McAvoy, Morrison Talk Directing, AI at TIFF Panel — SkimNews
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- James McAvoy discussed his directorial debut "California Schemin'" — about Scottish rappers who pretended to be American for a record deal — releasing in U.S. theaters Oct. 9, marking a different TIFF experience 20 years after he first attended with "The Last King of Scotland."
- Rachel Morrison brought her second directorial outing "Love of Your Life," starring Margaret Qualley as an ER nurse, made with Amazon MGM Studios — Morrison was the first woman nominated for best cinematographer at the Oscars for 2017's "Mudbound."
- Morrison noted that only four women have received Oscar cinematography nominations, and that Autumn Durald Arkapaw — whom Morrison recommended for "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" — became the first woman to win the category last year for "Sinners."
- TIFF 2025 standouts included "The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd" with Amanda Seyfried, "Bucking Fastard" starring Kate and Rooney Mara, "Prima Facie" with Cynthia Erivo, and Rebel Wilson's directorial effort "Girl Group," with Variety's Matt Donnelly calling "The Julia Set" the expected first big sale of the festival.
- Morrison flagged the gender budget gap in Hollywood, saying men who shoot small films get bigger budgets for their next project but women don't get the same leap "for no reason — they're just as untested," despite 35% of TIFF films being directed or co-directed by women.
- Panelists including Rebel Wilson, Carsten Kurpanek, Stephanie Ahn, Liz Garbus and Basil Iwanyk agreed AI can benefit filmmaking if backed by humans, with Stephanie Ahn saying it "can serve the soul of a film as opposed to suck it out" while the group celebrated recent box office successes and young audiences returning to theaters.
Why it matters: The 35% of TIFF films directed or co-directed by women marks incremental progress, but Morrison's point that women cinematographers face a budget leap men don't encounter reveals structural inequality persists. With McAvoy's 'California Schemin'' releasing Oct. 9 and panelists framing AI as a helpful tool rather than a threat, the festival captured cinema both diversifying and digitizing at once.
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