The Toronto Film Festival, now in its 51st year, announced on Tuesday the addition of 11 new films, bringing the total for this year’s festival to 293 different works.
Significantly, following their debuts at the Venice Film Festival, a number of films including Searchlight’s Wild Horse Nine by Martin McDonagh, Werner Herzog’s Bucking Fastard featuring Rooney and Kate Mara, and Nanni Moretti’s It Will Happen One Night are set to be showcased in Toronto. The festival is scheduled from September 10 to September 20.
Wild Horse Nine, featuring a cast that includes John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Parker Posey, Steve Buscemi, and Tom Waits, tells the tale of two CIA operatives who undergo a mission that tests their trust from Santiago, Chile to Easter Island in 1973.
In Bucking Fastard, the Mara sisters, Jean and Joan Holbrooke, are portrayed as being so interconnected that they share not only a man but also dreams, speech patterns, and even mistakes. The film, claiming to be based on a true story, will make its Canadian premiere along with Wild Horse Nine. It is likely that these films might also appear at the Telluride Film Festival, which announces its lineup just before its commencement on September 4.
It Will Happen One Night, Moretti’s latest comedy-drama, explores the intertwined lives of four residents of the same apartment building in an Israeli city, each grappling with their own personal struggles and emotional gaps, seeking meaning and redemption.
The Idiot(s) stars Aimee Lou Wood and Johnny Flynn along with Vicky Krieps and Christian Friedel. It focuses on a newlywed couple whose European honeymoon in Baden turns into a prolonged and tumultuous period, filled with challenges as they pursue the completion of a masterpiece novel, The Idiot. This film too, will premiere in Canada and is expected to be featured at Telluride.
Oscar winner Guy Nattiv’s film The Liberation also makes its Canadian debut at TIFF. The film stars Carrie Coon, Lily James, Bella Ramsey, Odessa Young, Tracy Letts, and Jaime Ray Newman, with Coon playing Rita, a middle-aged woman drawn into the charismatic sphere of a young spiritual leader, leading to profound personal transformations and conflicts.
Michelle Yeoh features in Bai Xue’s It’s My Time, which will have its North American premiere. The plot revolves around a rebellious elder in a nursing home who uses mischief as a tool against aging and prejudice, with an unexpected twist involving a Rubik’s Cube.
Making his directorial debut, actor Cody Fern presents Closing Night starring Naomi Watts and Sarah Paulson, which will have its world premiere. The plot centers around a famous actress dealing with her estranged sister’s sudden return amidst the stresses of play rehearsals.
Peter Ho-Sun Chan, who was previously featured at Cannes in 2024, will debut The Road Not Taken at TIFF.
Below is a list of the films announced today (in alphabetical order).
A Good Little Soldier | Stéphane Brizé | France
North American Premiere | Special Presentations
Bucking Fastard | Werner Herzog | USA
Canadian Premiere | Special Presentations
Closing Night | Cody Fern | Australia, Canada
World Premiere | Special Presentations
It’s My Time | Bai Xue | China
North American Premiere | Gala
It Will Happen Tonight | Nanni Moretti | Italy, France, Spain
International Premiere | Special Presentations
Neil Peart: No One’s Disciple | Scot McFadyen, Sam Dunn | Canada
World Premiere | Special Presentations
The Idiot(s) | Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert | Poland, Germany
Canadian Premiere | Special Presentations
The Liberation | Guy Nattiv | USA
Canadian Premiere | Special Presentations
The Road Not Taken | Peter Ho-Sun Chan | China
World Premiere | Special Presentations
Trees are Watching | Bahman Ghobadi | Turkey
World Premiere | Centrepiece
Wild Horse Nine | Martin McDonagh | USA, Chile
Canadian Premiere | Special Presentations
The complete TIFF 2026 schedule can be viewed here.
Daniel Hayes is a business journalist with a focus on market trends, startups, and corporate strategies.
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