Fall Festival Season is Here! TRT Previews Its Most Anticipated TIFF Titles

Following its milestone 50th Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is back, kicking off September 10 and running until September 20, 2026. Coming just off the heels of the Venice Film Festival, TIFF marks an exciting time for the Fall Festival season, featuring North American and World Premieres. 

This year, Kasey Dunifer, Nadia Arain, Evan Miller, Cameron Ritter, and Jacob Diedenhofer preview their most anticipated titles, both as newcomers and frequenters of the festival.

After covering Tribeca virtually, I’m thrilled to be making my in-person film festival debut at TIFF. In line with The Rolling Tape’s Big Screen Book Club podcast, Read Receipts, part of my festival coverage will focus on adaptations. On a broader scale, I will also be covering women in film – from female-directed films to screenplays written by women to stories about the female perspective. On top of my most anticipated adaptations at TIFF, below are three other films I’m excited to catch.

The Debut, dir. Jesse Eisenberg

One specific theme that I have seen crop up in this year’s lineup that I’m instinctively drawn to is stories about actors. While I have a penchant for movies about acting, filmmaking, and theater, it’s rare to see specifically community theater given the big-screen attention it deserves. Jesse Eisenberg is doing just that in his new film, The Debut, starring Julianne Moore as Mona, a hapless housewife – reminiscent of her turn in Safe (1995) – who turns to community theater for newfound purpose. There is something about aging women under the spotlights of a theater that will always fascinate me – looking at you, All About Eve (1950) – so I can’t wait to see what Eisenberg does with Mona’s story.

Union Town, dir. Barbara Kopple

Barbara Kopple made history with her groundbreaking 1976 documentary Harlan County, U.S.A., and her 1990 film American Dream, becoming the first woman to win two Oscars for Best Documentary. Kopple now completes her trilogy on labor rights with her latest work, Union Town. While Harlan County masterfully captures the grit and grime of coal miners’ strikes, American Dream exposes the underbelly of the meat-packing industry and its union-busting tactics. In Union Town, Kopple turns her camera to New York City and the workers’ fights against giants like UPS, Amazon, and DoorDash. Whether or not Union Town delivers a third Oscar-winning documentary for Kopple, her dedication to labor rights is a feat in and of itself.

Tender Loving Care, dir. Mike Leigh

While TIFF is my first-ever in-person film festival, it may be the last-ever premiere of a Mike Leigh film. As a devout fan of Secrets & Lies (1996), Hard Truths (2024), and more, any film from Leigh has my attention, especially one that might be his swan song. The highly regarded British director has stated that Tender Loving Care will likely be his final film. The film features Widow’s Bay breakout star Kate O’Flynn as Amy, a social worker who seeks solace from her mother and best friend as she faces the inevitabilities of family, aging, and death.

Courtesy of Kasey Dunifer

I’m so excited to return to TIFF for my second year! Last year was a standout run for the festival, with several massive horror and genre releases breaking new ground, including Obsession and Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie. I’m continuing my coverage from last year, focusing once again on the Midnight Madness program and the wild side of the festival. The three films below are a perfect example of the program’s energy and spirit: Intense, unrelenting, and even a little bit weird.

Rogue Trooper, dir. Duncan Jones

I recently watched Dredd (2012) for the first time with my father and was astonished not only by the film’s incredible presentation, but also by its status as a lesser-known comic book movie. Imagine my surprise and intrigue when Jones’ adaptation of Rogue Trooper, a character from the same comic anthology, 2000 AD, would be hitting North American audiences at Midnight Madness this year. Animated in Unreal Engine 5 and starring a cast including Hayley Atwell, Darryl McCormack, and Philomena Cunk herself, Diane Morgan, this film is not only a surreal military science-fiction film, but a staple of British comic book history being adapted to the big screen.

Kick On, dir. Nick Kozakis

Nick Kozakis is a new name to me, and his previous features show immense promise. Echoing a similar plot to Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room (2015), Kozakis’ Kick On seems to fit the bill of Midnight Madness’s goriest predecessors. Four friends in Australia looking for a simple score get roped up in the mob, and blood doesn’t just spill; it drenches. Kozakis himself promises “More blood, more psycho mayhem, more insane action, more moments that make an audience scream, laugh and cheer at the same time.” With this being Kozakis’s first Midnight Madness, I couldn’t be more excited to cover what seems to be such a gnarly, balls-to-the-wall thriller.

