The 2026 Toronto International Film Festival is just around the corner, which means Toronto is once again preparing to become one of the biggest destinations for movie lovers, filmmakers, critics, and industry insiders from around the world. Every September, TIFF transforms the city into a bustling celebration of cinema, bringing together splashy studio premieres, international discoveries, buzzy independent films, and performances that audiences will be talking about long after the festival wraps.
TIFF has also become an important launching pad for awards season. While not every festival favorite ultimately makes the journey to the Oscars, Golden Globes, or Critics Choice Awards, Toronto has a long history of helping films build the kind of audience enthusiasm and critical momentum that can carry them through the fall and into awards season.
For BGN, we’re especially interested in the films bringing Black stories, women-led narratives, genre storytelling, and fresh perspectives to the forefront. With so many premieres packed into the festival schedule, deciding what deserves a spot on your watchlist can quickly become overwhelming.
So, if you’re heading to Toronto for TIFF 2026, or simply keeping tabs on the movies everyone will be discussing this fall, we’ve narrowed down some of the titles worth having on your radar. And while we’re excited for big ticket premieres like Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, I Play Rocky, Misty Green and many others here are some under-the-radar discoveries from TIFF 2026 you’ll want to keep on your short list.
Congo Boy directed by Rafiki Fariala
Congolese filmmaker Rafiki Fariala brings his second feature to TIFF this year with a striking story centered around a young boy chasing his dreams. In the film Congo Boy, Robert (Fiomona Dembeasset) has a love for music and a strong desire to grow as an artist. However, balancing his chaotic home life of taking care of his siblings while tending to his parents who are both incarcerated refugees pose a challenge for his goals. Fariala presents a story of fortitude and determination through the lens of this protagonist and in a remarkable story of courage, inspiration and exploring self-identity through artistry.
You can check out Congo Boy during TIFF here.
Love of Your Life directed by Rachel Morrison
Rachel Morrison brings her second feature back to TIFF this year after her powerful debut The Fire Inside premiered in 2024 She collaborates with Nyad screenwriter Julia Cox in this heartwarming romance with an incredible performance by Margaret Qualley that is sure to resonate with audiences. The film is also executive produced by Ryan Gosling. Love of Your Life tells the story of Maya (Qualley) a nurse who falls head over heels in love with Charlie played by Gabriel Basso. What seemingly is the perfect time for both, tragedy strikes and completely changes the trajectory of Maya’s life. Maya leaves everything behind and travels to Portugal meeting a stranger named Felix (Aaron Pierre). She shuts out everyone from her past, including her best friend Jason (Patrick Schwarzenegger). This all-star cast brings whimsy, romance, and connection into a beautifully crafted story.
You can check out Love of Your Life during TIFF here.
Josephine directed by Beth de Araújo
One of the buzziest films to come out of Sundance and winner of the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award is Josephine. Beth de Araújo’s dramatic haunting tale of young girl witnessing a sexual assault; is a film that resonates and cuts deep into your soul. In large part due to the groundbreaking performance of film’s protagonist Josephine played with perfection by Mason Reeves. When Josephine witnesses this traumatic event, her father Damien (Channing Tatum) and her mother Claire (Gemma Chan) deal with conflicting approaches to process their daughter’s PTSD. The journey of what Josephine witnessed to how she’s processing that trauma to how what is happening to her impacts the people around her is a brilliant character study. Tatum and Chan are also producers on this movie. Keep this film on your shortlist and don’t miss this one, it will most certainly have filmgoers talking at TIFF.
You can check out Josephine during TIFF here.
Magazine directed by Alexandra Pechman
When you think of films like Devil Wears Prada and its sequel released this year, we learn that New York’s literary world can be a soul-crushing space. In Alexandra Pechman’s Magazine, her feature film debut dives into that world through the lens of an aspiring poet named Nora (Lily McInerny) trying to find her identity in this fake-it-till-you-make-it industry. Nora navigates her the origin of her career at Platen Magazine as an intern, reading through second-hand submission and fetching coffee. Nora learns however, that not all is what it seems in the world of print and from icons she admired to co-workers who gatekeep and play politics. In the world of Magazine, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Life lessons are learned the hard way in more ways than one. For journalists and career-enthusiasts this is a film that is certainly timely right now.
You can check out Magazine during TIFF here.
