September has always been an exciting month in the film calendar thanks to the Toronto International Film Festival but this year was extra special. Not only was it the 50th anniversary of the festival but & Sons was selected to have it's world premiere as part of the Gala Presentations category! Badda Bing Badda Boom
And TIFF 50 did not disappoint, & Sons premiered to a sold out crowd at the Royal Alexandra theatre on King Street right in the heart of the festival zone. It was an event. And Smalley's Chop Shop was there to bask in the red-carpet glow, drink in The 75 (thank you Varda!) and mix it up with the who's who.
Being back in the city that created the Chop Shop is always a soul-nourishing experience and to attend a fancy TIFF gala screening as part of the creative team was a dream!
Whilst in Toronto, Lionsgate came calling with a new Amazon Prime show - Young Farts Trailer Parts. A 6-part comedy-doc series following the Glowatsky brothers and their business shenanigans as they turn their RV-parts enterprise into a viral online sensation. Set in rural-Alberta the show toes the line between the reality of running a family business and the theatrics of growing a social media following through wild stunts.
There was never a dull moment during the edit with story beats being swapped and changed across episodes as the series was finding it's rhythm. How many explosions can you have per half-hour? Never enough.
Set for a Summer 2026 release, Young Farts will be available worldwide on Amazon Prime.
Also this fall saw Darrin Rose shoot his latest short and his 5th collab with the Chop Shop - The Thing with Secret Agents. An action comedy, with enough fun twists and turns to keep you wrong-footed throughout. Darrin has been raising the action bar with each film he makes and this time it's wall to wall.
A cat-and-mouse thriller but who is which?
Post started in October with eyes on festivals for the 2026/27 seasons.
Chop Shop NEWS • 2026 • 0 min
