Most Anticipated Titles of TIFF 2026
One of the biggest film festivals of the year, and one that has become an annual tradition for me, this year’s Toronto International Film Festival feels slightly different than past years. The expansion of the TIFF Market seems to signal big plans for the festival’s influence on the industry, while the line-up itself is lacking some key major titles that are playing at most other festivals (Primetime, Paper Tiger, and Behemoth! are notable omissions playing elsewhere). Na Hong-jin’s Hope is screening as part of TIFF, but the night before the festival officially begins. The press and market screenings (a change in name from “Press and Industry” to reflect the TIFF Market’s new footprint on the festival) seem limiting in comparison to previous years, and I’ve bumped up more against scheduling conflicts this year than any year past.
However, all of this is inside baseball and minor complaints for a festival that follows Venice in ushering in the festival season and introducing audiences to the buzziest films coming this year. The festival’s Midnight Madness line-up remains worth the price of admission alone, while the Discovery and Wavelengths sections introduce audiences to unique stories told in unique ways. The Centrepiece line-up is an extremely diverse collection of films from all around the world, while the Platform section continues to feature impressive works from some TIFF alumni and the occasional newcomer. The TIFF Docs section, as always, includes a wide selection of stories from global perspectives that challenge the way we see the world. And those looking for the buzziest festival titles with Hollywood talent or well-established auteurs will find exactly what they’re looking for within the Special Presentations and Galas. I’ve combed through the entire line-up, and below is a list of six titles I am most excited to see at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival.
Still from Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo / Courtesy of TIFF
Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo (Dir. Takashi Miike)
The unexpected third stab at the Bad Lieutenant franchise establishes one of the coolest approaches to a film: bring in a respected auteur to apply their signature stamp. The Bad Lieutenant franchise has appeared at every applicable TIFF since its inception, from 1992’s Abel Ferrara film to 2009’s delirious Nicolas Cage-starrer from Werner Herzog (whose Bucking Fastard will also play TIFF this year and is another anticipated title). Now handing over the reins to one of Japan’s most prolific directors, Takashi Miike brings his own stylistic flourishes to the darkness of the criminal underworld. It’s well-worn territory for Miike, but what’s interesting is that Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo is not playing in the Midnight Madness line-up (though it is playing at the home for Midnight Madness premieres: Royal Alexandra Theatre). NEON is distributing this with no release date announced outside of Japan’s October release, which might mean NEON is looking to see how it plays on the festival circuit before committing to a release strategy.
A trailer is already out for the film and definitely shows off just how much Miike gets to run free with this one. Massive respect to Lily James for coming on board as well. She’s not an actress I’ve appreciated much in the past, but starring in a Miike role that feels deeply rooted in Japanese culture is an ambitious swing that seems likely to pay off. Working from a screenplay by Daisuke Tengan is also extremely promising, as Miike has directed only three films from a Tengan script: Audition, 13 Assassins, and Imprint. While I have still not caught up with Imprint, those first two are top-tier Miike, with Audition being one of the greatest Japanese horror films of all time. Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo feels like a match made in heaven and is an exciting opportunity for Miike to have another international success on his hands so late in his career.
Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo celebrates its World premiere on September 14th as part of TIFF’s Special Presentations program. You can find the full list of films selected for the festival here.
River (Dir. Joshua Giuliano)
There are plenty of Midnight Madness titles that have piqued my interest, from the distinctly Canadian doc Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney from TIFF regular, Matthew Rankin, to Anna Biller’s follow-up to The Love Witch: The Face of Horror. I’m looking at movies like HALF and Anchors Aweigh and knowing that those are two films made specifically for me. However, after last year’s success for Curry Barker’s Obsession, everyone is looking for the next big thing in horror, and River marks the only feature directorial debut in the Midnight line-up this year. While other titles might seem more geared towards a younger crowd, Joshua Giuliano’s film sounds like a movie designed for slasher fans to feel alive again—only to be stalked and killed in myriad ways over the course of its runtime. Running at a lean 92 minutes, starring Jane Levy (Don’t Breathe and 2013’s Evil Dead) and Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day) as embittered sisters, and featuring editing from V/H/S regular Thom Newell, River sounds like a mean and efficient slasher.
As the opening night film for the Midnight Madness program, and already having the horror stamp of approval by being picked up by Shudder and IFC last year for a theatrical release, programmer Peter Kuplowsky has clearly pushed this film in front of people because he believes in its potential. When the word audacious gets thrown around, I’m immediately compelled and think of recent horror films like In a Violent Nature and Skinamarink as audacious debuts that also happen to have IFC and Shudder’s involvement. River sounds like another unique vision, building on slasher DNA and playing with expectations. Peter name-drops John Carpenter with a reference to his slasher masterpiece, Halloween, so if we’re talking even close to that kind of confident direction, then River might just be the coolest film playing at this year’s TIFF.
River celebrates its World premiere on September 10th as part of TIFF’s Midnight Madness program. You can find the full list of films selected for the festival here.
Still from Everytime / Courtesy of TIFF
Everytime (dir. Sandra Wollner)
One of two films on this list that has already gained attention from its Cannes Film Festival premiere earlier this year, Sandra Wollner’s Everytime won the Un Certain Regard Prize. Beating out already revered films like Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Jordan Firstman’s Club Kid, and other films that are making their way through the festival circuit, Everytime carries its momentum forward by celebrating its North American premiere at TIFF. Adding to the prestige of the film is its selection by Germany for the Best International Feature Film at next year’s Academy Awards. Already released in Germany, the film is one of multiple movies at TIFF being distributed in the US by 1-2 Special and in Canada by Films We Like (one of which that just missed this list was Marine Atlan’s La Gradiva).