The Face of Horror, dir. Anna Biller

Biller’s groundbreaking film The Love Witch (2016) has its problems for me, but I nevertheless love her commitment to feminist themes and storytelling. Enter The Face of Horror, a film adapted from the 1825 Japanese ghost story “Yotsuya Kaidan.” The original kabuki play follows a samurai who marries a woman for wealth and status, then kills her and creates a vengeful ghost that drives him mad. Translating the film to medieval England, I consider how this film will translate the idea that misogyny and violence against women have existed as long as civilization has, regardless of country. With a cast led by Kristine Froseth and Jonah Hauer-King, I’m confident Biller can viscerally display the consequences of misogyny.

Courtesy of Nadia Arain

2026 not only marks my first time attending TIFF, but also my first time covering a film festival in person. As a fan of all kinds of movies, I admire how the festival’s attendees can go from a screening of one of the year’s most hard-hitting dramas straight into a screening of the most insane genre films undoubtedly entering our pop culture for the next year. With The Substance in 2024 and Obsession in 2025, all eyes are on TIFF to see what the next niche film will capture the imagination, wonder, and obsession of the larger movie-going public. Here are a few of my most anticipated features and the ones I believe have the potential to be the next big thing.

Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, dir. Bassam Tariq

One of the biggest debacles of the last several years in entertainment has been how Marvel Studios has handled the development of its Blade project, starring two-time Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali, who was announced to play the daywalking vampire hunter in 2019. Since then, the project has been through many different iterations and two directors. In July 2026, Ali himself confirmed the feature was dead. Even if we never see Ali appear as the fan-favorite character, fans are finally getting a glimpse at what might’ve been. From the ashes of Blade comes Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, starring Ali, and written and directed by Bassam Tariq, the first filmmaker attached to the canceled Marvel project. The Texas-set action thriller features Ali as a caring family man who also happens to be a contract killer whose weapons of choice are (you guessed it) blades, as Ali showcases the sword-handling skills he developed during his training for Blade. Sure to be a crowd-pleaser at TIFF, Tariq’s film promises to balance tender drama with intense action spectacle. 

Everybody Wants to F*ck Me, dir. Jonathan Schey

I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but how can you not at least get curious when you see the title of Jonathan Schey’s feature directorial debut? Everybody Wants to F*ck Me stars Taron Egerton (a personal favorite actor of mine) in another committed performance as Adam, a man on a mission to be viewed as the perfect guy for every woman. When Adam meets Sofia (Jessica Henwick), she calls out his deceitful behavior, triggering a strange phenomenon. Suddenly, everybody (but mostly women) can’t help themselves around Adam, relentlessly pursuing him at any cost. Everybody Wants to F*ck Me is a satirical take on modern dating, and the compulsion of men to act on womanizing tendencies to lure in potential partners for the sake of building a body count. It should arouse hysterics in audiences, as well as thrills, when the suspenseful aspects of its premise kick into high gear. 

HALF, dir. Samjad

Of all the movies revealed to be premiering at the festival during the first wave of TIFF announcements, HALF is the one that caught my eye most. In this “curry western” fusion of horror and action that seems to dump From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) in a blender to create one of the most awesome premises I’ve ever read, the film follows two half-vampires on a quest for revenge. When twin siblings Ethan (Ranjith Sajeev) and Ivy (Aiswarya Raj) are left for dead after being ambushed and attacked by a gang of local desert raiders, the supernatural duo sets out to hunt down those responsible in brutal fashion. Featuring what are sure to be epic action set pieces choreographed by Very Tri Yulisman, best known for his work on The Raid 2 (2014), HALF could very well be this year’s The Furious, a fan-favorite action film of last year’s TIFF whose fanbase has only grown since the film hit theaters earlier this year. Premiering as part of TIFF’s class of Midnight Madness films, HALF is a must-see spectacle with the largest crowd possible and poised to blow the roof off of this year’s festival.

Courtesy of Evan Miller

I’m excited to attend my second TIFF and cover the Gala Screenings section of the festival. With a lot of big names behind them, lots of eyes are on the section of the fest. I can’t wait to see how these turn out. 

