The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is one of the world’s leading public film festivals, celebrated for its vibrant mix of global cinema, red-carpet premieres, and industry innovation. Each September, Toronto transforms into a hub for filmmakers, artists, and audiences who come together to discover bold new stories, connect with diverse voices, and celebrate the art of film.
Read below to discover the films with B.C. ties that will be screened at TIFF, between September 10-20, 2026:
WHATCHA WANT (2026)
WHATCHA WANT (dir. Mina Shum)
Special Presentations | World Premiere
From her winsome TIFF ’94 feature debut Double Happiness onward, writer-director Mina Shum has been chronicling myriad aspects of the Asian-Canadian experience with humour, grace, and a heartfelt universality. With WHATCHA WANT, Shum tells the story of a young woman whose marriage to an affluent businessman is beginning to resemble a gilded cage.
Yin hasn’t seen BT in five months. While he claims to be under great professional stress back in their native Hong Kong, she spends her days in their new hometown of Vancouver, where she is chauffeured by the charming Ming and kept company by her older and wiser friend, who advises Yin to stop worrying about her less than ideal marriage and enjoy her life of privilege. But Yin longs for more than designer shopping and spas, and when she spots a high-energy dance class happening across the street from her apartment, her love of dance as a child comes flooding back. Yin joins the dance group and rediscovers what’s been lost.
Shum exudes a confident light touch while exploring themes of gender and class in a cross-cultural landscape. With nods to CRAZY RICH ASIANS and FLASHDANCE, it’s a classic tale with a Canadian twist.
SEVENTEEN (2026)
SEVENTEEN (dir. Justin Ducharme)
Discovery | TIFF Next Wave Selects | World Premiere
Three young queer Indigenous people’s lives intersect and overlap over the course of 17 hours in downtown Vancouver. Starring a cast of relative newcomers in the leading roles, SEVENTEEN follows them towards important deadlines they are racing to meet: Tamara must track down a passport before she’s kicked out of the country, Aidan has to find the money for a deposit on a new apartment, and December needs to acknowledge a pressing family situation back home on her reserve.
As the clock ticks down on each of their deadlines, chosen family members step in — and up — to do whatever they can but, crucially, Tamara, Aiden, and December need to do the work themselves. This is an impressive debut from Ducharme, one that gives viewers a glimpse into the complex realities of queer Indigenous people living on the margins in the urban spaces around us.
IN ALASKA (2026)
IN ALASKA (dir. Jaap van Heusden, Vinnie Karetak)
Special Presentations | World Premiere
Woody (Leo Matthew Temela, in his first starring role) is a young, depressed Inuk teen whose life is upended by a single, desperate mistake. When his attempt at self-harm fails and an errant bullet pierces the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, there are huge ramifications: he’s suddenly labelled an eco-terrorist and forced to go on the run. Abandoning the small Alaskan village he grew up in, he sets out towards Nunavut, where he has family he doesn’t know but who he hopes will take him in. Hot on his trail is the FBI, led by Agent Susan Tarheel (Noomi Rapace). Laser-focused in her pursuit, she knows that catching her target will require getting inside the mind of the fleeing boy.
The beautiful northern landscapes quickly turn hostile for Woody, making nature as much of a threat as the federal manhunt. A tense and darkly humorous coming-of-age story, IN ALASKA offers viewers a thoughtful and thrilling ride.
HOW WE STAND (2026)
HOW WE STAND (dir. Marie Clements)
Centrepiece | World Premiere
In 1950s Oklahoma, a single mother and her three young daughters take a risk on the Native American Relocation Program, and journey to Los Angeles. But instead of the promised career and stability, they find the opposite. A traumatic event takes place in the Los Angeles’ river’s concrete channel, which then becomes a crucial place for the sisters in its aftermath.
Divided into different foster homes, we meet them again 20 years later, as young women. Jessie is a doctor, about to start a new job at a clinic alongside her husband, while her sister Miranda is an activist trying her hand at acting. Lastly, Janey is in distress, fresh from a trauma she can’t express. Their paths are very different, but all are tinged by historical injustices.
Inspired by true events, Clements infuses the film with magic realism, a dose of humour (in particular with a send-up of Hollywood westerns) and compelling characters to craft a timely story about forced separation and finding connection.
Here are the B.C. delegates who will be attending the festival this year:
Ana Carrizales – AGA Films Inc.
Lucy McNulty – Strange Company Productions
Tarique Qayumi – Aquatinter Films Ltd.
Helene Taylor – Orange Knapsack Productions Ltd.
Leon Lee – Flying Cloud Productions Inc.
Kyle Rideout – Motion 58 Entertainment Inc.
Daniel Smith Arnold – Alley Originals Inc.
Dylan Collingwood – Tilt 9 Entertainment Inc.
Stephen Hegyes – Reality Distortion Field Inc.
Ben Mallin – Ben Mallin Media
To learn more about TIFF and to explore the complete programming, visit the festival’s website.
Cover image: still from WHATCHA WANT (2026).
