#FIRSTLOOK: UPCOMING NETFLIX THEATRICAL RELEASE SLATE

Netflix Canada have announced their upcoming theatrical release slate ahead. Some upcoming release dates for some awards season contenders.

POSSIBLE LOVE

IN SELECT THEATRES
TORONTO, MONTREAL, VANCOUVER – OCTOBER 23
EXPANDING – OCTOBER 30

ON NETFLIX NOVEMBER 6

ABOUT | Possible Love follows the intertwined relationship of two married couples facing different paths and hidden desires. Mi-ok (Jeon Do-yeon) lives quietly with her laid-off husband Ho-seok (Sul Kyung-gu) and their young son Cheol until a funeral brings them into the orbit of Ye-ji (Cho Yeo-jeong), a documentary filmmaker chronicling laid-off workers, and her husband Sang-woo (Zo In-sung) — a couple whose affluent lifestyle stands in sharp contrast to their own. When Mi-ok agrees to be filmed, she grows close to Ye-ji, and finds herself uneasily drawn to the unreadable Sang-woo. As their worlds collide, fractures begin to appear in their daily existence. Marking his first release in eight years, highly acclaimed director Lee Chang-dong (Burning, Poetry, Secret Sunshine) brings his signature nuance to Possible Love, capturing shifting emotions, conflicts, and contrasting outlooks that shape these relationships.

Possible Love is South Korea’s Official Selection at the 99th Academy Awards.

DIRECTOR: Lee Chang-dong
WRITERS: Lee Chang-dong, Oh Jung-mi
CAST: Jeon Do-yeon, Sul Kyung-gu, Zo In-sung, Cho Yeo-jeong

LA BOLA NEGRA

IN SELECT THEATRES
TORONTO – OCTOBER 23
VANCOUVER & MONTREAL – OCTOBER 30
EXPANDING – NOVEMBER 6

ON NETFLIX DECEMBER 2

ABOUT | A bold tapestry spanning nearly a century of Spanish history, La Bola Negra tells the story of three generations of men whose lives are intimately connected through desire, pain, and love in this celebrated film from Cannes-winning directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi.

La Bola Negra is Spain’s Official Selection at the 99th Academy Awards and Winner of the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.

DIRECTORS: Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi (“Los Javis”)
WRITERS: Javier Calvo, Javier Ambrossi, Alberto Conejero
CAST: Guitarricadelafuente, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos González, Milo Quifes, Lola Dueñas, Julio Torres, Penélope Cruz, Glenn Close

GENTLE MONSTER

IN SELECT THEATRES OCTOBER 30
TORONTO, VANCOUVER, MONTREAL, OTTAWA

ON NETFLIX NOVEMBER 18

ABOUT | When a police raid shatters her life, concert pianist Lucy (Léa Seydoux) must protect her son and confront how little she knows of her husband after he is accused of an unspeakable crime in this tense thriller about trust and survival.

DIRECTOR: Marie Kreutzer
WRITER: Marie Kreutzer
PRODUCERS: Alexander Glehr, Johanna Scherz, Jonas Dornbach, Janine Jackowski, Jean-Christophe Reymond, and Marie Kjellson
MUSIC BY: Camille
CAST: Léa Seydoux, Jella Haase, Laurence Rupp, Malo Blanchet, Anton Rubtsov, Nils Strunk, Sylvester Groth, Patrycja Ziółkowska, Regina Fritsch, and Catherine Deneuve

THE MOSQUITO BOWL

IN SELECT THEATRES NOVEMBER 11
TORONTO, VANCOUVER, MONTREAL, CALGARY, EDMONTON, WINNIPEG, OTTAWA, VICTORIA, HALIFAX

ON NETFLIX NOVEMBER 25

ABOUT | Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, four of America’s top college football stars set their fame aside to enlist in the Marines. As they prepare for the brutal invasion of Okinawa, they’ll play in a legendary game featuring some of the greatest players in history — a game that, for many, will be the last they ever play.

The Mosquito Bowl is adapted from Pulitzer Prize winner Buzz Bissinger’s bestselling nonfiction book The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II.

