The Toronto International Film Festival gets its fair share of world premieres, but a movie set in Scarborough making its debut at TIFF makes the whole thing extra special.

Simply named Scarborough, the brand new film is based off the award-winning book by Catherine Hernandez which follows the lives of three young children over the course of a school year in Scarborough.

The children navigate poverty, abuse, and the challenges of living in a low-income area in one of North America's largest cities.

The news is finally out. @ScarbFilm will have its world premiere at @TIFF_NET I am beyond elated and have spent this past week silent screaming every 30 mins. @compyfilms @Arsenalpulp #ScarbAtTIFF #EastSide #GiveThanks pic.twitter.com/wKo9qgWep3

— Catherine Hernandez (@theloudlady) July 28, 2021

Author Catherine Hernandez is also the screenwriter of the film, which she wrote to be more documentary style and showcase the challenges of living in Scarborough based on her own experiences raising a child there.

"When I was there I started my own daycare because I didn't have money to put my own kid into daycare. I was taking care of children and taking them to various play centres and literacy centres in the area," Hernandez told blogTO.

"I just wanted to tell a story of something I was noticing which is community means everything and community helped me and my daughter get through the worst of times."

The film's production was not without complications of its own, between a tiny budget, COVID restrictions, and the child actors who were growing quickly meant that any wasted time could ruin the film.

Thankfully, the team behind the movie was able to pull together with everyone from the cast and crew to the film's producers pulling together and being generous with both time and labour.

While the world premiere will indeed be at TIFF later this year, the distribution rights are still under discussion, but the hope is that soon the film will be shown in theatres across the world where everyone can get a glimpse into Toronto's culture.

With so many movies filmed in Toronto every year, it's about time that Toronto gets a story of its own on the silver screen.