TIFF 2026 movies below!
Every September, Hollywood heads north for the Toronto International Film Festival, bringing some of the year’s biggest stars, buzziest premieres and potential awards contenders to Canada.
The 51st Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 10–20, 2026, with screenings taking place across Toronto and a programme spanning major studio titles, international cinema, documentaries and emerging filmmakers.
This year’s TIFF 2026 movies include new projects starring Cate Blanchett, Sebastian Stan, Rooney and Kate Mara, Javier Bardem, Kit Connor, Naomi Watts and Sam Rockwell – alongside the latest mountain epic from Oscar-winning filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin.
And because this is Cinephile Tourist, we’re also looking at where each one takes us. From the Norwegian fjords and Canadian mountains to Easter Island and Mount Everest, here are eight of the TIFF 2026 movies worth having on your radar.
1. Everest: The Other Side
- Featuring: Jim Morrison, Hilaree Nelson
- Directors: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin
Oscar-winning Free Solo filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin return to the mountains with a documentary that follows elite ski mountaineers Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson as they attempt to climb and ski Everest’s formidable North Face.
Naturally, Everest provides the film’s extraordinary real-world backdrop, with the production spanning Nepal and the mountain’s Tibetan side. The documentary plays TIFF following its Venice Film Festival debut.
2. Fjord
- Cast: Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve
- Director: Cristian Mungiu
Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve star as a Romanian-Norwegian couple whose move to a remote Norwegian community takes a troubling turn when concerns are raised about the way they discipline their children.
The Palme d’Or-winning drama was filmed entirely in Norway, including Hjørundfjorden in Western Norway, giving Fjord one of the most spectacular natural settings among this year’s festival films.
3. Bucking Fastard
- Cast: Rooney Mara, Kate Mara
- Director: Werner Herzog
Real-life sisters Rooney and Kate Mara play inseparable twins in Werner Herzog’s drama, inspired by the strange true story of British twins Freda and Greta Chaplin.
Production took the film to Ireland and Slovenia, adding another European destination to our pick of TIFF 2026 movies.
4. Wild Horse Nine
- Cast: Sam Rockwell, John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi, Parker Posey, Tom Waits
- Director: Martin McDonagh
Set shortly before Chile’s 1973 military coup, Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy follows two CIA agents sent from Santiago to Easter Island, where their mission begins to unravel amid the island’s famous moai.
Even better for travellers, Wild Horse Nine actually filmed on Easter Island, with additional location work including Monument Valley in the American Southwest.
5. Alpha Gang
- Cast: Cate Blanchett, Chris Pine, Dave Bautista, Léa Seydoux, Lily-Rose Depp, Bae Doona
- Directors: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner
Cate Blanchett leads a seriously stacked ensemble in this sci-fi comedy about a group of aliens sent to conquer Earth who unexpectedly begin developing human emotions.
Filming took place in Budapest, Hungary, and Podgarić, Croatia, including Croatia’s striking Monument to the Revolution of the People of Moslavina.
6. A Long Winter
- Cast: Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Kit Connor, Caitríona Balfe, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo
- Director: Andrew Haigh
Andrew Haigh’s latest drama follows a family living high in the mountains as autumn draws to a close and they prepare themselves for the long winter ahead.
The UK-Canadian production filmed around Calgary, Alberta, making it an especially fitting inclusion at this year’s Toronto festival.
7. The Housewife
- Cast: Naomi Watts, Tye Sheridan, Luke Evans, Norman Reedus, Michael Imperioli
- Director: Ben Shirinian
Set in post-war New York, The Housewife follows a New York Times journalist investigating a suspected Nazi officer secretly living in Queens, only for his relationship with the man’s wife to complicate the story.
The story puts Queens, New York front and center.
8. The Beloved
- Cast: Javier Bardem, Victoria Luengo, Raúl Arévalo, Marina Foïs
- Director: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Javier Bardem plays an acclaimed filmmaker who reunites with his estranged actress daughter, played by Victoria Luengo, when the two find themselves working together on a movie.
Much of the film’s cinematic backdrop comes courtesy of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands, with additional filming taking place in Madrid.
Which TIFF 2026 movies are you watching?
From A-list ensembles to stories taking audiences to some of the world’s most dramatic landscapes, this year’s festival has plenty to watch beyond the traditional awards-season fare – whether that’s Sebastian Stan against the fjords of Western Norway, Sam Rockwell on Easter Island, or Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi heading back into the world’s highest mountains.
What TIFF 2026 movies are on your radar? And are you heading to Toronto to catch some of the TIFF 2026 movies? Let us know!