From Thursday, June 12 through Sunday, August 24, 2025, Toronto Outdoor Picture Show (TOPS) presents their 15th anniversary festival of open-air cinema programming. Screenings take place over 20 evenings throughout the summer at three parks across Toronto: Fort York, Christie Pits and Corktown Common. This year’s theme is a throwback to their inaugural programme, featuring beloved coming-of-age films.

Films about the wonder of childhood, the never easy process of growing up and coming of age – at any age

This year’s theme, When We Were Young, celebrates TOPS’s 15th birthday by throwing back to the festival’s very first curated programme theme. It’s an opportunity for TOPS – and us – to reflect on where we’ve been, where we’re going and why we fell in love with the movies in the first place. Stories about the trials and tribulations of youth are a cinematic staple, and this programme includes a diversity of short and feature films about the wonder of childhood, the never easy process of growing up and coming of age – at any age.

When We Were Young features coming-of-age classics young and old, including groundbreaking new kids on the block from the past decade, middle-aged Gen X and Millennial stalwarts, and venerable golden-agers from cinematic eras past. This programme invites you to lay a blanket in the grass and gaze up at the films that take us back to the time of our youth (however recent or distant).

Summer movie nights in parks across the city

The festival season opens at Fort York on June 12 with Baz Luhrmann’s hyper-stylized Romeo + Juliet, a highly influential take on the timeless tale of star-crossed lovers, featuring young Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. The six-night opening weekend at Fort York will also feature films such as Steve McQueen’s enthralling depiction of Black music and 1970s London youth culture in Lovers Rock; Jane Schoenbrun’s trans coming-of-age chiller I Saw the TV Glow; and a 30th anniversary screening of Amy Heckerling’s timeless cult teen comedy Clueless.

All TOPS events are accessible and open to the public, with no barriers to entry. TOPS is always free to all, and charitable donations make this possible. As part of the 15th anniversary season, every person who makes a charitable donation of $15.00 or more on the TOPS website will be invited to vote on the festival’s closing night film in August.

The When We Were Young programme is curated by Artistic & Executive Director Emily Reid, Manager of Programme Admin Isabella Brown, and programming contributors Lauren Baldwin, Rachel Barclay, Tika Francis, David Osubronie, Felan Parker and Jon Petrychyn.

2025 Spotlight Filmmaker

Toronto filmmaker and social activist Kelly Fyffe-Marshall is featured as this year’s Spotlight Filmmaker, an annual TOPS tradition that highlights a Canadian artist whose work inspires their programme selections. Fyffe-Marshall tells stories that disrupt perceptions of Black people, and uplift and mobilize her community. Interested in stories about the Caribbean diaspora and of her Jamaican heritage, her work offers an intimate look into their lives and cultures to a broader audience while simultaneously creating spaces for healing love and unity. Her 2022 début feature When Morning Comes screens on Sunday, August 10 at Christie Pits Park. Read more about Kelly’s work and her inspirations here.

“There is something very special about sitting in a park with hundreds of strangers, watching a movie as one large collective. The audible laughter, gasps and clapping; the shared snacks and blankets; the feeling of togetherness. Whenever I attend TOPS I am reminded that there is community in the city of Toronto.”

– TOPS attendee

About Toronto Outdoor Picture Show (TOPS)

TOPS began as Christie Pits Film Festival (CPFF) in 2011, founded by Artistic & Executive Director Emily Reid, and rapidly become a cornerstone of west end Toronto’s summer calendar. In January 2015, the organization incorporated as a not-for-profit under the name Toronto Outdoor Picture Show and in 2020 as a charity. It’s dedicated to bringing high-quality, diverse and engaging outdoor film programming to communities across the City of Toronto. Their carefully curated programme includes a combination of popular and critically acclaimed feature films from around the world alongside local and Canadian short and feature films, giving TOPS and audiences the opportunity to celebrate excellent homegrown talent.

(Photo credits: Toronto Outdoor Picture Show screening of Roman Holiday. Photo by Nicola Betts. This image also appears on the Events page.)

 

Event details

Hosted by: Toronto Outdoor Picture Show 

Type of event: outdoor film screenings

Dates & times: Films run throughout the summer, from Thursday, June 12 through Sunday, August 24, 2025 – with showtime at sundown (timing shifts, depending on when in the summer). Please refer to the schedule for specific screening dates & times. The general screening dates, including locations for those dates, are as follows (for Location details, see below):

• Opening weekend: Thursday, June 12 – Tuesday, June 17, 2025 @ Fort York National Historic Site (gates open @ 6:30 PM ET)
• Sundays: July 6 – August 24, 2025 @ Christie Pits Park (eats & treats for sale @ 6:00 PM ET)
• Thursdays: July 3 – August 7, 2025 @ Corktown Common (eats & treats for sale @ 7:00 PM ET)

Duration: Please refer to the individual screenings.

Cost: Free.

As part of the 15th anniversary season, every person who makes a charitable donation of C$15.00 or more on the TOPS website will be invited to vote on the festival’s closing night film in August. Donations help to make this annual event possible. You can make a donation here.

Locations: Please refer to the schedule for individual screening locations. Each location will present screenings within a set series of dates (see Dates & times above):

• Fort York National Historic Site: Entrance to the event gate is nearest 100 Garrison Rd., Toronto, ON, M5V 3K9
• Christie Pits Park: 750 Bloor St. West, Toronto, ON, M6G 3B1
• Corktown Common: Event entrance at 155 Bayview Ave. (Bayview Ave. & Mill St.), Toronto, ON, M5A 0M4, Canada

Contact details: Toronto Outdoor Picture Show, info@topictureshow.com, topictureshow.com

 

Content warning: Please refer to the individual film descriptions.

Accessibility: Info here, including physical accessibility and captioning. Find info about audio description here.