On Monday, the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival announced its hotly anticipated Gala and Special Presentations programs, showcasing feature films from close to 30 countries along with celebrated directors such as Danny Boyle, Pedro Almodóvar, Cristian Mungiu, Chris Rock, Mike Leigh, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Hirokazu Kore-eda and many more.
Some of the highlights of the Special Presentations program include “I Play Rocky,” a biographical sports drama about the making of Sylvester Stallone’s 1976 film “Rocky,” starring Anthony Ippolito as the punchy actor/screenwriter and directed by Peter Farrelly, whose film “Green Book” debuted at TIFF and went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture, and “Misty Green,” a drama written, directed by and starring Chris Rock alongside a loaded cast, including Rosalind Eleazar, Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya, Anna Kendrick, Topher Grace and Anthony Anderson.
The 51st edition of TIFF will run Sept. 10-20 in Downtown Toronto. TIFF further announced that its closing night film will be “Villeneuve: The Rise of a Legend,” and no, it’s not about the acclaimed Canadian filmmaker behind “Dune” and “Incendies” but rather a sports drama following the early years of Canadian racer Gilles Villeneuve. That screening will take place on Sept. 19.
Here are all the Gala and Special Presentations films:
GALA PRESENTATIONS
A Talent for Murder | Anton Corbijn | United Kingdom, Italy
World Premiere
All About Corinne | Marc Fitoussi | France
North American Premiere
Always Lalisa | Sue Kim | USA
World Premiere
Atonement | Reed Van Dyk | USA
North American Premiere
Babies | Lauren Miller Rogen | USA
World Premiere
Being Heumann | Siân Heder | USA
World Premiere
Opening Night Film
Bunker | Florian Zeller | France, Spain
North American Premiere
Diary of a Mad Old Man | Wayne Wang | USA
World Premiere
Evil Genius | Courteney Cox | USA
World Premiere
Girl Group | Rebel Wilson | United Kingdom
World Premiere
Man in Motion: The Rick Hansen Story | Adrian Buitenhuis | Canada
World Premiere
Misty Green | Chris Rock | USA
World Premiere
Onwards and Sideways | John Madden | United Kingdom
World Premiere
Pretenders | Joss Crowley | United Kingdom
World Premiere
Prima Facie | Susanna White | Australia, United Kingdom
World Premiere
Run Terry Run | Sean Menard | Canada
Spirit Guardians: The Last Secret of the First Emperor | Nguyen Phan Quang Binh | Vietnam
International Premiere
Tenzing | Jennifer Peedom | USA, Australia
Canadian Premiere
The Assassin(s) | Hur Jin-ho | South Korea
World Premiere
The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd | Tim Blake Nelson | USA
World Premiere
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York | Noah Segan | USA
Canadian Premiere
Up Against It | Trudie Styler | United Kingdom
World Premiere
Villeneuve: The Rise of a Legend | Yan Lanouette Turgeon | Canada
World Premiere
Closing Night Film
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
A Long Winter | Andrew Haigh | Canada, United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere
All of a Sudden | Ryûsuke Hamaguchi | France, Japan, Germany, Belgium
North American Premiere
All That She Wants | Scarlett Bermingham, Andrew Rhymer | USA, Canada
World Premiere
Alpha Gang | David Zellner, Nathan Zellner | USA
International Premiere
Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo | Takashi Miike | USA, United Kingdom, Japan
World Premiere
Bitter Christmas | Pedro Almodóvar | Spain
North American Premiere
Clarissa | Arie Esiri, Chuko Esiri | Nigeria, USA
North American Premiere
Club Kid | Jordan Firstman | USA
Canadian Premiere
Coward | Lukas Dhont | Belgium
North American Premiere
Elsinore | Simon Stone | United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere
Everest: The Other Side | Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi | USA
Canadian Premiere
Everybody Wants To F*** Me | Jonathan Schey | United Kingdom, France, USA
World Premiere
Faith | Paul Andrew Williams | United Kingdom
World Premiere
Fjord | Cristian Mungiu | Romania, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark
Canadian Premiere
Gentle Monster | Marie Kreutzer | Austria
Canadian Premiere
Glaxo | Benjamín Naishtat | Argentina, Brazil
World Premiere
Growth of the Soil | Hans Petter Moland | Norway
World Premiere
Happily Ever After | Feng-I Fiona Roan | Taiwan
World Premiere
Hombre al agua | Gael García Bernal | Mexico
North American Premiere
I Play Rocky | Peter Farrelly | USA
World Premiere
In Alaska | Jaap van Heusden, Vinnie Karetak | Netherlands, Canada
World Premiere
Ink | Danny Boyle | United Kingdom, France, USA
Canadian Premiere
Josephine | Beth de Araújo | USA
Canadian Premiere
La Bola Negra | Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi | Spain, France
Canadian Premiere
Le Faux Soir | Michaël R. Roskam | Belgium, France
World Premiere
Look Back | Hirokazu Kore-eda | Japan
North American Premiere
Love of Your Life | Rachel Morrison | USA
World Premiere
Minotaur | Andrey Zvyagintsev | France, Germany, Latvia
Canadian Premiere
Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People? | Shinya Tsukamoto | Japan
North American Premiere
Paradise Lost | Yeon Sang-ho | South Korea
World Premiere
Phoolan | Richie Mehta | India
World Premiere
Possible Love | Lee Chang-dong | South Korea
North American Premiere
Tender Loving Care | Mike Leigh | United Kingdom
Canadian Premiere
The Age of Goodbyes | Edmund Yeo | Taiwan, Malaysia
World Premiere
The Beloved | Rodrigo Sorogoyen | Spain
North American Premiere
The Debut | Jesse Eisenberg | USA
International Premiere
The Housewife | Ben Shirinian | USA
World Premiere
The Julia Set | Niki Byrne | USA
World Premiere
The Man I Love | Ira Sachs | USA
North American Premiere
The Stunt Driver | Michael Dowse | Canada
World Premiere
The Unknown | Arthur Harari | France
North American Premiere
Whatcha Want | Mina Shum | Canada
World Premiere
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother | Bassam Tariq | USA
World Premiere