Michelle Yeoh returns to action in TIFF title 'The Surgeon'; Saoirse Ronan debuts directorial work at Venice

Yeoh's TIFF sales title pairs her with a doctor-turned-director

Michelle Yeoh stars in "The Surgeon," one of the Toronto Film Festival's most closely tracked sales titles, playing a newly retired surgeon who is kidnapped and forced to operate on a mystery patient, using her medical knowledge to escape. To prepare, Yeoh trained with real surgeons ahead of the festival premiere, marking her return to action filmmaking in a medical thriller rather than a martial-arts vehicle.

Director Roshan Sethi splits time between Mass General Brigham and the edit suite

Sethi, who co-created the Fox medical series "The Resident" and has directed three feature films, continues to practice as a radiation oncologist at Boston's Mass General Brigham, spending roughly two months a year on call. He wrote "The Surgeon" in 10 days at the start of 2025 in the hours before his hospital shifts and finished principal work ahead of TIFF while still taking clinical calls, pausing a mid-August interview to take one from the hospital.

Ronan steps back onto the red carpet with a Venice short

Saoirse Ronan made her first red carpet appearance since the birth of her first child at the Venice Film Festival, where her directorial debut, the 15-minute short "Paper Plane," was screened as part of the Orizzonti Corti program at Sala Giardino. Starring Martha Malone, Clare Dunne and Tim Creed, the film is one of 13 titles competing for the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film.

Two festival red carpets frame a day of returns

Ronan paired the screening with an understated navy-blue Louis Vuitton dress accented only by a side zip, alongside Les Honneurs earrings and a Tumbler ear cuff in white gold and diamonds from Louis Vuitton's High Jewelry collection. Together, the TIFF and Venice appearances put two festival-circuit comebacks — Yeoh's to action and Ronan's to public events and directing — on the same September 10 calendar.

Awards pathways still open at both festivals

"Paper Plane" remains in contention for the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film, with the Orizzonti jury yet to announce results. "The Surgeon" arrives at TIFF as a hot sales title, with distributor deals expected to be the next verifiable milestone as the festival progresses.