stars Stephan James, J. K. Simmons, Alexander Ludwig, Lil Rel Howery, Tim Blake Nelson, Andrew Bachelor, Jeffrey Donovan, David Koechner, Kristin Chenoweth, Timothy Olyphant, and Uzo Aduba.
Spin Me Round is a 2022 American dark comedy film co-written by Jeff Baena and Alison Brie and directed by Baena. It premiered at the 2022 South by Southwest festival on March 12, 2022. It was released on August 19, 2022, by IFC Films in theaters and by AMC+ on video on demand.
The Burial is a 2023 American legal drama film directed by Maggie Betts and written by Betts and Doug Wright. It is loosely based on the true story of lawyer Willie E. Gary and his client Jeremiah Joseph O'Keefe's lawsuit against the Loewen funeral company, as documented in the 1999 New Yorker article of the same name by Jonathan Harr. It stars Jamie Foxx as Gary, Tommy Lee Jones as O'Keefe, Jurnee Smollett, Mamoudou Athie, and Bill Camp.
Poker Face is an American crime comedy-drama television series created by Rian Johnson for the streaming service Peacock. Stylized as a "case-of-the-week" murder mystery series, it stars Natasha Lyonne as Charlie Cale, a casino worker on the run who entangles herself into several mysterious deaths of strangers along the way.
The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile is an 2022 American documentary film, directed and co-produced by Kathlyn Horan. It follows Tanya Tucker returning to the studio to record her first album in 10 years, While I'm Livin', collaborating with Brandi Carlile.
Wicked Little Letters is a 2023 British black comedy mystery film directed by Thea Sharrock, written by Jonny Sweet, and starring Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Anjana Vasan, Joanna Scanlan, Gemma Jones, Malachi Kirby, Lolly Adefope, Eileen Atkins, and Timothy Spall. Based on a true scandal, it follows an investigation into the anonymous author of numerous crudely insulting letters sent to the residents of seaside town Littlehampton.
Animal Friends is an upcoming American live-action/animated road action comedy film directed by Peter Atencio and written by Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Jason Momoa, Vince Vaughn, Aubrey Plaza, Addison Rae, Dan Levy, Lil Rel Howery, and Joaquim de Almeida.
The Mill is a 2023 American science fiction thriller film directed by Sean King O'Grady and written by Jeffrey David Thomas. It stars Lil Rel Howery, Pat Healy, Karen Obilom, and Patrick Fischler. It began streaming on Hulu on October 9, 2023.
