Vintage Violence brings denim heist to TIFF Midnight Madness
A stash of rare denim found down a mineshaft drags a stranded American into Tokyo's criminal underworld in Vintage Violence, which held its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The film was written and directed by Eugene Kotlyarenko, previously behind Spree, and screened in the festival's Midnight Madness section, according to Deadline. Midnight Madness is TIFF's late-night strand for action, horror, shock and fantasy cinema, as described by TIFF. The 2026 festival runs from 10 to 20 September, with Vintage Violence listed for 11:59 PM on Saturday, 12 September.
Carter is an urban explorer. He finds a haul of rare denim in a mineshaft and travels to Tokyo to sell it. That trip turns dangerous fast.
His contact is Izumi. She invites him to offload the jeans in Tokyo, where the pair are targeted by the yakuza and pulled into black-market turf wars, according to Deadline. TIFF has billed the film as the latest chronically online caper from internet-age satirist Kotlyarenko.
Cole Sprouse stars as Carter, with Kiko Mizuhara as Izumi. Nijiro Murakami plays Hiro, Izumi's boyfriend. Pierre Taki plays Ko, a disgraced gangster, and Hio Miyazawa plays Edoga, a denim-obsessed yakuza boss, according to Deadline.
The production is a USA-Japan joint effort with a running time of 1 hour 45 minutes. WME is handling US sales, while Best Friend Forever boarded international sales ahead of Toronto, as reported by Variety. International sales means finding buyers territory by territory outside the home market.
Kotlyarenko discussed the film at the Deadline Studio at TIFF 2026. He said Hollywood could learn from Japanese cinema amid mergers, according to Deadline.
What makes this stand out on the calendar is the setting. Rare vintage clothing becomes the prize in a crime story. IndieWire described it as an over-the-top crime caper set in the Japanese vintage underworld, built around gonzo bloodshed and manic camerawork. Variety called it a film that speaks directly to America's phone-obsessed culture, while sales materials have pitched it as a funny, romantic and irreverent thriller.