DIRECTOR: Peter Berg
CAST: Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgård, Ray Nicholson, Tom Francis, Brent Comer, and Dominic Bogart

THE FURTHER MISADVENTURES
OF CLIFF BOOTH

EXCLUSIVE IMAX RELEASE
IN SELECT THEATRES NOVEMBER 25
TORONTO, VANCOUVER, MONTREAL, CALGARY, EDMONTON, WINNIPEG, OTTAWA, VICTORIA, HALIFAX

ON NETFLIX DECEMBER 23

ABOUT | Brad Pitt returns to his Academy Award-winning role as Cliff Booth, only this time it’s 1977 and it’s a very different Hollywood. Directed by David Fincher from a screenplay by Quentin Tarantino, the film also stars Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, Carla Gugino, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Peter Weller.

Director: David Fincher
Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Brad Pitt, Elizabeth Debicki, Scott Caan, Carla Gugino, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Matt Groove and JB Tadena

IN WAVES

IN SELECT THEATRES NOVEMBER 27
TORONTO, VANCOUVER, MONTREAL

ON NETFLIX DECEMBER 11

ABOUT | Set against the sun-soaked surf culture of Southern California, IN WAVES, based on a true story, explores the joy of finding your soulmate, the courage it takes to live life to the fullest, and the enduring power of love to shape who we become and what we leave behind.

Director: Phuong Mai Nguyen
Cast: Will Sharpe, Stephanie Hsu

14TH

EXCLUSIVE TORONTO ENGAGEMENT NOVEMBER 27

ON NETFLIX DECEMBER 4

ABOUT | Written in the wreckage of the Civil War, the 14th Amendment was meant to close the door on the hierarchy of human worth. Instead, it has become a permanent argument. Ava DuVernay’s 14th pulls this constitutional fight out of the footnotes and into the present, chronicling the vicious battle over the amendment that has raged for over 150 years. Threading deep archival scholarship with piercing headlines of today, 14th brings together legal minds, politicians, historians and cultural voices in direct conversation with a question America still hasn’t settled: Who gets to belong?

14th is the Closing Night selection of the 64th New York Film Festival.

Director: Ava DuVernay
Producers: Ava DuVernay, Spencer Averick, Tammy Garnes, and Paul Garnes

RAY GUNN

IN THEATRES DECEMBER 4

ON NETFLIX DECEMBER 18

ABOUT | In Metropia, a gigantic city in an alternate future as seen from 1939, private eye Raymond Gunn is drawn into a case involving aliens, murder and a multimedia star named Venus Nova.

Director: Brad Bird
Cast: Sam Rockwell, Tom Waits, Scarlett Johansson

#TIFF26: AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED AT 2026 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

The Toronto International Film Festival revealed this year’s award winners during a live press conference at TIFF Lightbox today. Among the top honours announced were the People’s Choice Awards, presented by Rogers, voted on by TIFF’s public audience; the Platform Prize, the Festival’s only juried programme; two Canadian feature film awards, Short Cuts, FIPRESCI, and NETPAC awards. In total, 12 awards were handed out, celebrating standout films and breakout talent.

In a historic first this year, winning TIFF’s Platform Prize grants a non-English-language film direct eligibility for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards, alongside top winners from five other qualifying festivals.

Audiences can catch this year’s People’s Choice Award–winning films for free at the Lightbox, beginning at 12pm today.

Over the past 11 days, TIFF presented 294 films from 72 countries, welcoming over 800 talent across 98 red carpets. The Festival hosted 2,000 accredited media, close to 7,000 TIFF: The Market delegates, and 279 directors from around the world.

PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS PRESENTED BY ROGERS

Launched in 1978, the TIFF People’s Choice Award, presented by Rogers, celebrates the Festival’s top title as chosen by Toronto’s famously passionate and discerning public audience. The honour now spans four categories: overall, International, Documentary, and Midnight Madness.

People’s Choice Award presented by Rogers: La Bola Negra, dirs. Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi

First runner-up: I Play Rocky, dir. Peter Farrelly

Second runner-up: Being Heumann, dir. Siân Heder

International People’s Choice Award presented by Rogers: Elsinore, dir. Simon Stone

First runner-up: Possible Love, dir. Lee Chang-dong

Second runner-up: The Assassin(s), dir. Hur Jin-ho

People’s Choice Documentary Award presented by Rogers: Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been, dir. Barry Avrich

First runner-up: Black Sunflowers, dir. James Marcus Haney

Second runner-up: The Ultra Runner dir. Mila Aung-Thwin

People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award presented by Rogers: Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney, dir. Matthew Rankin

First runner-up: The Spiral, dir. Paolo Strippoli

Second runner-up: Arrested Memory, dir. SABU

PLATFORM PRIZE

Launched in 2015 and inspired by Jia Zhang-ke’s groundbreaking film, TIFF’s Platform Prize honours filmmakers with strong directorial vision and distinctive storytelling. All films in the programme are eligible for the prize. TIFF’s Platform Prize is one of only six international festival awards with a direct pathway to the Oscars. Building on this newly established status, the 2026 Platform programme expanded to 12 films, with an international five-member jury selecting the winner of the $20,000 CAD prize. This year’s jury was led by President Pablo Trapero, alongside Amma Asante, Sylvia Chang, Luc Déry, and Albert Lee.

