The Toronto International Film Festival returns this September with hundreds of films from Canada and around the world, bringing major Hollywood stars, acclaimed filmmakers, emerging voices and highly anticipated premieres to screens across Toronto.

With so much to choose from, figuring out what to watch can be overwhelming. From star-studded Galas and major world premieres to international discoveries, documentaries and Canadian cinema, we’ve rounded up the must-see movies at TIFF 2026, plus even more films worth having on your radar throughout the festival.

Opening Night Film

TIFF kicks off its 51st edition with one of the festival’s most anticipated films, setting the stage for 11 days of cinema across Toronto.

Being Heumann

Siân Heder | Gala Presentation | World Premiere

Starring Ruth Madeley, Mark Ruffalo and Dylan O’Brien, Being Heumann follows disability-rights activist Judy Heumann and the historic 1977 San Francisco sit-in. Directed by CODA filmmaker Siân Heder, the biographical drama has the distinction of opening TIFF 2026.

Must-See Films at TIFF 2026

With hundreds of titles on this year’s programme, narrowing down what to watch is no easy task. Let’s get to it!

1. Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother

Bassam Tariq | Special Presentation | World Premiere

Oscar winner Mahershala Ali stars as Latif, a devoutly religious hitman struggling to balance faith, fatherhood and his dangerous profession after the death of his wife. Directed by Bassam Tariq, the genre-bending Houston-set thriller also features Giancarlo Esposito, John Cho, Tramell Tillman and Tiffany Boone, and arrives at TIFF as a world premiere.

2. Bunker

Florian Zeller | Gala Presentation | North American Premiere

Real-life couple Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz lead Florian Zeller’s psychological drama about an architect who accepts a lucrative but morally questionable assignment to build a survival bunker for a tech billionaire. As the project consumes him, tensions emerge within his marriage, allowing the film to explore fear, inequality, isolation and uncertainty about the future.

3. Bucking Fastard

Werner Herzog | Special Presentation | North American Premiere

Legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog directs real-life sisters Kate Mara and Rooney Mara as Jean and Joan, inseparable twins who speak in unison, share the same dreams and even love the same man. Also starring Orlando Bloom and Domhnall Gleeson, the unconventional drama is inspired by real-life twins and carries Herzog’s unmistakably eccentric approach to outsiders and obsession.

4. Misty Green

Chris Rock | Gala Presentation | World Premiere

Chris Rock returns behind the camera for this Hollywood satire starring Rosalind Eleazar as a once-promising Black actress fighting to revive her stalled career. The impressive ensemble includes Daniel Kaluuya, Adam Driver, Anna Kendrick and Rock, with the film taking aim at ambition, institutional prejudice and the relentless hustle of the entertainment industry.

5. Prima Facie

Susanna White | Gala Presentation | World Premiere

Cynthia Erivo leads this adaptation of Suzie Miller’s internationally acclaimed stage play about an ambitious barrister whose understanding of the justice system is transformed when she becomes the complainant in a sexual assault case. Directed by Susanna White, the legal drama places Erivo at the centre of one of TIFF’s most anticipated performance-driven premieres.

6. The Julia Set

Niki Byrne | Special Presentation | World Premiere

Writer-director Niki Byrne centres this coming-of-age drama on Julia, a gifted young mathematician drawn into an intense training programme for the notoriously difficult Putnam mathematics competition. Chase Infiniti leads an ensemble featuring Christopher Briney, Gillian Anderson, Jason Isaacs, Nina Hoss, Chloe Bailey and Carmen Ejogo, making this one of the festival’s intriguing young-adult dramas.

7. The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd

Tim Blake Nelson | Gala Presentation | World Premiere

Written and directed by Tim Blake Nelson, this psychologically charged prison drama stars Amanda Seyfried as an English teacher trapped in an abusive marriage who accepts a job at a maximum-security prison and develops an intense relationship with an inmate played by Scoot McNairy. The film explores crime, punishment, loneliness, desperation and the unexpected connections people form under extreme circumstances.

8. The Surgeon

Roshan Sethi | Centrepiece | World Premiere

Filmmaker Roshan Sethi brings The Surgeon to TIFF’s Centrepiece programme for its world premiere. The film joins the festival’s international slate of character-driven stories and is one of several Centrepiece selections debuting for Toronto audiences this year.

