Updated 8.31.26.
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) kicks off September 10, 2026, for its 51st edition, once again cementing its place as one of the world's premier film festivals. TIFF 2026 brings together premieres from dozens of countries across Galas, Special Presentations, Centrepiece, Discovery, and Docs programming, with star-driven dramas, bold directorial debuts, and awards-season contenders all sharing the marquee.
With 14 GreenSlate client projects featured across TIFF 51's programming, this year's festival promises an unforgettable slate. Here's what to watch for.
Gala Presentations
Courteney Cox directs and co-produces this independent crime thriller. Starring Patricia Arquette and David Harbour, the film dramatizes the strange and tragic story behind 2003's infamous "pizza bomber" case, exploring the blurred line between victim and villain. 'Evil Genius' will have its world premiere at TIFF.
Written, directed by, and starring Chris Rock, this A24 drama follows Misty Green (Rosalind Eleazar), an Emmy-winning actress whose career has stalled years after her Hollywood breakthrough, as she fights for a second act. The ensemble cast includes Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya, Anna Kendrick, and Topher Grace. Misty Green marks Rock's fourth feature as director and his first collaboration with A24, and will have its world premiere at TIFF.
Set in the early days of the Iraq War, the film follows a U.S. Marine (Boyd Holbrook) whose split-second decision during a firefight devastates an Iraqi family, and, years later, his attempt at reconciliation with the survivors, aided by a journalist (Kenneth Branagh). 'Atonement' will screen at TIFF as a North American premiere.
Special Presentations
Peter Farrelly, whose 'Green Book' premiered at TIFF before winning the Oscar for Best Picture, returns with this biographical drama recreating how an unknown actor named Sylvester Stallone fought to write and star in 'Rocky.' Anthony Ippolito stars in the title role, with Stephan James and AnnaSophia Robb rounding out the cast. The film will have its world premiere at TIFF.
Jordan Firstman writes, directs, and stars in his feature debut as Peter, a hard-partying New York City club promoter whose life is upended by the arrival of the ten-year-old son he never knew he had. 'Club Kid' screens at TIFF following its Cannes premiere.
Ira Sachs directs Rami Malek in this musical drama set in late-1980s New York. Malek plays Jimmy George, a downtown performance artist living in the extraordinary window between illness and mortality, where beauty and love remain within reach. 'The Man I Love' screens at TIFF following its Cannes premiere.
Centrepiece
This stylized action thriller stars Michelle Yeoh as a retired surgeon who is kidnapped and forced to operate on a mystery patient, only to turn her decades of surgical precision against her captors. 'The Surgeon' will have its world premiere at TIFF.
This homecoming comedy tells the story of two siblings (Caleb Hearon and Zooey Deschanel) who return home to Missouri to deal with the death of their hoarder father. 'Trash Mountain' will have its world premiere at TIFF.
Christopher Walken stars in this dark satire from director Ron Murphy, playing Clyde, a small-town funeral director going broke because a wellness craze has made death nearly obsolete — until his granddaughter decides to give the family business a new lease on life. 'Back in Black' will have its world premiere at TIFF.
This fantasy stars Oscar nominee Rinko Kikuchi as Haru, a devoted ballroom dancer in Tokyo whose world is upended by tragedy. When friends coax her back to the studio, she develops an infatuation with a new instructor, leading to a vibrant, genre-blending exploration of grief and joy. 'Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!' screens at TIFF following its Sundance premiere, where it won the U.S. Dramatic Directing Award.
Discovery
Alexandra Pechman writes and directs this drama starring Lily McInerny as a young intern navigating intoxicating power dynamics at a prestigious New York City literary magazine. 'Magazine' will have its world premiere at TIFF.
Tom Nicoll directs this UK drama offering a razor-sharp look at the seductive promise of online self-improvement culture. 'Salvation' will have its world premiere at TIFF.
Stephanie Ahn's feature directorial debut follows a chance encounter between two second-generation Korean Americans, tracing the complexities of their relationship. Bedford Park screens at TIFF as an international premiere, following its Sundance debut.
