By Mr. Will Wong

When they warn you about drug use and strobing lights, they really mean it in Jordan Firstman‘s sublime feature directorial debut, CLUB KID. What they don’t warn you about is how emotional a journey you are about to go on here, complete with laughter, tears and reflection.

Firstman stars as Peter, a party promoter and sometimes drug dealer who is languishing in life until he learns suddenly one day that he has a son he never knew about. Peter is into men, so how does this even happen? Meet Arlo, played by Reggie Absolom, who recently lost his mother. Though Peter isn’t sure what to make of this, the two begin to see their own similarities, forming the bond they both might have been missing, until they encounter unforeseen circumstances, holding Peter accountable or his choices.

In addition to a phenomenal, fully-realized performance from Firstman here which gives us a desirable mix of hilarity and vulnerability. It turns out also that he is a fantastic and measured storyteller with something to say in this hopeful and bittersweet journey. He really hits us in the feels here with what ultimately is one of the most heartfelt experiences we’ve felt in some time. And what an accomplished performance from young talent Absolom who is absolutely captivating. We are certain we will be seeing a lot of him ahead.

See CLUB KID at TIFF ’26 as follows:

Sunday, September 13
TIFF Lightbox
Premium
9:00 pm

Friday, September 18
VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre
9:30 pm

Saturday, September 19
Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
Open captions (OC)
5:15 pm

By Amanda Gilmore

Jesse Eisenberg’s third feature is an unmissable crowd-pleaser.

Mona Friedman (Julianne Moore) is a stuck suburban housewife. Her husband and children pay her no attention she might as well be a ghost in their house. So, when a role with a community theatre company arises, she leaps at the opportunity to audition. Lacking the talent and confidence for the part, she doesn’t land it…at first. But when the actor who did drops out, she finally gets to take centre stage.

The Debut is a brilliant dark comedy that hits every mark. What has become Eisenberg’s signature humour works perfectly in this delightful story about how art can be a mirror to see ourselves through. Mona is the type of woman who would apologize for sneezing. Quiet as a church mouse, devoted wife, a kind of sacrificial lamb. But all that changes once she discovers the community theatre world.

The role Mona is playing is the polar opposite of who she is. Theatre director Jerry (a fantastic Paul Giamatti) doesn’t believe Mona has what it takes and pushes her to test the limits of what she can bring to the role. This sends her on a journey through the method acting rabbit hole that will change her life forever. Mona is perfectly portrayed by Moore, who gives an astounding performance loaded with heart, humour, and pain.

With The Debut, Eisenberg pays tribute to the self-seriousness of community theatre, the power of art, and how it’s never too late to change your life. Do not miss this!

The Debut screens at TIFF ’26:

Sun. Sept 13 @ 6:15 PM at VISA Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre

Mon. Sept 14 @ 8:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Thur. Sept 17 @ 2 PM at TIFF Lightbox

By Nicholas Porteous for Mr. Will Wong

In the first World War, Pierre (Emmanuel Macchia), a Belgian soldier, tries to balance the emotional weight of his horrifying position on the front lines with a blossoming romantic connection to Francis (Valentin Campagne), a theatre kid who motivates the troops with songs and dance. Lukas Dhont‘s Coward is a queer coming-of-age WWI movie, and right off the bat I have to give it props for being such a singular fusion of themes and genres. The look and feel of the trenches is agonizingly sharp and evocative, and makes for a stunning contrast with the beauty of the countryside, and the makeshift theatre and performance spaces.

Dhont‘s vision of a young man torn between love and war is inspired, and the story demands a deep, interior performance from his quiet lead. It is so disappointing that Emmanuel Macchia (in his first film), cannot offer that necessary depth. He has two distinct modes of performance–glum and grinning. Both masks are compelling at first, but as Coward unfolds, the limits of Macchia‘s expressions are unavoidable. It’s all too surfacey and repetitive. In the meta-theatrical sequences, he never even tries to embody the roles he’s signed up for, opting instead to stew in sadness. Your mileage may vary of course, as so much of his performance is wordless, and he is aided by a breathtaking period backdrop and a compelling co-star in Campagne. Not to mention–they shared the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. There are jurors out there who vehemently disagree with my take. But in a film about performance and masculinity, I needed a lead to match the complexity of his harrowing world. To my mind, the true star of Coward is that aching world itself–and not so much its central inhabitant.

Coward screens at TIFF ’26:

Sun. Sept 13 at 5:45 PM at TIFF Lightbox

Mon. Sept 14 at 5:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Some sightings from Day Three to share with you!