9. Thirteen in Gaza

Hosam Abu Dan | Centrepiece | World Premiere

Palestinian filmmaker Hosam Abu Dan makes his narrative feature debut with this deeply human drama following 13-year-old Raghad and her father after their home is destroyed and they are forced into a displacement camp in Gaza. Shot entirely in Gaza with a local cast and crew under wartime conditions, the film explores adolescence, grief, poverty and a father’s attempts to protect his daughter amid devastating circumstances.

10. The Beloved

Rodrigo Sorogoyen | Special Presentation | Canadian Premiere

Acclaimed Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Sorogoyen reunites family drama and psychological tension in a story starring Javier Bardem as celebrated filmmaker Esteban Martínez and Victoria Luengo as his estranged actress daughter. When he casts her in his latest movie, their time together on set begins reopening old wounds and unresolved conflicts between them.

11. The City of the Living

Edoardo Gabbriellini | Centrepiece | International Premiere

Based on Nicola Lagioia’s bestselling literary chronicle, The City of the Living revisits the shocking 2016 murder of a young man in Rome without approaching the case as conventional true crime. Directed by Edoardo Gabbriellini, the Italian drama examines the people, circumstances and wider social unease surrounding a crime that captivated the country.

12. The Debut

Jesse Eisenberg | Special Presentation | Canadian Premiere

Julianne Moore stars as Mona, a quiet New Jersey housewife whose life changes when she lands a small role in a community theatre musical and becomes increasingly consumed by performing. Written and directed by Jesse Eisenberg, the comedy-drama also stars Paul Giamatti, Halle Bailey and Bernadette Peters, with Moore’s performance already generating attention following the film’s Telluride debut.

13. Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo

Takashi Miike | Special Presentation | World Premiere

Japanese auteur Takashi Miike brings the Bad Lieutenant universe to Tokyo in this crime thriller starring Shun Oguri and Lily James. The story follows a reckless Tokyo police officer who becomes entangled in an investigation after an FBI agent arrives in Japan searching for a missing woman, giving Miike another opportunity to put his distinctive stamp on violent, morally complicated genre filmmaking.

14. Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been

Barry Avrich | TIFF Docs | World Premiere

Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich turns the spotlight on legendary singer Darlene Love, tracing her journey from child prodigy to cultural icon while exploring the racial barriers she encountered throughout her career. Featuring figures including Cher, Dionne Warwick, Andra Day, David Letterman and Steven Van Zandt, the documentary offers a celebration of both Love’s music and resilience.

15. The Stunt Driver

Michael Dowse | World Premiere

Jay Baruchel stars as Canadian daredevil Ken Carter in Michael Dowse’s comedic biographical drama about the stunt driver’s attempt to complete an extraordinary mile-long jump during the 1970s. Featuring Ben Foster, Ed Helms and Laurence Leboeuf, the film combines Canadian history, spectacle and an unlikely underdog story.

16. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives

Daniel Oriahi | Centrepiece | World Premiere

Adapted from Lola Shoneyin’s acclaimed novel, this Nigerian drama follows a wealthy patriarch and the increasingly fragile dynamics within his polygamous household after the arrival of his educated new wife, Bolanle. Directed by Daniel Oriahi and featuring Odunlade Adekola, Omowunmi Dada, Iyabo Ojo, Mercy Aigbe and Bimbo Ademoye, the film blends family drama and dark humour while exploring marriage, jealousy, fertility, power and long-held secrets.

17. The Last Photograph

Zack Snyder | Drama/Thriller

Zack Snyder shifts away from his large-scale franchise filmmaking with this more intimate drama-thriller starring Stuart Martin and Fra Fee. The story follows an ex-DEA operative searching the South American mountains for his missing niece and nephew with the help of a photographer who witnessed the murders of their parents, as the journey becomes increasingly surreal and personal.

18. Faith

Paul Andrew Williams | Special Presentation | World Premiere

James McAvoy and Erin Doherty lead Paul Andrew Williams’ supernatural drama-thriller about a devoted single mother who develops an unexpected connection with a mysterious stranger offering the possibility of hope and a fresh start. As his true identity emerges, she is forced to reconsider her understanding of life, loss and what it means to begin again.

