Movies

TIFF 2026: See the complete lineup 'I Play Rocky', 'Misty Green'

Gold Derby · Jul 22, 2026 14:00 · 6 min read

TIFF 2026 Lineup: 'I Am Rocky' 'Misty Green' world premieres — TIFF 2026: See the complete lineup 'I Play Rocky' 'Misty Green'

Cannes favorites Fjord, All of a Sudden, and La Bola Negra will also play the festival, which runs from Sept. 10-20.

Talk about a heavyweight film festival lineup. The 2026 Toronto International Film Festival has released the full roster for the 51st edition, led by a star-powered collection of Gala and Special Presentations. As Gold Derby predicted, Peter Farrelly's latest Oscar hopeful, I Play Rocky, is among the world premieres. Hailing from Amazon MGM, the film stars Anthony Ippolito as Sylvester Stallone and the action icon's onscreen alter ego, Rocky Balboa, in a dramatization of all the blood, sweat, and tears that went into the making of the 1976 Best Picture-winning boxing classic, Rocky.

Other high-profile movies making their world premieres in Toronto include Misty Green, the latest directorial effort from actor-comedian Chris Rock; A Talent for Muder from acclaimed Dutch filmmaker Anton Corbijn; Evil Genius, directed by Courteney Cox and starring David Harbour; Onwards and Sideways from Shakespeare in Love director John Madden; Diary of a Mad Old Man, the latest film from American indie pioneer Wayne Wang; and Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo, a new film from cult Japanese auteur Takashi Miike.

TIFF also unveiled an extensive collection of North American and Canadian premieres of hot-ticket titles from other festivals, led by the Cannes breakouts Fjord, All of a Sudden, Club Kid, and La Bola Negra. Sundance sensations Josephine and The Only Living Pickpocket in New York also return to the festival circuit since their Park City peek-outs. And Danny Boyle's Venice-premiering Ink - freshly acquired by Netflix - will cross the Atlantic to Canada as well.

Below is everything you need to know about TIFF 2026, which unfolds Sept. 10-20 in Toronto.

Opening Night and Closing Night titles

TIFF's opening-night presentation will be Apple Original Film's Being Heumann, the directorial follow-up from Oscar-winning CODA filmmaker Siân Heder. The film stars Ruth Madeley alongside Mark Ruffalo, and tells the inspiring real-life story of Judy Heumann, the disability rights advocate who spearheaded a historic weeks-long sit-in in 1977.

The festival's closing-night pick is Villeneuve: The Rise of a Legend from Yan Lanouette Turgeon. The sports drama tells the story of the Canadian F1 champion, Gilles Villeneuve, who electrified the global racing scene in the 1970s and '80s. Both films are making their world premieres at the festival.

Gala Presentations

Sundance 2026: The 20 buzziest awards contenders at this year's festival — John Turturro in 'The Only Living Pickpocket in New York' Sundance Institute/MRC II Distribution Company L.P.

Other films making their world premieres at TIFF '26 as Gala Presentations include Susanna White's legal drama Prima Facie and South Korean filmmaker Hur Jin-ho's political thriller The Assassin(s). Prima Facie is adapted by Suzie Miller from her own Tony Award-winning one-woman stage play. The film, starring Cynthia Erivo as Tessa Ensler, follows an ambitious, working-class British defense barrister whose life and view of the legal system are upended after she is sexually assaulted by a colleague. The Assassin(s)is a historical thriller set in 1974 during the real-life aftermath of the attempted assassination of South Korean President Park Chung-hee. The film features an ensemble cast, including Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il, and Lee Min-ho.

See the full lists of Gala Presentation world premieres and North American/Canadian premeires below.

World Premieres: A Talent for Murder (Anton Corbijn); Always Lalisa (Sue Kim); Babies (Lauren Miller Rogen); Diary of a Mad Old Man (Wayne Wang); Evil Genius (Courteney Cox); Girl Group (Rebel Wilson); Man in Motion: The Rick Hansen Story (Adrian Buitenhuis); Misty Green (Chris Rock); Onwards and Sideways (John Madden); Pretenders (Joss Crowley); Run Terry Run (Sean Menard); The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd (Tim Blake Nelson); Up Against It (Trudie Styler)

North American/Canadian Premieres: All About Corinne (Marc Fitoussi); Atonement (Reed Van Dyk); Bunker (Florian Zeller); Spirit Guardians: The Last Secret of the First Emperor (Nguyen Phan Quang Binh, International Premiere); Tenzing (Jennifer Peedom); The Only Living Pickpocket in New York (Noah Segan)

Special Presentations

‘Fjord' Cannes Palme d'Or winner: Renate Reinsve, Sebastian Stan Star — The cast of Fjord Neon

TIFF 26's lineup of Special Presentations include some of the Oscar-contending movies that played earlier film festivals and are looking to make a big splash as award season officially kicks off, as well as select world premieres hoping to crash the party.

