On Monday, the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival announced its much-anticipated gala and special presentation program, screening feature films from nearly 30 countries with notable directors such as Danny Boyle, Pedro Almodovar, Cristian Mungiu, Chris Rock, Mike Leigh, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Hirokazu Kore-eda, and more.
Highlights of the special presentation program include “I Play Rocky,” a biographical sports drama about the making of Sylvester Stallone’s 1976 film “Rocky.” Starring Anthony Ippolito as a punchy actor and writer, Peter Farrelly directed Green Book, which debuted at TIFF and went on to win the Best Picture Oscar, and Chris Rock wrote, directed and starred in the drama Misty Green. An all-star cast including Rosalind Eleazar, Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya, Anna Kendrick, Topher Grace, and Anthony Anderson.
The 51st TIFF will be held in downtown Toronto from September 10th to 20th. TIFF also announced that the closing night film will be Villeneuve: The Rise of a Legend, but no, this isn’t about the acclaimed Canadian director of Dune and Incendies, but rather a sports drama about the early years of Canadian racer Gilles Villeneuve. The screening will be held on September 19th.
All gala and special presentation films are below:
gala presentation
Talent for Murder | Anton Corbijn | UK, Italy
world premiere
All about Corinne | Marc Fitussi | France
North American Premier
Always Larissa | Sue Kim | United States
world premiere
Redemption | Reed Van Dyke | United States
North American Premier
Baby | Lauren Miller Rogen United States
world premiere
Being Human | Sian Hedel | United States
world premiere
opening night film
Bunker | Florian Zeller | France, Spain
North American Premier
Diary of a Crazy Old Man | Wayne Wang | United States
world premiere
Evil Genius | Courteney Cox | United States
world premiere
Girl Group | Rebel Wilson | United Kingdom
world premiere
Man in Motion: The Story of Rick Hansen | Adrian Buitenhuis | Canada
world premiere
Misty Green | Chris Rock | United States
world premiere
Front and side | John Madden UK
world premiere
The Pretender | Joss Crowley | United Kingdom
world premiere
For now | Susannah White | Australia, UK
world premiere
Lang Terry Lang | Sean Menard | Canada
Guardian of the Spirit: The Last Secret of the First Emperor | Nguyen Phan Quang Binh | Vietnam
international premiere
Tenzing | Jennifer Peedum | America, Australia
Canadian premiere
Assassin | Heo Jin-ho | South Korea
world premiere
The Life and Death of Wilson Shedd | Tim Blake Nelson | United States
world premiere
The only living pickpocket in New York | Noah Segan | United States
Canadian premiere
Standing up to it | Trudie Styler | UK
world premiere
Villeneuve: Rise of a Legend | Surgeon Yann Lanouet | Canada
world premiere
closing night film
special presentation
The Long Winter | Andrew Haig Canada, UK
Canadian premiere
Suddenly | Ryusuke Hamaguchi | France, Japan, Germany, Belgium
North American Premier
Everything She Wants | Scarlett Birmingham, Andrew Rymer | USA, Canada
world premiere
Alpha Gang | David Zellner, Nathan Zellner | United States
international premiere
Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo | Takashi Miike | USA, UK, Japan
world premiere
Bitter Christmas | Pedro Almodovar | Spain
North American Premier
Clarissa | Arie Esiri, Chuko Esiri | Nigeria, USA
North American Premier
Club Kid | Jordan Firstman | United States
Canadian premiere
The Coward | Lucas Dhondt | Belgium
North American Premier
Elsinore | Simon Stone | United Kingdom
Canadian premiere
Everest: The Other Side | Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarheli | United States
Canadian premiere
Everybody Wants to Fuck Me | Jonathan Shay | UK, France, USA
world premiere
Faith | Paul Andrew Williams | United Kingdom
world premiere
Fjord | Christian Mungiu | Romania, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark
Canadian premiere
Gentle Monster | Marie Kreutzer | Austria
Canadian premiere
Glaxo | Benjamin Neistadt | Argentina, Brazil
world premiere
Soil Growth | Hans Petter Morland | Norway
world premiere
Happily Ever After | FenEi Fiona Loan | Taiwan
world premiere
Hombre Al Agua | Gael Garcia Bernal | Mexico
North American Premier
I play Rocky | Peter Farrelly USA
world premiere
In Alaska | Jaap van Heusden, Vinny Kaletak | Netherlands, Canada
world premiere
Ink | Danny Boyle | UK, France, USA
Canadian premiere
Josephine | Beth de Araujo | United States
Canadian premiere
La Bora Negra | Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrosi | Spain, France
Canadian premiere
Le Faux Soir | Michael R. Roskam | Belgium, France
world premiere
Looking back | Hirokazu Kore-eda | Japan
North American Premier
The love of your life | Rachel Morrison | United States
world premiere
Minotaur | Andrei Zvyagintsev France, Germany, Latvia
Canadian premiere
Mr. Nelson, have you killed anyone? |Shinya Tsukamoto Japan
North American Premier
Lost Paradise | Yeon Sang-ho | South Korea
world premiere
Phoolan | Richie Mehta | India
world premiere
Possible Love | Lee Chang Dong | South Korea
North American Premier
Tender loving care | Mike Leigh | United Kingdom
Canadian premiere
The Age of Farewell | Edmund Yeo | Taiwan, Malaysia
world premiere
Beloved | Rodrigo Sorogoyen | Spain
North American Premier
Debut | Jesse Eisenberg | United States
international premiere
Housewife | Ben Shirinian | United States
world premiere
Julia Set | Niki Byrne | United States
world premiere
The Man I Love | Ira Sachs | United States
North American Premier
Stunt Driver | Michael Dowse | Canada
world premiere
The Unknown | Arthur Harari | France
North American Premier
What do you want | Mina Shum | Canada
world premiere
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother | Bassam Tariq | United States
world premiere