19. Fjord

Cristian Mungiu | Special Presentation

Palme d’Or-winning Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu returns with a provocative family drama starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve. Set in Norway, the film centres on a family caught in a conflict involving child welfare authorities, faith and competing ideas of personal freedom, arriving at TIFF after winning the 2026 Palme d’Or at Cannes.

20. Josephine

Beth de Araújo | Special Presentation | Canadian Premiere

Writer-director Beth de Araújo centres this emotional drama on an eight-year-old girl whose life and family are altered after she witnesses a sexual assault in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan play her parents, while newcomer Mason Reeves takes the title role in a film that examines childhood trauma and the different ways families respond to it.

21. Ink

Danny Boyle | Special Presentation | North American Premiere

Director Danny Boyle adapts James Graham’s stage play about Rupert Murdoch’s transformation of The Sun into a tabloid powerhouse in late-1960s Britain. Guy Pearce stars as Murdoch alongside Jack O’Connell and Claire Foy in a fast-moving examination of media ambition, sensationalism, journalism and the pursuit of an ever-growing audience.

22. Babies

Lauren Miller Rogen | Gala Presentation | World Premiere

Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick play a couple confronting one of the biggest questions in any long-term relationship: whether or not to have children. Written and directed by Lauren Miller Rogen, the comedy also features Issa Rae, Dan Stevens, Sharon Stone and David Strathairn, combining a relatable relationship dilemma with a high-profile ensemble cast.

23. The Only Living Pickpocket in New York

Noah Segan | Gala Presentation | Canadian Premiere

John Turturro stars as Harry Lehman, an aging New York pickpocket whose old-school craft is becoming increasingly obsolete in a cashless world. When he steals and sells a valuable USB drive belonging to the wrong people, he is sent on a race across the city in this character-driven crime drama also featuring Steve Buscemi, Giancarlo Esposito, Tatiana Maslany and Jamie Lee Curtis.

24. Black Sunflowers

James Marcus Haney | TIFF Docs | World Premiere

Filmmaker James Marcus Haney turns his lens on young Ukrainians navigating everyday life against the backdrop of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Following people whose lives move between the realities of the front lines and civilian life, the documentary offers an intimate portrait of a generation confronting war, uncertainty and resilience, with Sean Penn joining the project as an executive producer.

25. The Assassin(s)

Hur Jin-ho | Gala Presentation | World Premiere

South Korean filmmaker Hur Jin-ho (A Normal Family) returns to TIFF with a sweeping political thriller inspired by the attempted assassination of South Korean President Park Chung-hee. Starring Lee Min-ho, Park Hae-il and Yoo Hai-jin, the film follows police officers and journalists who risk everything to unravel a seemingly impenetrable conspiracy, combining political intrigue, corruption and investigative suspense.

Films Also Worth Checking Out

Twenty-five films barely scratch the surface of TIFF’s extensive 2026 programme. If you’re looking to explore even further, here are more films worth checking out

1. A Good Little Soldier
2. Ah Girl
3. Nobody’s Violence
4. Strong Son
5. Sunburn
6. Alpha Gang
7. Always Lalisa
8. Club Kid
9. Evil Genius
10. Drifter
11. Arrested Memory
12. American Hostage
13. Up Against It
14. Purgatory
15. IDDA
16. Love of Your Life
17. Everytime
18. Magazine

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10 Canadian Films to Watch at TIFF

TIFF has long served as an important platform for Canadian cinema, and the 2026 programme once again brings established filmmakers, emerging voices and homegrown stories to audiences from Canada and around the world.

Here are 10 Canadian films to have on your radar at TIFF 2026

1. Closing Night
2. Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been
3. Nobody’s Violence
4. In the Heart of the South
5. Gail
6. Villeneuve: The Rise of a Legend
7. Sunburn
8. Strong Son
9. All That She Wants
10. Toy Gun Bandit

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TIFF is one of Toronto’s biggest events of the year and a must for film lovers, bringing movies, celebrities, red carpets and festival experiences together across the city.

As always, you can keep up with more events, experiences and things happening across Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area on efosa