Hynde-backed Pretenders documentary premieres Sunday at Toronto
After more than 10 years of asking, director Joss Crowley finally brings his Pretenders documentary to the screen on Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The film, titled Pretenders, premieres on 13 September, with a 10:30 AM screening at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, according to venue listings. It is programmed as a Gala title at Toronto 2026, placing the music story among the festival's high-profile centrepieces, as noted by Screen Daily.
Crowley said he had spent over a decade trying to persuade Chrissie Hynde to tell the band's story with him, Variety reported. That long pursuit ended in late 2023. The pair recorded their first interview for the film at the end of that year.
Hynde set clear terms before agreeing. She wanted the film to be visually driven by archive footage. She wanted it to tell the story of the band, not a portrait of her. And she did not want it framed as a film about "women in rock".
It took persistence. Hynde said another team had previously made a Pretenders documentary with no involvement from her or her organisation.
The authorised version centres on the original line-up and the band's first five years. The Pretenders, an English rock band founded by Hynde, released their debut album in January 1980. From there the film traces those early years before bringing the story forward into Hynde's present day.
Crowley is a London-based documentary filmmaker whose earlier work includes the Shania Twain biography Not Just a Girl. Festival materials describe Pretenders as grounded in extensive interviews with Hynde and archival materials, and as chronicling the evolution of one of rock's most singular icons, according to TIFF.
For fans, this means access with Hynde's backing. The Toronto line-up also includes new documentaries about Terry Fox and Rick Hansen, but this one arrives with the founder's voice at its core.
