Julia Stuart, the director of Sky Original Film, heads up a team that acquires exclusive rights and commissions original feature productions for Sky Cinema’s platform as well as theatrical release.
Stuart and her team have brought several major titles to Sky, including Michael Mann’s Ferrari, May December starring Julianne Moore and Natalie Portman, and The Beekeeper starring Jason Statham.
Sky’s current 2025 slate includes action thriller Black Ops starring Ashley Walters, Blarney, an Irish romantic comedy that Dan Mazer (Borat, I Give It A Year) will write and direct; Romulus, a sci-fi thriller with Lorcan Finnegan (Vivarium) attached to direct and a new adaptation of Robert Harris’s bestselling novel Fatherland with German filmmaker Dennis Gansel attached.
My “only in Toronto” moment is: The pirate noises everyone makes during the piracy warning! It really threw me the first time I heard it but I look forward to it now as I know it means I’m going to watch a film with an amazing, engaged audience.
My “Canadians are so nice” moment is…
The first time I was in Toronto someone wheeling a huge trolley of drinks cans [across the street] lost control of it and they rolled everywhere — the entire street ran into the road to help pick them up. It’s such a small thing but that sort of collective kindness really stayed with me. I’m not sure that would happen in London.
The one place I have to visit when in Toronto is…
The mall! I have a weakness for Bath and Body Works but they always leak in my case on the way home.
The place I avoid during the festival is…
Nowhere — I like the crowds and the buzzy vibe of downtown during TIFF.
My favorite Canadian director/talent is…
Mary Harron — American Psycho is an iconic adaptation and she’s also worked across some darker genre television I love like The Following. Not sure what that says about me but I like a bit of the macabre!
The most Canadian thing about Toronto is…
The audiences and volunteers at the festival are so nice. It’s a cliché for a reason. The festival has a genuine sense of community and you feel like everyone’s there for the love of film.
The one thing I won’t travel without (besides my phone) is…
Everything I need to make a solid cup of tea — I pack a kettle, tea bags, and my own mug.
Biggest star encounter in Toronto…
A pre-Barbie Margot Robbie at a buyers screening making time to talk to everyone.
Ryan Gosling or Ryan Reynolds?
Gosling?
In Toronto you should always…
Pack tissues! A lot of tearjerkers on offer that tug at the heartstrings, I’m usually trying to subtly wipe away the tears in at least one screening.
In Toronto you should never…
Leave home without packing like you’re heading out on a hike — it can be four seasons in a day and I always make sure to have comfortable shoes, sunglasses, an umbrella and a raincoat with me.
