CONTENT ADVISORY
Coarse language, mature themes
Canada202682 minEnglish, with English Subtitles
It’s the hottest day of the year. The popsicles are dripping, the pimples are popping, and the power is out. Best friends Vince and Shay wander outside, looking for shade in their Toronto St. James Town neighbourhood. Family, friends, and crushes are all outside, too. The vibes are immaculate.
Taking a classic "day-in-the-life" form, we are treated to vignettes and conversations that on their surface seem ordinary but build to reveal each young character’s anxiety about the clash between their carefree present and uncertain future.
Joining the (recent) tradition of shining a light on underseen pockets of Toronto, Serville Poblete’s Sunburn is a reverent ode to his vibrant neighbourhood and a breezy tribute to those days you wish would never end, tinged with the wistful knowledge that they always will.
– Aram Siu Wai Collier
Joshua Obra
Arianna Shannon
Dashawn Blackwood
Milan Deng
Trinity Lloyd
Ericka Leobrera
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Toronto International Film Festival, 2026
AWARDS
Best Canadian Feature Film Award, Toronto International Film Festival, 2026
Serville Poblete*
Serville Poblete was born in Toronto and studied media production at George Brown College. He directed the features Altar Boy (2021) and Lovely (2024), and the shorts King’s Court (2025) and In the Morning Sun (2026), which won the Documentary Short Award at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival. His series The Centre was selected for the 2024 TIFF Series Accelerator programme. Sunburn (2026) is his latest film.
*In attendance
15 Nov, 2026 7:00 pm
TIFF Lightbox C2PG
CONTENT ADVISORY
Coarse language, mature themes
Nestled in the lively, bustling neighbourhood of Karachi’s Machar Colony (also known as Fisherman Colony) is a school for girls, where they learn to read, write, and — on their own insistence — learn gymnastics.
15 Nov. 4:15 pm
Win is a struggling gig worker whose mom is sick — and the hospital bills are about to force them out of their home. By chance, an old schoolmate gives Win the opportunity to make a quick buck by fighting in an underground MMA venue.
19 Nov. 7:00 pm
Yosef, 19, is caught in the friction of a fractured, first-generation identity, longing to anchor himself to his roots while navigating a world that demands he forget them. While his parents encourage a path that promises security over fulfilment, his younger sister, Azra, returns to Egypt and discovers a liberating sense of belonging, giving Yosef new perspective.
14 Nov. 5:15 pm
Founded in Toronto in 1997, Reel Asian is Canada’s largest pan-Asian film festival and a year-round cultural organization dedicated to championing Asian and Asian diasporic artists and storytellers. What began as a grassroots film festival has grown into a national platform supporting filmmakers and audiences through screenings, education, industry initiatives, artist development, and community programming presented across Toronto, the GTA, and online across Canada.
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