This year’s Toronto International Film Festival brought together an impressive range of talent. In an exclusive portrait studio, filmmakers and performers reflected on the productions that have shaped their lives and careers.

Warning: This article includes language that some readers may find offensive.

Which film from your career has the greatest meaning for you?

Kristine: Sharp Stick, directed by Lena Dunham. It was deeply personal for her, and it became personal for me too. I played Sarah Jo, a young woman whose emotional development has been held back by trauma in her past. I’m interested in trauma and in the different ways people survive it, and making that film felt healing in its own way.

Jonah: A film I made around this time last year, called The Eden Express. It follows Mark Vonnegut, Kurt Vonnegut’s son, during his descent into psychosis. I mention it because it has not been released, so right now it is still tied to the experience of making it. It is wonderful when a movie enters the world because it becomes meaningful to other people. But for now, it still belongs to everyone who made it, and that feels quite special.

What does Bedford Park mean to you?

It is semi-autobiographical, so it means an enormous amount to me. It says so much about who I was before becoming a mother. The film looks at the tensions I felt growing up Korean American, trying to reconcile two very different cultures and find harmony between them. That process was difficult and sometimes painful, but I eventually reached a point where I could look back and examine it through this film. That was incredibly cathartic.

Which film from your career has the greatest meaning for you?

I would probably choose two: Filth, because it became a surprisingly personal exploration of character and mental health; and Atonement, because the two characters played by Keira Knightley and me completely broke my heart. The story also touches on the mistreatment of someone from a low-income background, along with the risks that can come with moving between social classes. I have known much smaller, more ordinary versions of that myself.

Which film from your career has the greatest meaning for you?

Taron: Rocketman, the Elton John biopic, came at a time when I felt able to grow creatively. Before that, I believed a leading man needed to be flawless, polished and above reproach. Playing Elton was different. The character was built around darkness, vulnerability, insecurity and the things you fear may be true about yourself. It was an important moment in understanding that the qualities you see as weaknesses can become your biggest strengths.

Jessica: A film I made a few years ago called The Royal Hotel. I had admired director Kitty Green for a long time, and working with her on a project that had something important to say was incredible. It is a sharp examination of power, especially sexual power, and of heavy-drinking culture in remote Australia. We had almost no budget, and we were in the outback dressed for summer while freezing winds and sand hit us constantly. It was demanding, but I loved every part of it.

Charly: This film, written and directed by Jonathan Schey. It feels properly British: funny, chaotic, smart and unusual. I do not think we have seen a film quite like it before, and it has real energy.

Which film from your career has the greatest meaning for you?

Probably my first Hollywood job, Bridesmaids. I arrived in America from Australia with one suitcase, then landed a role in this film. It was an ensemble filled with hugely gifted women: comedians, improvisers and actors. I was easily the least experienced person there, but I got to see how a major Hollywood comedy worked. Being given the chance to let go and improvise with Paul Feig, Judd Apatow and everyone else was amazing.

Apart from your own work, which film means the most to you?

I would say Errol Morris’s first feature, Gates of Heaven. It follows people determined to create a pet cemetery, charting their strange efforts, their failure and the reasons behind it. It is absurd, funny and, to me, a philosophical masterpiece.

What does Onwards and Sideways mean to you?

Laura: It is rare that a film feels as though it has changed something fundamental inside you, but this one did. I came out of it a different person. I play Emma, who meets Tony after they are both diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Before making it, I knew only what most people know about Parkinson’s. I did not understand how individual it can be: there are dozens of symptoms, appearing in countless combinations, and every person’s experience is different.

Rhys: In this industry, it is unusual to feel that you are regularly giving something back or making work that could have a truly lasting positive effect. I genuinely believe this film can do that. It can help people gain a deeper understanding of Parkinson’s and the many ways it affects lives.

What is your most overlooked film?

