Toronto’s 2026 festival is framed as unusually deep, with the standout slate spanning Martin McDonagh’s “Wild Horse Nine,” Jordan Firstman’s “Club Kid” and Harry Melling musical “Stuffed.”
John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell drive early buzz in “Wild Horse Nine,” while “Stuffed” wins praise for making its dark taxidermy premise work as a full musical rather than a gimmick.
Taron Egerton’s “Everybody Wants to Fuck Me” and Michael Dowse’s “The Stunt Driver” add some of the lineup’s sharpest surprises, the former for a major tonal bait-and-switch and the latter for expanding a 1981 documentary.
Barbara Kopple’s “Union Town” brings the most overtly political entry, tying New York labor fights to a striking figure of 2.5 million packages delivered daily across the city.
The broader takeaway is a TIFF program heavy on distinctive auteur work and performance showcases, even if a few entries such as “River” and “The Julia Set” are seen as weaker fits.