World Premieres: All That She Wants (Scarlett Bermingham, Andrew Rhymer); Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo (Takashi Miike); Everybody Wants to F*** Me (Jonathan Schey); Faith (Paul Andrew Williams); Glaxo (Benjamín Naishtat); Growth of a Soul (Hans Petter Moland); Happily Ever After (Feng-I Fiona Roan); I Play Rocky (Peter Farrelly); In Alaska (Jaap van Heusden, Vinnie Karetak); Le Faux Soir (Michaël R. Roskam); Love of Your Life (Rachel Morrison); Paradise Lost (Yeon Sang-ho); Phoolan (Richie Mehta); The Age of Goodbyes (Edmund Yeo); The Housewife (Ben Shirinian); The Julia Set (Niki Byrne); The Stunt Driver (Michael Dowse); Watcha Want (Mina Shum); Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (Bassam Tariq)

North American/Canadian Premieres: A Long Winter (Andrew Haigh); All of a Sudden (Ryusuke Hamaguchi); Alpha Gang (David Zellner, Nathan Zellner, International Premiere); Bitter Christmas (Pedro Almodóvar); Clarissa (Arie Esiri, Chuko Esiri); Club Kid (Jordan Firstman); Coward (Lukas Dhont); Elsinore (Simon Stone); Everest: The Other Side (Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi); Fjord (Cristian Mungiu); Gentle Monster (Marie Kreutzer); Hombre el agua (Gael García Bernal); Ink (Danny Boyle); Josephine (Beth de Araújo); La Bola Negra (Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi); Look Back (Hirokazu Kore-eda); Minotaur (Andrey Zvyagintsev); Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People? (Shinya Tsukamoto); Possible Love (Lee Chang-dong); Tender Loving Care (Mike Leigh); The Beloved (Rodrigo Sorogoyen); The Debut (Jesse Eisenberg, International Premiere); The Man I Love (Ira Sachs); The Unknown (Arthur Harari)

Platform

TIFF's lone competitive program enters its 11th year with its largest lineup yet, boasting 12 features from around the world. Created as a way to launch auteur-driven films onto the awards circuit, past Platform premieres have included Moonlight from Barry Jenkins and Lady Macbeth from William Oldroyd and starring Florence Pugh. The 2026 roster of world premieres will be competing for the Platform Award, decided on by a five-member international jury.

World Premieres: Angh (Theja Rio); Brace Your Heart (Amanda Kernell); Children Untold (Miwa Nishikawa); Djinn Wedding (Ferit Karahan); Idda (Irene Dionisio); In the Heart of the South (Nyla Innuksuk); Masc (Bertil Nilsson); On Behalf of My Son (Gabriel Martins); Silenced Nights (Lawrence Fajardo); The Smell of Apples (John Trengove); The World Before (Yoon Dan-bi); Wild Wild East (Jan Holoubek).

Discovery

Theo Rhys's Stuffed will serve as the opening night presentation of TIFF's annual Discovery program, devoted to showcasing the work of new and emerging global filmmakers. Fast and Furious franchise star Sung Kang will unveil his directorial debut, Drifter, and Stephanie Ahn's acclaimed Sundance premiere, Bedford Park, will also be screened as part of the lineup.

World Premieres: Ancestors (David Turpin); Arne Goes to Space (Lars Vega); Drifter (Sung Kang); Head to Head (Ghasideh Golmakani); Krux (Tony Vahl); Magazine (Alexandra Pechman); Nosotros (Joaquín Ruano); Purgatory (Lindsay Lanzillotta); Salvation (Tom Nicoll); Seventeen (Justin Ducharme); Sisters (Ione Hernández); Strong Son (Ian Bawa); Stuffed (Theo Rhys); The Fortunate Isles (Helena Girón, Samuel Delgado); We Are Born Good (Leung Cheun Yeung); What Lies Between Us (Amalie Næsby Fick); Zjili: A Story of Sisterhood and The Burdens of Excess (Christine Boateng, Hajara Musah Chambas)

International Premieres: A Common Story (Anna Foglietta); Bedford Park (Stephanie Ahn); I Am Mario (Sharon Kleinberg); In Waves (Phuong Mai Nguyen); Memories of a Forest (Katharina Rabl); The Daughters of Abraham (Hanaël El Yousfi); Voices (Deantè Gray)

New additions

For the first time, the festival is introducing TIFF: The Market (running Sept. 10–16), an official standalone film industry hub operating out of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. As part of this expansion, the Convention Centre's John Bassett Theatre has been added to the festival's official screening venue roster.