Misty Green, dir. Chris Rock

Rock returns to the director’s chair for the first time in over a decade with Misty Green, which follows Rosalind Eleazar as the titular actress looking to make a second-wave comeback. The film boasts an incredible cast with names like Adam Driver, Anna Kendrick, Daniel Kaluuya, and your guy and mine, Topher Grace. The cast alone is enough to draw me in, but its selection here at TIFF and its inclusion in NYFF’s Main Slate section indicate it could be a sneaky awards player down the line if it can find momentum behind it. Misty Green will have its world premiere at TIFF before heading to NYFF and releasing wide on October 9, so it will be a pretty quick turnaround from potential festival buzz to full release. I’m very curious to see how this plays with audiences at both festivals and if it can make some noise among other titles whose narratives have already begun taking shape in the awards race.

Atonement, dir. Reed Van Dyk

After its Cannes premiere in the Director’s Fortnight section, Van Dyk brings his directorial debut, Atonement, to TIFF before its early October wide release. The film spans several years, following a US Marine (Boyd Holbrook) after his unit accidentally opens fire on a civilian convoy in Iraq. Van Dyk already has an Academy Award nomination for his 2017 short DeKalb Elementary, and I’m very intrigued to see if he can translate his style and dramatic potency into a feature-length film. The film also features Kenneth Branagh and Hiam Abbass.  

Josephine, dir. Beth de Araujo

While not a Gala selection, I wanted to highlight my very dark-horse People’s Choice Award prediction in Josephine. The drama was one of the highlights of my 2026 Sundance experience, combining compelling storytelling with incredible acting and anxiety-inducing sequences that elicit a strong emotional response from even the most stoic viewer (aka me). The film follows Josephine (Mason Reeves) as she and her parents, Damien (Channing Tatum) and Claire (Gemma Chan), deal with the aftermath of her witnessing a sexual assault. I didn’t make this connection until just now, but de Araujo also directed a little film I booted up on Netflix a few years ago on a whim that left me speechless: Soft & Quiet. That film is shot as if it’s all a single take, and Josephine shows off a lot of amazing camera tricks as well. This film is patient, powerful, and incredibly eye-opening. If you find yourself in Toronto, don’t miss out on this one. 

Courtesy of Cameron Ritter

For my coverage of my first-ever TIFF, I will be focusing on the Centerpiece category. This year’s Centerpiece lineup has a lot of exciting titles from all over the world, highlighting new and rising talent as well as beloved international filmmakers. I also plan to see a couple of features from other categories such as Discovery and Special Presentations. 

All of a Sudden, dir. Ryûsuke Hamaguchi

Hamaguchi’s newest film premiered earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival. It follows Marie-Lou (Virginie Efira), the newly appointed director of an elderly care facility, and Mari (Tao Okamoto), a Japanese theatre director living with terminal cancer. The conversations between the two flow from capitalism, demographic decline, illness, caregiving, and art itself. It seems to be a somber meditation on life and all the aspects of the world that accompany that meditation. This is one of my most anticipated movies of the year. 

Back in Black, dir. Ron Murphy

This film is at the top of my list for the Centerpiece category. Clyde (Christopher Walken) and his wife, Autumn (Jane Curtin), are struggling in their older years at their funeral home. Their granddaughter, Sam (Ella Ballentine), happens upon a means of reversing their decline. Soon enough, people all around town are falling prey to “accidents” that help provide the Mortimer Family Funeral Home with a bounty of new clients. Its just unique enough to draw me in.

Lemonade, dir. Kim Bartley

Lemonade is director Bartley’s first narrative feature, making its World Premiere at TIFF. It centers on Danny (Lewis Brophy), who, at 18, ages out of Ireland’s foster care system. What follows is Danny trying to acclimate to this new world and everything that comes with going out on your own for the first time. While dealing with all of this, he is trying to find a way back to his younger brother that he was forced to leave behind in the foster care system. It also stars Barry Keoghan as Danny’s social worker, who tries to help Danny find his place in the world.

Courtesy of Jacob Diedenhofer 

Our Blind People’s Choice Award Predictions

Being Heumann – Kasey Dunifer

Club Kid – Nadia Arain

The Debut – Evan Miller

Josephine – Cameron Ritter

I Play Rocky – Jacob Diedenhofer

Courtesy of The Rolling Tape Team