It is the night before TIFF and not all is quiet…
My schedule is almost set. My spreadsheet has been colour-coded. The films have been added, removed, reconsidered, and added again. If you’ve been around TIFF long enough, you know that the festival doesn’t really begin when the first film screens. It starts much earlier, with the planning, the anticipation, the group chats, the “Have you seen this one?” messages.
Every year, I make my TIFF list feeling committed to “containing it”. I aim to include Canadian and Latin American films as a must but there are always other films I absolutely want to see, the ones I am curious about, and those that aren’t even on my radar yet. So you can imagine my schedule will inevitable end up with last-minute additions. Nonetheless, this is what makes TIFF stressful yet fun all at once.
So before the festival officially kicks off, here are the films currently sitting on my personally curated TIFF 2026 Picks List.
Canadian Voices
The Lion Does Not Concern Himself – Short Cuts Programme 02
Dir. Zarrar Kahn
This short is a romantic comedy about an endearing gym coach who is convinced that his online persona as a toxic podcaster is his only ticket to relevance and popularity until a new client and love interest enters his life.
Driftwood – Short Cuts Programme 05
Dir. A.C. Birch
The calm waters and soothing breeze of the Toronto Islands provide a safe reprieve for two best friends after one of them experiences a jarring, dysphoric hookup, in this deeply affecting take on trans life, embodiment, and intimacy
How We Stand
Dir. Marie Clements
Based on writer-director Marie Clements’ own play Tombs of the Vanishing Indian, this is a riveting drama of sisters whose lives are shaped by government policies meant to eradicate Indigenous people.
In the Heart of the South
Dir. Nyla Innuksuk
The film is described as “what Single White Female would be if it were set in Toronto, with an Inuk protagonist and a dash of supernatural elements.”It stars North of North’s Anna Lambe.
Sunburn
Dir. Serville Poblete
A hang-out movie set in St. James Town, a high-rise community in Toronto, the film follows a group of young people trying to stay cool during the summer’s hottest day. It is a loose, funny, coming-of-age film that shares the same spirit of Dazed and Confused, if it were set in present-day downtown Toronto, with a cast made up of Filipino, Jamaican, Guyanese, and Black actors.
Toy Gun Bandit | Faux Gun Bandit
Dir. Rémi St-Michel
Félix (Félix Munger) is an amiable but impulsive 15-year-old living in the suburbs of Quebec City. Though playing videogames and skateboarding with buddies are his highest priorities, Félix’s life takes an unexpected direction after a prank unintentionally turns into a bona fide robbery.
Latin American Stories
Nosotros
Dir. Joaquín Ruano
After leaving his Indigenous family for work in Guatemala City, Romero (Jozef Coxaj) a lonely security guard falls for a business owner at the mall he patrols, discovering an unexpected refuge and a new sense of self in a world not yet ready to make space for them.
Where the River Begins
Dir. Juan Andrés Arango
In Arango’s third feature, an Emberá woman displaced by violence undertakes a dangerous journey to find a better life for herself and her daughter. A story of migration, memory, and resilience.
The bovine with the curved horns
Dir. Omar E. Ospina Giraldo
Blending Caribbean fantasy, magical realism, and Colombia’s painful history, the film follows a boy searching for his missing father through a landscape where myth and violence coexist.
Love is the monster | Amor es el monstruo
Dir. Neto Villalobos Brenes
This dystopian thriller is shaped by fear and inequality, which follows a grandmother (Paulina García) whose granddaughter becomes the centre of a stressful turn of events that forces her into impossible moral choices.
I’m Curious About
The Beloved
Dir. Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Starring Oscar winner Javier Bardem and Victoria Luengo, the film chronicles an unnerving collaboration between a charismatic, manipulative director and the actor daughter he hasn’t seen in 13 years.
Drifter
Dir. Sung Kang
Set in a remote desert outpost, the story follows a reclusive janitor haunted by painful memories from his past. When granted an unexpected opportunity to enter a professional drifting competition, he quickly learns that raw talent alone is not enough without the human connection he has spent years running from.
Once Upon a Time in Harlem
Dirs. William Greaves, David Greaves
Conceived in 1972 by legendary filmmaker William Greaves and completed 50 years later by his son David, the film documents a lively gathering of luminaries from the Harlem Renaissance during a cocktail party at Duke Ellington’s home.
Stuffed
Dir. Theo Rhys
Described as “a dark comedy, an offbeat romance, and a twisted musical that dances between the macabre and the heartfelt”. At its centre of the story is Araminta (Jodie Comer), an isolated mortician-cum-taxidermist with a dream, and Bernie (Harry Melling), a lonely factory worker whose extraordinary request draws these two outsiders together.
I Luv Docs
Still Night, Burning House
Dir. Carol Nguyen
A once-close family comes together to say goodbye to an uncle who struggled with mental health issues. This is Nguyen’s feature-length documentary debut.
Like Magic
Dir. Melissa Saavedra Gil
Blending archival footage, personal testimony, and a decades-long search for answers, Gil transforms a childhood tragedy into a powerful exploration of memory, truth, and healing.
The Final Act
Dir. Sophie Deraspe
Quebec’s Sophie Deraspe returns with a philosophical and intimate look at the many profound issues surrounding both death and medically assisted dying in an extraordinary documentary.
Turtle Island Rap
Dir. Alexandra Lazarowich
The film tracks the journey of three young Indigenous artists, Wiidaaseh, A$h Da Hunter, and Travis Thompson, from the hustle to the stage. In cinema verité style, the highs and lows are seen as their individual journeys are taken with warmth and humour, even when things are tough.
Late Night Crowd
The Face of Horror
Dir. Anna Biller
This adaptation of the famous Japanese ghost story Yotsuya Kaidan is set in 14th-century England “where Biller cannily reflects the misogyny of a medieval milieu right back at our own, while stunningly fashioning a gory tribute to Technicolor shockers”.
Rogue Trooper
Dir. Duncan Jones
This is an animated adaptation of the influential British comic book follows a clone soldier bred for an interstellar forever-war and his fallen comrades whose personalities live on within his gun, helmet, and backpack.
Arrested Memory
Dir. SABU
A seasoned detective (Ethan Juan) recently diagnosed with dementia is doggedly pursued by both cops and crooks after he unwittingly wanders off with a multimillion-dollar ransom in this absurdist crime caper.
HALF
Dir. Samjad
Twin half-blooded vampires (Ranjith Sajeev and Aiswarya Raj) wage war with desert highway hijackers in a gory martial arts curry western from writer-director Samjad and choreographer Very Tri Yulisman (The Raid 2, The Night Comes for Us).
A Gentle Reminder
This is not a prediction nor a ranking list. It is based on personal interests as well as themes I want to explore this year.
It includes films by directors I know little about as well as some established ones. Like many of you, I have my list but there is no guarantee I’ll see all of these films. Let’s see how it goes.
For film details, screening times and tickets, please visit TIFF.net.