Comparisons have already been made to Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun, thanks to their shared cinematographer, Gregory Oke, who can masterfully hide darkness under sunsoaked locales. Following a mother who cannot reckon with the loss of her daughter as she contends with her late daughter’s boyfriend, who is desperately seeking forgiveness, there will likely be no easy answers in Wollner’s latest film. The premise is harrowing and rife with guilt and grief that will no doubt only be exacerbated by Oke’s photography. Everytime is a movie that might still be a little under people’s radar, but hopefully, with the continued festival push and Germany’s awards push, it will not only be a great film but one that leaves a lasting impression on anyone who watches it.
Everytime celebrates its North American premiere on September 15th as part of TIFF’s Centrepiece program. You can find the full list of films selected for the festival here.
Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People? (dir. Shinya Tsukamoto)
My affection for Shinya Tsukamoto’s filmography and unique filmmaking style always leaves me excited for whatever he does next. Fun fact: I am one of the few people attending TIFF who doesn’t try to meet directors, actors, or anyone really unless their work means a lot to me. Tsukamoto is the only time I’ve stood outside of a screening and asked for a photo (in my own butchered Japanese, complete with what I hope was a compliment to his work). His last film, Shadow of Fire, is also one of the first films I reviewed for Asynchronous Media. While he’s perhaps most synonymous with genre fare like Tetsuo: The Iron Man or the random movies he stars in like Martin Scorsese’s Silence or Takashi Miike’s Ichi The Killer (alongside SABU, whose film Arrested Memory is playing in TIFF’s Midnight Madness program), he’s also been cutting his teeth on more dramatic works. His latest film, Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People?, builds on his wartime dramas like Fires on the Plain and Shadow of Fire while also being the rare film Tsukamoto has shot primarily in English. As usual, expect something harrowing and bleak.
The film is having its North American premiere at TIFF after having recently played at this year’s Venice Film Festival, and will be released in Japan shortly before its TIFF premiere. The selling point for most audiences will be Geoffrey Rush's inclusion in the cast, but Broadway actor Rodney Hicks will undoubtedly also broaden the appeal of what is sure to be a depressing film. The devastating effects of war on an individual are not new territory for Tsukamoto, but every time he explores them, he leaves something haunting behind. Written, edited, and shot by its director (as is often the case with his films), Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People? looks to be another impressive reflection on war’s lingering damage.
Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People? celebrates its North American premiere on September 15th as part of TIFF’s Special Presentations program. You can find the full list of films selected for the festival here.
Still from Possible Love / Courtesy of TIFF
Possible Love (Dir. Lee Chang-dong)
It has been eight years since Lee Chang-dong’s Burning premiered at TIFF, and it has left such an indelible impression since its release. Lee’s latest film, Possible Love, has been a hotly anticipated title that has already been selected as South Korea’s official submission for the Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards, where it would be surprising if it didn’t get nominated. Premiering first at Venice before its North American premiere at TIFF, Possible Love follows two married couples as tensions rise while they try to film a documentary. As a director who has consistently wrestled with class, power dynamics, and interpersonal relationships, Lee’s latest sounds like a home run for the director bound to hit at every festival appearance it’s making.
For Netflix, though, this is one of many awards contenders in their slate that people will be watching closely. They have a pretty significant line-up, all of which is appearing at TIFF: Danny Boyle’s INK, Phuong Mai Nguyen’s In Waves, Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s La Bola Negra, and Marie Kreutzer’s Gentle Monster. Now comes the unfortunate reality with festivals attended by travelling press: sometimes the dates just don’t line up, and you can’t see a movie. The first screening at TIFF for Possible Love will be on September 14th, but of course that is my last day in the city and overlaps slightly with the World premiere of Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo, which is still undated for North America. These are the choices we sometimes have to make. Possible Love is one of my most anticipated films, but I’ll have to wait to catch this one when it releases in theatres on October 23rd, before hitting Netflix on November 6th.
Possible Love celebrates its North American premiere on September 14th as part of TIFF’s Special Presentations program. You can find the full list of films selected for the festival here.
Wild Horse Nine (Dir. Martin McDonagh)
Martin McDonagh can do no wrong in my eyes. Even his most controversial films still manage to impress, with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ultimately being his only film to win Academy Awards; mind you, they are acting awards, but that’s still something. His screenplays are witty, with a pervasive darkness beneath them that ultimately washes over the characters in complex, nuanced ways. Wild Horse Nine looks no different, which would be a knock against most films, but McDonagh consistently finds new ways to reinvigorate similar ideas and execution. Starring John Malkovich in a performance that is already being touted as an awards contender, alongside Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits, and Parker Posey, the film follows two CIA agents sent to Easter Island in the 1970s as a coup d'état is prepared to overthrow Chile’s 29th president, Salvador Allende.
There’s a great cast here, as expected, and there’s never any doubt about McDonagh’s writing ability. The biggest question is where this will land tonally, as it definitely has more going on politically in its text than previous films, but the synopsis reads more like a buddy hangout movie. The trailer also suggests as much, with the tropical setting evoking something more languid and reflective (akin to the second half of Seven Psychopaths), but there’s something deeper lurking below the surface that makes it impossible to shake comparisons to In Bruges. Regardless, Wild Horse Nine is primed to be one of the buzzier movies of the festival that could be a frontrunner for TIFF’s People’s Choice Award, which McDonagh won in 2017 with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Wild Horse Nine celebrates its Canadian premiere on September 14th as part of TIFF’s Special Presentations program. You can find the full list of films selected for the festival here.
