TIFF Film Circuit: Meet the Barbarians

September 5 | 7:00 PM 

Our 2025 TIFF Film Circuit series kicks off with a screening of Meet the Barbarians, a 2024 French-language comedy directed by Julie Delpy. Laying bare a number of Western hypocrisies, this amusing satire looks at what happens when a small town in France, expecting to welcome a family of Ukrainian refugees, is instead greeted with refugees from Syria. 

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About the Film

A small town in France preparing to welcome a Ukrainian refugee family is surprised when a Syrian family shows up instead. As the Fayad family finds its footing in a village very much set in its ways, both townspeople and newcomers must rethink their preconceptions. Will the local businessman hold onto his xenophobic views? Can the Fayads bridge the gulf between their lives in war-torn Syria and their current disappointments in France? Will even the town’s crusading progressive (played by writer-director Julie Delpy) descend into petty barbarism? Meet the Barbarians strikes just the right balance of humour, ideas, and heart in this classic comedy of integration. 

Runtime: 1 hour 41 minutes 

Comedy, drama 

Content advisory: sexual content 

French with English subtitles.

Members FREE; $8.00 adults, $6.00 seniors.