Free outdoor summer movie line-up announced for Toronto

Toronto’s free outdoor film festival just announced their 2025 summer line-up.

From June through August, the 15th annual Toronto Outdoor Picture Show brings a coming-of-age-themed program of free open-air cinema titled When We Were Young, a 20-day festival of films that explores the joys and thrills of youth, and the trials and tribulations of growing up.

The films are in three public spaces across Toronto: Fort York (June 12 to 17), Christie Pits Park (July 6 to Aug. 24) and Corktown Common (July 3 to Aug. 7).

The opening weekend at Fort York, over six consecutive evenings, will also include pre-show events every evening, such as vintage lawn games, chalk art painting, a celebratory photo booth and a costume contest.

Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet kicks off the festival on June 12.

The program will highlight Toronto-based filmmaker Kelly Fyffe-Marshall as its 2025 Spotlight Filmmaker, with her 2022 début feature When Morning Comes.

“I’ve always been captivated by coming-of-age stories and their ability to capture those pivotal moments that shape who we become,” said Fyffe-Marshal. “When Morning Comes is deeply personal, exploring the quiet heartbreak of leaving home, something I felt when I moved from England to Canada as a child.”

Here is the festival schedule:

Fort York National Historic Site (gate entrance at 100 Garrison Rd.)

Gates and pre-show programming at 6:30 p.m. / screening at sundown (approximately 9 p.m.)

Thursday, June 12 – William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, (Baz Luhrmann, 1996, USA), Short: When Love Came To Kill Us, (Alicia K. Harris, 2020, Canada)

Friday, June 13 – Lovers Rock (Steve McQueen, 2020, USA / UK) Short 1: Nouvel An (Marie-Ève Juste, 2015, Canada) Short 2: Motherland (Jasmin Mozaffari, 2023, Canada)

Saturday, June 14 – The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939, USA) Short: Winds of Spring (Keyu Chen, 2017, Canada)

Sunday, June 15 – Y tu mamá también (Alfonso Cuarón, 2001, Mexico) Short 1: July’s Wet Dreams (Kara Blake, 2003, Canada) Short 2: Say Uncle (James Cooper, 2022, Canada)

Monday, June 16 – I Saw The TV Glow (Jane Schoenbrun, 2024, USA) Short 1: Glow (Nate Wilson, 2014, Canada) Short 2: Inkwo for When the Starving Return (Amanda Strong, 2024, Canada)

Tuesday, June 17 – Clueless (Amy Heckerling, 1995, USA) Short: Hair! (Sara Jade Alfaro-Dehghani, 2024, Canada)

Photo: Olivia Anderson-Clarke

Corktown Common (155 Bayview Ave.)

Event start 7 p.m./ screening at sundown (approximately 9 p.m.)

Thursday, July 3 – Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater, 1993, USA) Short 1: The Fake Calendar (Meky Ottawa, 2019, Canada) Short 2: Chesterfield (Florence Soffia, 2021, Canada)

Thursday, July 10 – Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016, USA) Short 1: More Than Hair (Fitch Jean, 2023, Canada) Short 2: Fish Boy (Christopher Yip, 2023, Canada)

Thursday, July 17 – Speed Sisters (Amber Fares, 2015, USA / Qatar / UK / Denmark / Canada) Short 1: Mawtini (My Homeland) (Fateema Al-Hamaydeh Miller, 2024, Canada) Short 2: Unibrow (Nedda Sarshar, 2023, Canada)

Thursday, July 24 – Stand by Me (Rob Reiner, 1986, USA) Short: N’xaxaitkw (Asia Youngman, 2021, Canada)

Thursday, July 31 – Challengers (Luca Guadagnino, 2024, USA / Italy) Short: Haus (Joseph Amenta, 2022, Canada)

Thursday, Aug. 7 – What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (Robert Aldrich, 1962, USA) Short 1: The Women’s Hour (Allison Johnston and The Templeton Philharmonic, 2020, Canada) Short 2: Baby Shower (Christopher Lazar and The Templeton Philharmonic, 2016, Canada)

Photo: Rebecca Tisdelle

Christie Pits Park (750 Bloor St. W.)

Event start 6 p.m. / screening at sundown (approximately 9 p.m. in July, 8:30 p.m. in August)

Sunday, July 6 – Hunt for the Wilderpeople (Taika Waititi, 2016, NZ) Short: Weekends (Trevor Jimenez, 2018, Canada)

Sunday, July 13 –The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001, USA) Short 1: Life Doesn’t Frighten Me (Stephen Dunn, 2013, Canada) Short 2: The Skates (Halima Ouardiri, 2023, Canada)

Sunday, July 20 – Before I Change My Mind (Trevor Anderson, 2022, Canada) Short 1: Death to the Bikini! (Justine Gauthier, 2023, Canada) Short 2: I Like Girls (Diane Obomsawin, 2016, Canada) Short 3: Goblin High (Isaac Roberts, 2023, Canada)

Sunday, July 27 – Past Lives (Celine Song, 2023, South Korea / USA) Short 1: Distant Cousins (Winnifred Jong, 2021, Canada) Short 2: Don’t Forget The Water (Christina Haijar, 2021, Canada)

Sunday, Aug. 3 – Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig, 2017, USA) Short 1: In the Shadow of the Pines (Anne Koizumi, 2020, Canada) Short 2: For Nonna Anna (Luis De Filippis, 2017, Canada)

Sunday Aug. 10 – Spotlight Filmmaker: When Morning Comes (Kelly-Fyffe Marshall, 2022, Canada / Jamaica) Short 1: On a Sunday at Eleven (Alicia K. Harris , 2024, Canada) Short 2: Déraciné (Rolla Tahir, 2021, Canada)

Sunday, Aug. 17 – Flow (Gints Zilbalodis, 2024, Latvia) Short 1: Lichen (Lisa Jackson, 2020, Canada) Short 2: Starlight Sojourn (Darcy Tara McDiarmid and Chantal Rousseau, 2023, Canada)

All screenings are free or pay-what-you-can.

Tax deductible charitable donations to support the festival can be made online at www.topictureshow.com/donate.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages are available for purchase on all sites. Alcoholic beverages are available for purchase at Fort York only.

For more information see the Toronto Outdoor Picture Show website here.