Platform Prize:

Angh, dir. Theja Rio | India

Platform jury’s statement: “The Platform Prize goes to Angh. For its refreshing perspective, strength of filmmaking, and deeply resonant portrait of a world. We praise the filmmaker’s vision, audacity and courage.”

Special Jury Award:

Brace Your Heart (Garrat Du Váimmu), dir. Amanda Kernell | Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Bulgaria

Platform jury’s statement: “We would like to recognize Brace Your Heart with an Honourable Mention. For how its apparent simplicity reflects the complex nature of the world today, its powerful central performance and beautiful visual journey.”

SHORT CUTS AWARDS

Short Cuts Awards are presented to the Best International Short Film, Best Canadian Short Film, and Best Animated Short Film, as awarded by the Short Cuts jury. Each of the three winning films will receive a bursary of $10,000 CAD. The 2026 jurors for the Short Cuts Awards are Joecar Hanna, Chris Lavis, and Iris Ng.

Short Cuts Award for Best International Short Film:

MAMMALIA, dir. Elia Kalogianni | Greece, Netherlands

Short Cuts jury’s statement: “We were struck by the audacity of a film willing to expose what we would rather not admit about ourselves and concepts we thought we were comfortable with. Bold, visceral, and formally assured, it explores the toxic relationship we don’t examine enough with those around us. It takes the grotesque and makes it disturbingly relatable, forcing opposing sides of a double standard into the same frame. What first feels extreme slowly reveals itself as something much more unsettling: a reflection of our own behavior, and of a society whose contradictions urgently deserve to be challenged.”

Honourable Mention:

The Spectacular Death of Prisca, dir. Kaelo Iyizoba | Nigeria

Short Cuts jury’s statement: “We wanted to give an Honourable Mention to a film that took us on a completely different kind of ride: a delightful mashup of melodrama, action and comedy that reminded us of the pure joy of making and watching cinema. Executed with remarkable precision in both filmmaking and performance, it turns family dynamics into something heightened, absurd and unexpectedly revealing. We were especially struck by how original it felt without ever seeming to chase originality. Choices that many filmmakers might hesitate to make were handled with such confidence and ease that the film created its own singular tone, full of personality and completely free of pretension.”

Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film:

Fight Kid, dir. Michael Del Monte | Canada

Short Cuts jury’s statement: “A film that is at once gripping and cautionary, offering a sharp dissection of inherited masculinity and ambition. We were taken by its enigmatic and electric journey, and by the unique way it blurs performance and reality, making it almost impossible to disengage from the screen.”

Honourable Mention:

Almost Pink, dir. Justine Prince | Canada

Short Cuts jury’s statement: “A film that helps us address another shameful and traumatic experience we fear to share. Disturbing but vital, it confronts the sexual exploitation of teenagers and the social and economic forces that allow it to happen. With remarkable confidence, the film builds and sustains an unbearably tense and terrifying atmosphere, demanding that we pay attention to a reality too often kept out of sight.”

Short Cuts Award for Best Animated Short Film:

Into The Betaverse, dirs. Varun Raman, Tom Hancock | United Kingdom

Short Cuts jury’s statement: “This film is a venue where ridiculous meets the profound. It is a surprisingly emotional comedy about friendship and finding love in unexpected places. This confident hybrid of live action and animation is unapologetically primitive and loose. Which, in an era of AI smoothing, that roughness only makes its humanity feel more present.”

Honourable Mention:

Terminal, dir. Alexandre Siqueira | Portugal, Spain, France

Short Cuts jury’s statement: “We shared the joy of discovering a film that knows how to be poetic and surreal without becoming overwhelming. It creates a delicate allegory of death and loss while giving us the space to sit with those emotions. Its animation is crisp and full of detail, but never calls attention to itself at the expense of the story. The style serves the film’s quest to connect rather than competing with it.”