Carrie directed by Mike Flanagan
There’s something about the story of Carrie White that resonates. Originally conceived from the mind of horror literary genius Stephen King in 1974, the iconic character was adapted into a film in 1976 and later rebooted into a remake in 2013. Now prolific horror filmmaker Mike Flanagan, best known for Midnight Mass and The Haunting of Hill House is behind the new TV series aptly titled Carrie. King’s story for the first time is now being adapted from feature film format to an episodic TV format. The titular role of Carrie White is played by Summer H. Howell, who plays an awkward teenage Carrie navigating public school for the first time. White’s overbearing mother Margaret (Samantha Sloyan) exerts her pious religious antics on both Carrie and her teachers which complicates everything in Carrie’s life. Margaret finds herself at odds with Principal Grayle (Matthew Lillard) who both have different visions of how to educate Carrie. If you’re a fan of Carrie White and enjoy the Carrieverse, this is a series you don’t want to miss as there are some twists and turns that add more to King’s lore.
You can check out Carrie during TIFF here.
The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives directed by Daniel Oriahi
This Nigerian story based on Lola Shoneyin’s novel of the same name tells the tale of a polygamous family with secrets that tears each of them apart and lead to severe consequences. Baba Segi (Odunlade Adekola) is a man that knows he deserves more than one woman in his life. And the narrative presents him as more than just this masculine brute, but as a deeply complex man navigating western patriarchy and working tirelessly to build a family with one of his new wife Bolanle (Omowunmi Dada), who can’t concieve. However, it is the secrets held between his older wives Iya Segi (Iyabo Ojo), Iya Tope (Mercy Aigbe), and Iya Femi (Bimbo Ademoye) that make complicate this plot even more and adds a bit of irony to this dramedy about relationships, infertility and tested loyalties.
You can check out The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives during TIFF here.
Zjili: A Story of Sisterhood and the Burden of Excess directed by Christine Boateng and Hajara Musah Chambas
Zoya (Abdullah Rahana) is a teenage girl that knows there’s so much more to life than what she has around her sphere of influence. When she’s told she needs to marry a man twice her age to conform to archaic cultural traditions; Zoya decides to become independent and continue her education. She leaves her small village and meets Teiya (Esinam Semordzi), a young mother who hopes to own a hair salon. The narrative takes us on a journey through these women’s lives of navigating life in Ghana and living their lives and dreams on their own terms. A story told through a woman’s perspective and lens; the story of Zjili will certainly be one worth having on your shortlist for women-directed and women-centric stories.
You can check out Zjili: A Story of Sisterhood and the Burden of Excess during TIFF here.
Sunburn directed by Serville Poblete
There’s always going to be a great Canadian coming-of-age indie film you can catch at TIFF. This year, Serville Poblete’s Sunburn fills that niche for festival goers. Set in St. James Town the film explores the lives of kids in this urban community who have a racial makeup of multiple ethnicities from Filipino to Jamaican and Guyanese. In this story friendships are tested, connections are made, relationships are built in narrative grounded in friendship. If you’re a fan of teenage coming-of-age stories, keep Sunburn on your shortlist.
You can check out Sunburn during TIFF here.
American Hostage by co-creators Shawn Ryan, Eileen Myers
This 8-episode limited series based on the popular podcast tells the true story of local news director Fred Heckman (Jon Hamm) caught in an unexpected series of events when Tony Kiritsis (Giovanni Ribisi) takes a bank employee hostage. The real-life story of Tony Kiritsis is no stranger to TIFF, as Gus Van Sant’s film Dead Man’s Wire premiered at the festival last year. This series tells the story from the perspective of Heckman as he interviews Kiritsis live on the air as these dramatic events unfold. The series will premiere Sunday, September 20th on MGM+
You can check out American Hostage during TIFF here.
Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been directed by Barry Avrich
Some of the best documentaries are the musical biopics. Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich unearths the history of one of the most underrated musical icons of all time: Darlene Love. In a film that takes us on the journey of Darlene’s life and career, Avrich’s doc tells the story of a woman who never got the respect she deserved in the music industry. This is most notably due to Love’s 7-year contract commitment to record producer Phil Spector who treated her more like a prisoner than an actual artist. The documentary fills your ear with some of the nostalgic songs of the 60s and 70s that you never knew that Darlene Love sang background for. And sadly, that was by design. However, the story presented here in this doc, isn’t solely a tragic one. If you’re a fan of musical biopics, this one one you certainly cannot miss.
You can check out Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been during TIFF here.
Soumsoum, The Night of the Stars directed by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Filmmaker Mahamat-Saleh Haroun brings us some of the most gorgeous cinematography in his latest film, Soumsoum, The Night of the Stars. The protagonist, Kellou (Maïmouna Miawama), has the supernatural ability to see visions of the past and future. One person she sees is her mother, who died during childbirth, and Kellow blames herself for this. In fact, she is mocked by the locals in her village as a “girl of blood” because of this history. The narrative is part supernatural, part coming-of-age. And the blurred lines between life and death become more and more unclear as the story progresses.
You can check out Soumsoum, The Night of the Stars during TIFF here.
The 2026 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 10 to September 20, 2026
