“Dust to Dreams” Selected for TIFF Shorts World Premiere

Award-winning filmmaker Idris Elba will make his directorial debut with “Dust to Dreams,” set for its world premiere in the Toronto International Film Festival’s Short Cuts program, running from September 4 to 14 in Toronto, Canada.

The 20-minute Lagos-set drama stars Grammy-winning artist Seal, alongside Nse Ikpe-Etim, Eku Edewor, Atlanta Bridget Johnson, and newcomer Constance Olatunde. Written and directed by Elba in partnership with Mo Abudu’s EbonyLife, the film tells the story of a nightclub owner (Ikpe-Etim), nearing the end of her life, who is determined to preserve her legacy by passing her business to her daughter. The return of her long-lost soldier father forces the family to confront old wounds.

“Dust to Dreams” will screen in a lineup featuring 48 short films from 28 countries across seven programming categories. Notable selections include Joshua Seftel’s “All the Empty Rooms,” Tawfeek Barhom’s Cannes 2025 Palme d’Or-winning “I’m Glad You’re Dead Now,” Patrick Xavier Bresnan and Ivete Lucas’s “The Contestant,” Blake’s “Disc,” Joecar Hanna’s “Talk Me,” and Rich Williamson and Shasha Nakhai’s “Bots.”

The festival’s Nigerian representation also includes Akinola Davis Jr.’s “My Father’s Shadow” in the centerpiece category. Other high-profile premieres include Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man,” Scarlett Johansson’s “Eleanor the Great,” Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident,” Hikari’s “Rental Family,” Mamoru Hosoda’s “Scarlet,” Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice,” “If I Had Legs I Would Kick You,” and Mascha Schilinski’s “Sound of Falling.”

The 50th edition of TIFF will introduce the Best Animated Short Film Award, judged by cinematographer Ashley Iris Gill, Annecy Artistic Director Marcel Jean, and actor-writer-director Connor Jessup.