TIFF 2025 Review: Dust to Dreams – “The standout performance belongs to Constance Olatunde Konstance.”

A dying nightclub owner passes on the family business to her daughter and entrusts her parental guardianship to the father she has never met before.

Three sisters are conflicted as to what to do with the nightclub established by their late father, as Millicen,t who has been running the enterprise, has been diagnosed with a terminal illness; she wants to have the stewardship to be given to her daughter Bisi, while Comfort wants it to be sold.  The wild card in the unfolding turmoil is Johnson, the long-lost father of Bisi, who seeks to connect with her and perhaps be a source of inspiration.

There is a lot of star power in front of the camera with Seal portraying Johnson and Idris Elba directing so not surprisingly there is a professionalism to look and feel of the short film.  It is an interesting decision to make Johnson willingly appear when his presence is requested by Millicent rather than turn it into a clash of the titans.  The plotline about selling the nightclub comes across more of a footnote. This is because the narrative focus is on a father and daughter connecting through a shared talent – music.

Everything builds toward an onstage duet, but the most effective emotional moment is the montage of shots showing parent and child driving together in a car as you can feel the two of them becoming emotionally close.  The standout performance belongs to Constance Olatunde Konstance as Bisi as she has a mischievous spirit and quiet strength that makes it hard not to cheer for her to carry on the family business.

The 50th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 4-14, 2025, and for more information visit tiff.net.    

Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer who currently resides in Canada; he can be found at LinkedIn.