FIPRESCI PRIZE

The FIPRESCI jury awards the International Critics’ Prize, dedicated to emerging filmmakers, to a debut feature film having its World Premiere in TIFF’s Discovery programme. The 2026 FIPRESCI jury members are Pragya Mishra, Cătălin Olaru, Savina Petkova (PhD), Enoe Lopes Pontes (PhD), and Victor Stiff.

FIPRESCI Prize:

Ancestors, dir. David Turpin | Ireland, United Kingdom

FIPRESCI jury’s statement: “In this story of lost people finding each other, we saw an extraordinary command of translating the dreamy landscape of memories and recollections into compassionate cinematic language. It immersed us in someone else’s life, a time of love and turmoil, a past that returns through photographs and memories to haunt, bring longing, and give hope at once.”

NETPAC AWARD

Presented by the Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema, the NETPAC Award recognizes films from the Asian and Pacific regions. The jury consists of three international community members selected by TIFF and NETPAC, who award the prize to the best Asian film by a first or second-time feature director. The 2026 NETPAC jury was led by Jury Chairperson Mara Matta, alongside Richard Fung and Panagiotis Kotzathanasis.

NETPAC Award:

Thirteen in Gaza, dir. Hosam Abu Dan | Palestine

NETPAC jury’s statement: “Against unfolding genocide, Thirteen in Gaza by Hosam Abu Dan turns suffering into neither spectacle nor victimhood, but into riveting images of life in all its complexity. A brave, intimate film that announces a major new voice in cinema.”

BEST CANADIAN DISCOVERY AWARD

The Best Canadian Discovery Award celebrates the next generation of filmmakers shaping its future. The award recognizes emerging talent whose first or second feature brings a distinctive voice to the Canadian film landscape. All Canadian first or second feature films in Official Selection are eligible. The winner receives a cash prize of $10,000 CAD. The 2026 Best Canadian Discovery Award Jury members are Zarrar Kahn, Justine Pimlott, and Sophy Romvari.

Best Canadian Discovery Award:

Smudge the Blades, dir. Cody Lightning | Canada

Canadian Discovery jury’s statement: “Smudge the Blades is electric. It carries heart and humour in equal measure, while never shying away from the challenges faced by Indigenous communities caused by the ongoing treatment of Indigenous people and colonization of Indigenous lands. Rooted in joy and resilience, Smudge the Blades challenges familiar genres by placing Indigenous voices at the centre of a story filled with hope, offering a radical path forward. Cody’s deeply empathetic directing and his eye for character, has resulted in a film that is propulsive, funny and furious. An assured sophomore feature about family, ambition — and the transformational power of community.”

Honourable Mention:

The Black Box is Orange, dir. Yuula Benivolski | Canada

Canadian Discovery jury’s statement: “A childhood impacted by settler ideology is unpacked through painful memories and the striking use of archival images. For its sensitive, brave and challenging formal dexterity, showcasing a nuanced depiction of the systematic erasure of Palestinian histories while delicately threading the needle between personal and political, we award The Black Box is Orange with the Honourable Mention for this year’s Discovery Award.”

BEST CANADIAN FEATURE FILM AWARD

The Best Canadian Feature Film Award honours the unique craft and storytelling in Canadian cinema. All Canadian feature films in Official Selection — excluding first or second features — are considered for the award. The winning filmmaker will receive a $10,000 CAD cash prize. The 2026 Best Canadian Feature Film Award jury members are Hubert Davis, Deepa Mehta, and Christina Rogers.

Best Canadian Feature Film Award:

Sunburn, dir. Serville Poblete | Canada

Canadian Feature Film jury’s statement: “Sunburn is a vibrant, funny, and deeply human film that brings a fresh, visceral energy to Toronto. With innovative filmmaking, remarkable performances, and an ensemble of characters who moved us, the film achieves something extraordinary. We are thrilled to recognize Serville Poblete as a young filmmaker with a distinctive voice and a generous vision.”

Honourable Mention:

Man in Motion: The Rick Hansen Story, dir. Adrian Buitenhuis | Canada

Canadian Feature Film jury’s statement: “The Rick Hansen Story is a moving, beautifully crafted film that offers a powerful new perspective on Rick Hansen’s extraordinary journey, while reminding us of the people who are too often left behind.”

Awards descriptions including eligibility can be found at tiff.net/awards. Information on the People’s Choice Award voting process can be found at tiff.net/vote.

The 51st Toronto International Film Festival, presented by Rogers, concludes today. The 52nd edition of the Festival will take place September 9–19, 2027.

