10 Picks for TIFF 2026

The 2026 Toronto International Film Festival (or TIFF)—the 51^st iteration of the event—runs September 10-20. As we now do annually, Film Festival Today offers its recommendations of what to see at the fest. Joining me this time with her own choices is Hannah Tran. Each title below is linked to the TIFF page for that particular film. Both of us have already seen the five movies we each recommend. Hannah has written short capsules for this piece—and my review at least one of them more completely soon—and I excerpt from my upcoming full-length critiques, which will post once the embargo lifts. Stay tuned for more in-depth coverage after the festival begins.

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Club Kid (Jordan Firstman) – CANADIAN PREMIERE

Surprisingly tender and unbelievably funny, Club Kid follows a man entrenched in New York City’s nightlife as his life is upended with the arrival of a 10–year-old son he didn’t know he had. Beautifully directed, written, and acted, this is a tear-jerking feat of a debut for director Jordan Firstman. (Hannah Tran)

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The Debut (Jesse Eisenberg) – INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE

Julianne Moore steals the show in this film about a woman who gets cast in a community-theater musical and will go to any lengths to give the perfect performance. Between its nonstop humor and pitch-perfect performances, The Debut is another triumph for director Jesse Eisenberg. (HT)

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Le Faux Soir (Michaël R. Roskam) – WORLD PREMIERE

We have by now seen what feels like every permutation possible of a World War II narrative. Not so, it turns out, for Belgian director Michaël R. Roskam (The Drop) has managed to find a new angle with his Le Faux Soir, which takes us into a surprisingly comical act of defiance against the Nazis. Fascists hate being laughed at. We should do so all the time. Based on real events, and an adaptation of author Marie Istas’ 1993 nonfiction book Le “Faux” Soir: 9 novembre 1943, the movie tells the thrilling tale of how a cell of the Belgian resistance in Brussels decided to publish a satirical version of the evening newspaper “Le Soir” (which means “evening” in French, and “faux” means “fake”). What better way to show invaders that they do not control you than to crack a joke right under their noses? (Chris Reed)

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The Hummingbird Paints Fragrant Songs (Èlia Gasull Balada/Matteo Norzi) – WORLD PREMIERE

Every artist who agrees to have a movie made about them should be so lucky as to have their work photographed in as exquisite a manner as that used by Èlia Gasull Balada and Matteo Norzi (Icaros: A Vision) for the canvases of Sara Flores. In The Hummingbird Paints Fragrant Songs, they craft a loving portrait of their septuagenarian subject, an indigenous woman from Peru who adapts the kené designs of her Shipibo-Conibo people within carefully constructed frames, and has now, late in life, become something of an international sensation. She’s very big in New York and Paris, if not yet in Peru. (CR)

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A Long Winter (Andrew Haigh) – CANADIAN PREMIERE

Like its title, Andrew Haigh’s latest film may occasionally feel a bit cold and lengthy, but this tragically beautiful story, based on a short story by Colm Tóibín, is impossible to shake off. (HT)

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The Man I Love (Ira Sachs) – CANADIAN PREMIERE

There is no shortage of beauty in Ira Sachs’ film about the ugly realities of loving someone you are losing. Rami Malek stars as Jimmy George, a larger-than-life theatre actor in 1980s New York who is dealing with AIDS. With rich imagery, fascinating characters, and captivating musical scenes, Sachs creates a heart-wrenching portrait of an artist’s final days. (HT)

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Phoolan (Richie Mehta) – WORLD PREMIERE

Phoolan Devi, known as India’s “Bandit Queen,” may have been assassinated in 2001, but her earlier armed rebellion against the country’s deep-seated misogyny and caste prejudice made of her a star that keeps shining today. In writer/director Richie Mehta’s latest work, Phoolan, she is an unstoppable force to be reckoned with, refusing to accept the terms dictated by her world. Though born impoverished and a survivor of multiple rapes, she strikes back, taking revenge on a system that would otherwise erase her and others like her. The film is a clarion call for justice, and also a very effective thriller. (CR)

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Pretenders (Joss Crowley) – WORLD PREMIERE

By now, the conventions of nonfiction biopics are familiar and, if done well, also enjoyable. Pick any public figure—or musical group—that you admire, and chances are that a competently made movie will engage and entertain. Such is the case with Pretenders, the latest foray into the genre from director Joss Crowley (Simple Minds: Everything Is Possible). It may not reinvent the cinematic wheel, but it’s fun to watch. Band founder and lead singer/rhythm guitarist Chrissie Hynde’s evocative voice is forever ingrained in my memory, and that’s a good thing. (CR)

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Re/Pair (Lacey Schwartz Delgado) – WORLD PREMIERE

I was unaware of a serious rift between Black and Jewish Americans until reading the description for the new documentary Re/Pair, but based on the conversations showcased within, it’s clear that what the two groups have in common should far outweigh their differences. Both have suffered intense discrimination—and, as actors David Schwimmer and Harry Lennix point out, we shouldn’t do an “oppression Olympics” to compare who has endured worse agonies—and both share a strong history of working together. In this day and age, we would all do better to focus on that which unites us rather than divides us. Given that director Lacey Schwartz Delgado is both Black and Jewish, she would appear the perfect candidate to tell the story, and she does not disappoint. (CR)

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Tender Loving Care (Mike Leigh) – CANADIAN PREMIERE

If this is truly to be the swan song of great British filmmaker Mike Leigh’s career, it makes for a perfect tribute to the ideas and working-class characters he has crafted his career around. Centered on two social workers and the various issues that arise in both their professional and personal lives, Tender Loving Care is a charming meditation on the power of family, friendship, and the feeling of compassion that binds complex relationships together. (HT)

For tickets to these and other films, check out the festival website. Enjoy!