TORONTO — The 50th Toronto International Film Festival kicked off Thursday with fans lining up in the morning rain hoping to score last-minute tickets and soak in the lively vibe, as organizers prepared to officially kick off the fest with a John Candy documentary designated as the opening night film.

Candy’s family is set to walk the red carpet for the world premiere of “John Candy: I Like Me,” alongside executive producer Ryan Reynolds and director Colin Hanks.

They’re among the Hollywood heavyweights attending the festival over the next 11 days — Angelina Jolie, Keanu Reeves, Sydney Sweeney and Dwayne Johnson are also on the guest list.

Festival workers splashed through puddles, many of them dressed in yellow plastic raincoats, as they put finishing touches on the red carpets outside various theatres surrounding TIFF’s headquarters.

The dreary weather didn’t deter some cinephiles who waited outside the Lightbox to grab tickets to “Erupcja,” an edgy world premiere starring U.K. pop singer Charli XCX that nobody seemed able to pronounce with any certainty. The indie film was set to screen that afternoon.

Ben Jeffries was one of the first in the rush line. He hoped that by showing up six hours early, he might get one of the last seats inside the cinema.

“I’m a huge fan of Charli,” he said.

“And I have been dying to … commit myself to one movie and meet new people. I’m happy to be standing around in the middle of the festival. I feel like I’m a part of it.”

One of the friends Jeffries met was aspiring filmmaker Michael Ashby, who flew from Sebring, Fla., with plans to outdo his experience at last year’s TIFF when he caught 28 films and got hooked on the scene.

“(That) was my first festival,” Ashby, 21, said. “And then I did Sundance online, the Florida Film Festival in Miami, Cannes, and now I’m back here.”

Ashby showed up on opening day sporting a white T-shirt that read “Joachim Trier Summer.” It was identical to the one famously worn by actress Elle Fanning on the red carpet of Cannes earlier this year, and a reference to both Charli’s “Brat Summer” and Norwegian filmmaker Trier, whose Oscar contender “Sentimental Value” is also screening at the fest.

This year’s milestone edition of TIFF will feature 291 films from around the world, with Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” and Benny Safdie’s “The Smashing Machine” among the buzziest crowd-pleasers.

Also in the lineup are some politically charged films, including “Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk,” about a Palestinian photojournalist who was killed by an Israeli airstrike in April, as well as “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue,” which follows a retired Israeli soldier who saved his family during the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.

The festival runs through Sept. 14, when it closes with the People’s Choice Awards — a prize often seen as an early predictor of Oscar success.

-With files from David Friend

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 2025.