Seth Rogen calls Babies his most personal film as TIFF premiere lands
Seth Rogen says Babies is much more personal than anything he has made before.
The film, written and directed by his wife Lauren Miller Rogen, premiered on 12 September at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, The Hollywood Reporter reported. Rogen spoke at The Hollywood Reporter's studio at the 1 Hotel during the festival. He called the project much more reflective of his actual experiences.
In Babies, Rogen plays Aaron and Anna Kendrick plays Annie, a married couple asking whether parenthood is the right path for them, The Hollywood Reporter reported. The names give it away. Annie and Aaron come from Lauren and Seth's middle names.
They are joined by Issa Rae, Dan Stevens, Zach Cherry and Kate Berlant, The Hollywood Reporter reported. Berlant plays the couple's friend. She separates from her husband and moves in with Annie and Aaron with her young daughter.
That set-up comes from real life. Lauren Miller Rogen said a divorced mother of one moved in with her and Rogen for a year about a decade ago, and that long stay sparked the script. Seth Rogen said many of the film's conversations are ones he and Lauren have had with friends in real life.
Another thread follows Annie as she deals with her mother's battle with Alzheimer's disease. Miller Rogen lost her own mother to complications of early-onset Alzheimer's in 2020. Her mother was diagnosed at age 55 and died at 68, Vanity Fair reported.
It moved fast. Miller Rogen said she wrote the script in January 2025, finished it in the spring and shot it the next autumn. Rogen said that when he looks at the finished film, it is shocking how personal it is about very personal things in their lives.
The film reached Toronto with business already done around it. Sales firm AGC pitched Babies to distributors at the American Film Market, the trade event where rights are sold country by country, The Hollywood Reporter reported. Roadside Attractions and Vertical then acquired Babies, Deadline reported. The Zurich Film Festival programmed it for its European premiere, the first screening in Europe.
What makes this stand out is the change in roles at home. Lauren Miller Rogen writes and directs. Seth Rogen acts in her script. For people watching from outside the industry, it is a glimpse of how a private question debated at the kitchen table can travel all the way to a festival premiere.