TIFF Docs
Rebecca Huntt directs this intimate documentary portrait of soccer champion and activist Megan Rapinoe, looking beyond her athletic accomplishments to examine what it means to become an international symbol of equal pay, LGBTQ+ rights, and racial justice. 'Rapinoe' opens the TIFF Docs program as its world premiere.
As festival season continues, we look forward to celebrating even more client premieres and groundbreaking projects.
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About the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival
How can I experience the festival?
Don't miss TIFF 51! Check out the entire lineup here, purchase a Festival Pass or Ticket Package to reserve your seats, and make sure to maximize your experience by checking out the daily schedule.
When is TIFF 2026?
The 51st Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10–20, 2026, in downtown Toronto, Ontario.
How do I get tickets for TIFF 2026?
Individual tickets and festival passes are available through the official TIFF ticketing partner. TIFF Members typically get early access to curated ticket packages, with general public sales opening later in the summer. Check tiff.net for the most current on-sale dates, as they shift slightly year to year.
What are the programming sections for TIFF 2026?
TIFF organizes its lineup into several programming sections, including Gala Presentations and Special Presentations (the festival's marquee awards-season titles), Centrepiece, Discovery (first and second features from emerging filmmakers), Platform, Midnight Madness, TIFF Docs, and Wavelengths (experimental and avant-garde work), among others.
Why do so many awards-season films premiere at TIFF?
TIFF has a well-earned reputation for launching awards contenders: the festival's audience-voted People's Choice Award has correlated closely with the eventual Best Picture winner at the Oscars in recent years. Its timing in early-to-mid September, usually right after Venice and Telluride, also makes it a key stop on the fall festival circuit for studios building awards-season momentum.
Is TIFF open to the public, or is it industry-only?
Both. While TIFF hosts significant industry business (press, sales agents, distributors, and now its formal Market), the festival is also one of the largest public film festivals in the world, with individual tickets available to general audiences for the vast majority of screenings.
How many films screen at TIFF each year?
TIFF typically screens around 200 feature films alongside dozens of short films across its various programming sections, drawing submissions from dozens of countries.
The Road to TIFF 2026: Celebrating Our Client Legacy
It's been an honor to grow alongside so many talented filmmakers and storytellers at one of the world's premier festivals, and this year's lineup continues that tradition.
As TIFF celebrates another year of standout premieres, we're reminded that this moment is part of a much longer story, one we've been proud to be a part of since long before this year's slate took shape.
Looking back at the client projects that have graced Toronto's screens over the years offers a glimpse into just how far that story has come, from early breakout dramas to award-winning triumphs on the world's biggest stages. It's a legacy built one film, one filmmaker, and one festival at a time, and we can't wait to see where it goes next.
2025 (TIFF 50) – ‘Charlie Harper,’ ‘Dead Man’s Wire,’ ‘Easy’s Waltz,’ ‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,’ ‘Poetic License,’ ‘Carolina Caroline,’ ‘Lucky Lu,’ ‘Maddie’s Secret,’ ‘Roofman,’ and 'Eleanor the Great’
2024 – ‘Anora’ (Palme d'Or winner), ‘Babygirl,’ 'Code 3,’ ‘God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust,’ ‘Oh, Canada,’ ‘Nutcrackers,’ ‘Riff Raff,’ ‘Sketch,’ ‘The Friend,’ ‘The Piano Lesson,’ ‘The Room Next Door,’ ‘Millers in Marriage,’ and ‘Relay’
2023 – ‘American Fiction’ (People's Choice Award winner), ‘The Burial,’ ‘Gonzo Girl,’ ‘Daddio,’ ‘His Three Daughters,’ ‘Mother, Couch,’ ‘Pain Hustlers,’ ‘Sing Sing,’ ‘The Holdovers,’ ‘Wildcat,’ and ‘Dicks: The Musical’
2020 – ‘I Care a Lot,’ ‘Nomadland,’ and ‘One Night in Miami’
2019 – ‘Bad Education’ and ‘The Friend’
2018 – ‘Boy Erased,’ ‘Destroyer,’ ‘Donnybrook,’ ‘Her Smell,’ ‘The Kindergarten Teacher,’ ‘Monsters and Men,’ ‘The Public,’ ‘Skin,’ and ‘Screwball’
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