Fairyland, produced by Sofia Coppola and written and directed by Andrew Durham. It is a remarkable film about a father and his daughter in 1980s San Francisco during the Aids crisis. I played a troubled lover. It was a small, deeply special project. Independent films like that can struggle to find an audience, but it is a powerful piece of work.

Stan was at the festival for his leading role in Cristian Mungiu’s drama about a married Romanian couple who move to a Norwegian village and face questions about how they raise their children. It is the first feature film in which Romanian-born Stan has performed in his native language. He has described how meaningful that experience was, saying it helped him reconnect with the country he left long ago and find his way back to it.

Apart from your own work, which film means the most to you?

Robert Vince: Life Is Beautiful is one of my all-time favourite films because it is so hopeful and life-affirming. Those are the kinds of movies I enjoy making and watching. As for Buddy’s favourite? [Buddy barks] Apparently, it is the first Air Bud film, though he is a little envious of the original star.

Which film from your career has the greatest meaning for you?

My favourite is Lee, with Kate Winslet, about war photographer Lee Miller. I used to work as a journalist, and I can only imagine how difficult that job must have been for a woman in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Working with Kate was extraordinary. She is such a committed collaborator. She was injured on the second day, but insisted on returning quickly because the production had a schedule to keep.

Which film from your career has the greatest meaning for you?

Sidse: My first film, Let’s Get Lost, released in 1997. It was shot in black and white and largely improvised. The director wanted to make a story about three men living together and drifting through the 1990s. He asked whether I could create a woman’s storyline, since I was the only woman involved. At the time, I was fascinated by revenge; it felt like such a rich emotion to explore. So I created my own narrative around it. That is why the film will always be special to me.

Asta: I would choose The Hypnosis, which I made a few years ago. It is strange, playful and fascinating. I play Vera, a tightly controlled woman whose personality changes completely after hypnosis. As an actor, it was challenging because the version of her that emerges no longer worries about manners or social boundaries.

What is your most overlooked film?

My 2018 film Mercury. It is presented as a horror thriller, but there is more to it than that. I wanted to make a film with no dialogue, about five students caught in a terrifying situation. It was an ambitious project, though it did not receive the response we expected. For that reason, I would call it my most underrated work.

Which film from your career has the greatest meaning for you?

It is the film I am at the festival for. It is a portrait of the Palestinian intellectual Edward Said, created entirely from archival footage. As a Palestinian, it was profoundly rewarding to help bring his story to a broader audience. Edward is one of the defining Palestinian American figures, and this feels like the right moment to return to his voice, his intellect, his charisma and his optimism.

What is your most overlooked film?

The Monster, which I filmed in the summer of 2015. It was an A24 horror film directed by Bryan Bertino, and it was very special to me. I turned 14 while making it, and Zoe Kazan became a mentor not only in acting, but in learning how to be a woman in the world. We shot through the night in relentless rain, and it was an enormous challenge for a young actor. The work felt intimate and vulnerable, and every day was difficult, but I think it was worth it.

Which film from your career has the greatest meaning for you?

The Man I Love. It follows an artist in New York, played by Rami Malek, who is diagnosed with Aids and seeks one final burst of life through love and a last performance. We watch his journey, as well as the lives of everyone he affects along the way. My father worked in HIV research when I was growing up, so it was an honour to take part in a film dealing with this subject.

Apart from your own work, which film means the most to you?

Alexander Payne’s About Schmidt, starring Jack Nicholson. Payne’s films matter to me because they combine offbeat humour with emotional depth and strong ideas. They have been a major influence on me as a director, along with the work of the Coen brothers.

What project from your career means the most to you?

Jesse: It is absolutely Below. I have worked for a long time on many shows across different genres, but this was the first project that felt entirely mine from start to finish. It was not adapted from anything; it came from my own experiences. It is set in Newfoundland, where I found a place I loved, met my wife and saw my whole life change.

Jessica: The series Station Eleven. We spent six months filming it in Toronto during the pandemic. We were creating a story about how art helps people survive, why it matters and how there is value in coming together to make something. That had a lasting effect on me.