TIFF Next Wave is a wonderful event for filmgoers of all ages. This year, it’s especially good for students, because all of the films, with the exception of two screenings, are absolutely free for every single person under the age of 25. That’s right, FREE! In addition, there are some interesting films for the Saturday and Sunday that make a visit to the TIFF Bell Lightbox well worth a visit on Family Day.

The Freaks and Geeks Marathon which takes place on Saturday in Cinema 4 of the Lightbox is well worth attending, though it always feels weird that the tv show Freaks and Geeks isn’t a part of it.

It’s easy to make a whole day of Amélie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Dope (Rick Famuyima’s film a surprise and welcome inclusion), the timeless Harold and Maude and the French New Wave classic The 400 Blows all in theatrical glory.

Boom! That’s a great Saturday. There are other films, but save the experimentation for Sunday, when Rosemary Myers’s quirky Girl Asleep leads the day, Mommy‘s Antoine Olivier Pilon and popular Sophie Nélisse star in Yan England’s gritty 1:54 (which screens at 2:15, followed by an England Q & A). If Pilon’s turn in Mommy isn’t familiar, catch Xavier Dolan’s film at 8 pm and have a double dose of Pilon.

Also on Sunday are the two “special screenings”, sadly, not free but offering something really special.

Straight from Sundance is Ry Russo-Young’s Before I Fall, an adaptation of Lauren Oliver’s bestselling YA book. Russo-Young and star Zoey Deutch will be both be in attendance. The other special screening is from the previous year’s Sundance and screens later in the evening. As You Are‘s Amandla Stenberg and director Miles Joris-Peyrafitte will be on hand to introduce and give a Q & A.

Now that’s a weekend!

For more information please visit http://www.tiff.net/next-wave/