The 2026 Toronto International Film Festival begins today, September 10, and runs through September 20. Being Heumann opens the festival, while I Play Rocky, Misty Green, The Face of Horror, and A Talent for Murder are among the early titles drawing attention.
TIFF has more than 100 films on this year’s program, so no single preview can cover everything. These five already have clear reasons to watch: a major opening-night drama, a Rocky origin story, a Chris Rock-directed comeback film, a Midnight Madness ghost story, and Helen Mirren playing one of crime fiction’s sharpest minds.
Being Heumann opens the festival
Siân Heder directs Being Heumann, with Ruth Madeley playing disability-rights leader Judy Heumann. Mark Ruffalo also stars. The film follows the activists behind the 1977 occupation of a federal building in San Francisco, a protest that pushed the U.S. government to enforce long-delayed disability protections.
Choosing it for opening night puts a political drama at the front of TIFF instead of saving the biggest conversation for the middle of the festival. After TIFF, Being Heumann is scheduled for select theaters on November 6 and Apple TV on November 13.
Misty Green puts Rosalind Eleazar in the lead
Misty Green is written and directed by Chris Rock, but Rosalind Eleazar has the central role. She plays an actor trying to rebuild her career after years away from the spotlight. Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya, and Anna Kendrick round out a cast that makes this one of TIFF’s easiest films to sell to a broad audience.
The draw is not simply that Rock is back behind the camera. Eleazar gets a rare lead role in a film about ambition, reputation, and what a comeback costs when an industry has already moved on.
I Play Rocky follows Stallone before Rocky existed
Anthony Ippolito plays a young Sylvester Stallone in I Play Rocky, directed by Peter Farrelly. The film covers Stallone’s refusal to give up the lead role in the screenplay he wrote, even when selling the script without himself attached would have been the easier deal.
Matt Dillon, AnnaSophia Robb, Stephan James, and Toby Kebbell are part of the ensemble. Its world premiere is set for September 12, giving TIFF the first public test of whether Ippolito can make the familiar story feel like more than an impression of Stallone.
The Face of Horror is TIFF’s late-night wildcard
Anna Biller brings The Face of Horror to Midnight Madness on September 11. Kristine Froseth, Jonah Hauer-King, Leo Suter, and Ellie Bamber star in a medieval ghost story inspired by the Japanese tale Yotsuya Kaidan.
Biller’s films are known for carefully controlled color, costumes, and old-Hollywood style. Moving that eye into a violent supernatural story makes The Face of Horror one of the festival’s most visually distinct genre premieres.
A Talent for Murder gives Helen Mirren a dangerous literary role
A Talent for Murder stars Helen Mirren as author Patricia Highsmith, with Alden Ehrenreich playing a young literary agent sent to persuade her to write one more Ripley novel. Olivia Cooke also stars. Anton Corbijn directs the adaptation of Joanna Murray-Smith’s play Switzerland.
The setup is built around two people testing each other in isolation, with Highsmith’s own methods and obsessions feeding the tension. The film premieres at TIFF on September 14.
When does TIFF 2026 end?
TIFF 2026 runs through Sunday, September 20. The first weekend carries the largest burst of premieres, but more screenings and audience reactions will arrive across all 11 days. Being Heumann has the opening-night spotlight; I Play Rocky and A Talent for Murder follow later in the festival; The Face of Horror owns the late-night slot; and Misty Green enters with one of the lineup’s most recognizable casts.
