Ta Ta to TIFF: The Best Movies and Performances at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival

I’ve come to accept something. The Toronto International Film Festival changes for me each year. Some years, I attend with a significant other. Other years, I go alone. There are TIFF years where I just try and see as many movies as possible. There are years where I want to mingle and socialize, promoting the site by hitting all the parties I can. Last year? I really did do a mix of both, getting to most of the big films, while still not missing any of the events that writers will talk about until next year. This year? the Telluride Film Festival checked a lot of the major boxes, so while I did see most of the major movies, socializing and spreading the gospel of Awards Radar was the name of the game. So, despite a lack of sleep, it was overall very fun and successful. Today, I’m recapping the best of the fest for 2026.

What you’ll see below is my roundup of everything that struck my fancy at TIFF this year. I’ve separated the sections into my thoughts on the films and performances, as well as a full ranking of the movies, plus final thoughts. If you followed my tweets while I was up in Toronto, little of this will be surprising, but still, it’s all in black and white. Here goes nothing…my summary of my time in Canada for this 2026 version of the festival. Plus, be sure to check out all of our festival coverage here.

The Best Films

Some years, the best of TIFF are films I previously saw at the Telluride Film Festival. This year, that wasn’t the case, but only because of I Play Rocky, as several Telluride titles like Club Kid, The Debut, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, Tender Loving Care, and Wild Horse Nine were in attendance and had already blown me away. However, I Play Rocky is so good, such a crowdpleaser, that it’s tops for me. Other TIFF highlights were Being Heumann and Fjord, which I finally caught up to, though I Play Rocky takes the cake.

The Best Performances

There was once again lovely acting all around, as there always is, but in terms of performances I saw during TIFF, the one that stood out the most was Ruth Madeley in Being Heumann. Not far behind were Anthony Ippolito and Tracy Letts (with an honorable mention to Jay Duplass) in I Play Rocky, Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan in Fjord, and Léa Seydoux in Gentle Monster. Of course, if we include Telluride or early screenings, we also have the likes of Jordan Firstman in Club Kid, Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti in The Debut, Andrew Scott in Elsinore, Claire Foy, Jack O’Connell, and Guy Pearce in Ink, Carrie Coon in The Liberation, John Turturro in The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, Kate O’Flynn in Tender Loving Care, as well as John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell in Wild Horse Nine, So, as much as any other year, the acting was very much on point.

TIFF Awards

Best Film: I Play Rocky (Runner Up: The Debut and Wild Horse Nine)

Best Director: Martin McDonagh for Wild Horse Nine (Runner Up: Jesse Eisenberg for The Debut and Peter Farrelly for I Play Rocky)

Best Actor: John Malkovich for Wild Horse Nine (Runner Up: Anthony Ippolito for I Play Rocky and John Turturro for The Only Living Pickpocket in New York)

Best Actress: Julianne Moore for The Debut (Runner Up: Ruth Madeley for Being Heumann and Kate O’Flynn for Tender Loving Care)

Best Supporting Actor: Paul Giamatti for The Debut (Runner Up: Tracy Letts for I Play Rocky and Sam Rockwell for Wild Horse Nine)

Best Supporting Actress: Marion Bailey for Tender Loving Care (Runner Up: Alice Bailey Johnson for Tender Loving Care and Claire Foy for Ink)

Best Adapted Screenplay: Being Heumann (Runner Up: Elsinore and Ink)

Best Original Screenplay: I Play Rocky (Runner Up: Club Kid and The Debut)

Final Thoughts

My sixth time at TIFF wasn’t as diluted by Telluride having so many good movies as in years past, given how great Telluride was, but even when that happens, it just meant others up in Canada got to experience them as well. So, Toronto again provided strong films, fun times, and many memories. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed my coverage from the festival. We’re off to the New York Film Festival next, so stay tuned for that (and another festival to come, which I’ll reveal shortly). TIFF is about to turn to NYFF…

Full TIFF Ranking

1. I Play Rocky

2. Wild Horse Nine

3. The Debut

4. Club Kid

5. Tender Loving Care

6. The Only Living Pickpocket in New York

7. Josephine

8. Fjord

9. Being Heumann

10. Ink

11. Elsinore

12. La bola negra

13. Evil Genius

14. Everybody Wants to Fuck Me

15. Bedford Park

16. The Liberation

17. Gentle Monster

18. The Last Photograph

Stay tuned to see how the TIFF titles do throughout the rest of the year!