The Toronto International Film Festival dropped the curtain on its 2026 Centrepiece program, setting a 54-title slate loaded with festival favorites and high-profile world debuts.

Spanning 50 countries, the flagship section includes Mexico’s Diego Luna return to the director’s chair with the North American premiere of Ashes, while Singapore’s Anthony Chen brings We Are All Strangers. European festival fave Valeska Grisebach (The Dreamed Adventure) and veteran Israeli helmer Avi Nesher (Our Loves) also lock in spots on the circuit.

World premieres anchored in the lineup include Karthik Subbaraj’s Dorothy (produced by Oscar winner Guneet Monga), Kamila Andini’s Four Seasons in Java, Thai director Banjong Pisanthanakun’s Inherit, Daniel Oriahi’s The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives, Roshan Sethi’s The Surgeon, and Kris Rey’s Trash Mountain.

Animation also finds a notable spot in the mix this year. Centrepiece will screen eight animated features, including Louise Bagnall’s 2D feature Julián, Julien Chheng’s Muyi, Xu Zao’s Light Pillar, and Sébastien Laudenbach’s Viva Carmen.

Domestic cinema retains a strong foothold in the program, led by nine Canadian world premieres. Highlights include Marie Clements’ How We Stand, David Bezmozgis’ The Betrayers, Rodrigo Barriuso’s Neverman, Alexandre Franchi’s L’AUTRE, and Cody Lightning’s Smudge the Blades.

TIFF 2026 runs September 10–20, with the full festival schedule set to be released on August 11.

2026 TIFF Centrepiece Lineup

A Girl Unknown | Zou Jing | China

After Elena | Shawn Garry | Chile, Colombia, Italy

Ah Girl | Ang Geck Geck Priscilla | Singapore

Ashes | Diego Luna | Mexico, Spain

Back in Black | Ron Murphy | Canada

Ben’Imana | Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo | Rwanda, Gabon, France, Norway

Congo Boy | Rafiki Fariala | Central African Republic, France, Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy

Conversation With The Sea | Muayad Alayan | Palestine

Dorothy | Karthik Subbaraj | India

Eklipse | Manuel Wetscher | Austria, Italy

Elephants in the Fog | Abinash Bikram Shah | Nepal, France, Germany, Brazil, Norway

Everytime | Sandra Wollner | Austria, Germany

Flies | Fernando Eimbcke | Mexico

Four Seasons in Java | Kamila Andini | Indonesia, France, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore

Furies | Rami Kodeih | Lebanon, Brazil

Future Tense | Jenna Cato Bass | South Africa, Australia

God Bless You, Mr Kopu | Alex Liu | New Zealand, Australia

Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! | Josef Kubota Wladyka | USA

How We Stand | Marie Clements | Canada

Inherit | Banjong Pisanthanakun | Thailand

Intermission | Yonfan | Hong Kong

Iron Boy | Louis Clichy | France, Belgium

Julián | Louise Bagnall | Luxembourg, Ireland, Canada, Denmark

La Gradiva | Marine Atlan | France, Italy

L’AUTRE | Alexandre Franchi | Canada

Lemonade | Kim Bartley | Ireland, United Kingdom

Light Pillar | Xu Zao | China

Long Long Night | Kyu Bock Youm | South Korea

Love is the monster | Neto Villalobos Brenes | Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, Chile, Mexico

Marie Madeleine | Géssica Généus | France, Haiti, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg

Muyi | Julien Chheng | France

Neverman | Rodrigo Barriuso | Canada

Our Loves | Avi Nesher | Israel

Rehearsals for a Revolution | Pegah Ahangarani | Czech Republic, Spain

Smudge the Blades | Cody Lightning | Canada

Soumsoum, The Night of the Stars | Mahamat-Saleh Haroun | Chad, France

Sunburn | Serville Poblete | Canada

Tangles | Leah Nelson | Canada, USA

The Betrayers | David Bezmozgis | Canada, Ukraine

The bovine with the curved horns | Omar E. Ospina Giraldo | Colombia

The City of the Living | Edoardo Gabbriellini | Italy

The Difficult Bride | Rubaiyat Hossain | France, Bangladesh, Germany, Norway, Portugal

The Dreamed Adventure | Valeska Grisebach | Germany, France, Bulgaria, Austria

The Lost Children Of Tuam | Frank Berry | Ireland

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives | Daniel Oriahi | Nigeria

The Surgeon | Roshan Sethi | Ireland

The Violinist | Ervin Han, Raúl García | Singapore, Spain, Italy

Thirteen in Gaza | Hosam Abu Dan | Palestine

Toy Gun Bandit | Rémi St-Michel | Canada

Trash Mountain | Kris Rey | USA

Viva Carmen | Sébastien Laudenbach | France

We Are All Strangers | Anthony Chen | Singapore

Where the River Begins | Juan Andrés Arango | Canada, Colombia, Norway

Woman Unknown | May el-Toukhy | Denmark