About TIFF:

TIFF is a not-for-profit cultural organization with a mission to transform the way people see the world through film. A global leader in film and entertainment, TIFF initiatives include the annual Toronto International Film Festival® in September; TIFF Lightbox, which features five cinemas, plus learning and entertainment facilities; the Donald Shebib TIFF Film Circuit, an innovative national distribution programme; and TIFF: The Market launching in 2026. The organization generates an estimated annual economic impact of $240 million CAD. TIFF Lightbox is generously supported by contributors including the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, the City of Toronto, the Reitman family (Ivan Reitman, Agi Mandel, and Susan Michaels), The Daniels Corporation, and RBC. For more information, visit tiff.net.

TIFF is generously supported by Festival Presenting Sponsor Rogers Communications.

TIFF is generously supported by Major Sponsors RBC and Visa and Major Supporters Telefilm Canada, the Government of Ontario, and the City of Toronto.

TIFF’s People’s Choice Awards are presented by Rogers.

#TIFF26: “LA BOLA NEGRA” REVIEW

By Mr. Will Wong

LA BOLA NEGRA was made for Awards Season. The Spanish queer drama from co-directed and co-adapted by duo Los Javis spans three eras, connecting the stories of three men in a thoughtful way, inspired by an unfinished poem by Federico García Lorca and Alberto Conejero‘s play La piedra oscura.

We have Carlos (Milo Quifes) who is “blackballed” or voted out from a casino after suspicions are raised about him being homosexual. His father urges him to plea for the powers that be to change their decision. We also meet Sebastián (Guitarricadelafuente) who is enlisted into the nationalist army, only to fall in love with a prisoner of war named Rafael (Miguel Bernardeau) he is to pry information from and be cruel to. The story then skips to modern day, where a historian named Alberto (Carlos González) is about to receive an inheritance from his estranged grandfather, bringing to the surface years of unresolved tension between his mother (Lola Dueñas) and him.

Los Javis are doing some groundbreaking things here, re-framing the queer identity here, going beyond just looking at the challenges of oppression. Ultimately, the Film finds pockets of empowerment, light and love, making La Bola Negra an experience that warms the heart, paying respect to those who paved the way for us today by way of remembering the stories of those who could not live their truths. Above this, the Film visually is spectacular under the cinematography of Gris Jordana.

Some truly fantastic performances from this Ensemble, including Guitarricadelafuente, who is tortured between obligation and his heart. The Film is boosted by two surprise appearances from Penélope Cruz and she truly is dazzling here as a showgirl who rouses the troops to fight, and Glenn Close as Hispanist scholar, who specializes in queer history.

While it does feel excessive in length at 160 minutes, the ambitious LA BOLA NEGRA proves a rewarding watch. It screens at TIFF ’26:

Wednesday, September 16
Royal Alexandra Theatre
4:30 pm

Friday, September 18
Royal Alexandra Theatre
4:15 pm

Saturday, September 19
VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre
2:00 pm

#TIFF26: DAYS 7 TO 9 SIGHTINGS – PENÉLOPE CRUZ, LOS JAVIS, CARRIE COON, MICHELLE YEOH, LEE MIN-HO, HUDSON WILLIAMS

Just getting caught-up here! Apologies, have been a bit under the weather and still trying to make it through this Festival!

So hard to believe the Festival ends already tomorrow! What a whirlwind it’s been. Here are some sightings, including:

•Matthew Lillard at tiff for CARRIE

•Hudson Williams at tiff for YAGA

•Michelle Yeoh at tiff for THE SURGEON and IT’S MY TIME

•Lee Min-ho at tiff for THE ASSASSIN(S)

•Penélope Cruz, Los Javis, Milo Quifes, Carlos González, and Miguel Bernardeau at tiff for LA BOLA NEGRA

•Carrie Coon and Guy Nattiv at tiff for THE LIBERATION

•Rami Malek and Tom Sturridge at tiff for THE MAN I LOVE

•Stanley Yau of Mirror at tiff for THE AGE OF GOODBYE and A NIGHT OF HONG KONG CINEMA

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In case you didn’t get a chance to check them out, our chats with Michelle Yeoh and Carrie Coon!

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Also some highlights from MAKING WAVES WITH HUDSON WILLIAMS for you:

…and something for all the Minoz out there!

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…and also amazing being on the carpet for LA BOLA NEGRA which I finally am getting to see today! This received what is being called the lomgest standing ovation in tiff‘s history.

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Our final photo set of tiff ’26 for CARRIE, which premiered last night

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(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)