•Cynthia Erivo at tiff for PRIMA FACIE
•Margaret Qualley, Aaron Pierre and Gabriel Basso at tiff for LOVE OF YOUR LIFE
•Anna Kendrick and Seth Rogen at tiff for BABIES
•Son Suk-ku and Moon Choi at tiff for Bedford Park
•Anthony Ippolito, Kiki Seto, Stephan James and Peter Farrelly at tiff for I PLAY ROCKY
•Lily-Rose Depp, Léa Seydoux and Kelvin Harrison Jr. at tiff for ALPHA GANG

…and several more!

Brought to you by @sohohoteltoronto, the preferred place to stay at tiff!

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

By Amanda Gilmore

Ancestors is set in 1980s London and follows Beau (Éanna Hardwicke), an Irishman who left his homeland, where homosexuality was still illegal, for London. He spends his days working in a cafe and his nights with his friend Shell (Jessica Reynolds). When Tiny (Jack Wolfe) arrives at the cafe one day, an unlikely bond forms between the two, until Tiny disappears. This leads Beau to embark on a journey to find him.

David Turpin’s feature debut is a haunting journey of a man searching for his friend. As Beau begins his search, the lines between reality and fantasy blur. We watch as he falls into dreams involving Gloria (Christina Hendricks), a glamorous woman who helps guide him. In reality, he begins speaking to Maurice (Rupert Everett), who shows the resilience of the older generation that garnered change for Beau’s. The lines between Beau’s waking and sleeping life often feel blurred. This is perfectly captured through Patrick Jordan’s dreamy cinematography.

Ancestors is a touching story about gay legacy. We are brought into multiple generations to show the achievements made for the community. Having it set in 80s London shows a city at a time that altered the lives of gay men forever. Turpin has delivered a poignant feature that allows its audience to reflect on love and loss. As with any first feature, there are some rough edges (such as some of the edits throughout). But even so, Turpin has delivered a strong debut.

Ancestors screens at TIFF ‘26:

Sat. Sept 12 @ 9:30 PM at TIFF Lightbox

Mon. Sept 14 @ 9:40 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Sun. Sept 20 @ 3:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Directed by: Alex Gibney

An incisive look behind the legend of Elon Musk, the world’s most heralded “inventor-entrepreneur” who has enormous influence on the world in which we all live.

By Nicholas Porteous

Adam (Taron Egerton) is the nicest bachelor in London. He supports the women in his workplace, loves theatre and modern art, listens to Haim while he runs, and–based on his tote bag–he’s got a MUBI subscription. He’s also an unrepentant F-boy. Dating, lovebombing, and dashing–time and time again. Sofia (Jessica Henwick), is onto his game. Not only in the dating world–mythologically speaking. She has him pegged as a satyr–the male equivalent of a siren. And if you think you have a handle on where this movie, with all trappings of a romcom, is going, I would bet good money you’re wrong.

Everybody Wants to F*ck Me is an unpredictable genre hybrid from first-time feature director Johnathan Schey that will keep you guessing until the closing minutes. Its core premise is shrouded in mystery for most of the runtime, but the ride is so much fun it hardly matters. Egerton is hilarious as Adam, expertly treading a tightrope in every scene: charm on one side and fiendishness on the other. It’s a movie that fully trusts the audience to sit in the discomfort of its ambiguity, and succeeds in its many provocations–gradually flipping the script on Egerton, then unravelling into something else entirely, which I wouldn’t dare spoil.

The package as a whole raises more than a few questions by its end, but thanks to Schey’s deft hand as director, a slick edit, and a formidable ensemble, Everybody Wants to F*ck Me is absolutely worth strapping in for at this year’s fest. See it before they change that glorious title when it arrives in theatres in 2027!

Everybody Wants to F*ck Me screens at TIFF ’26:

Sat. Sept 12 at 9:20 PM at Scotiabank Theatre

Sat. Sept 19 at 8:30 PM at Royal Alexandra Theatre

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It’s only Day Two and this Festival just keeps getting better! Sightings include:

•LISA at tiff for Always Lalisa
•Courteney Cox, Patricia Arquette and David Harbour at tiff with Evil Genius
•Sarah Paulson, Dianne Wiest and Cody Fern at tiff with Closing Night
•Sebastian Stan at tiff with Fjord
•Jay Baruchel and Laurence Leboeuf at tiff with The Stunt Driver
•Inde Navarrette and Curry Barker at tiff Obsession
•Sung Kang at tiff with Drifter

… and many more!

In partnership with @sohohoteltoronto, the best choice for your tiff stay!

(Photp/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

By David Baldwin

Gavin (Caleb Hearon) is a queer drag show emcee living in Chicago. During a show, his sister Abbi (Zooey Deschanel) calls to let him know their estranged hoarder father has died and that Gavin needs to return to his childhood town in Missouri as soon as possible to help with the funeral planning and more importantly, assist in clearing out the junk from their father’s home.

TRASH MOUNTAIN may sound bleak from the outset, but it manages to pack a lot of heart and emotion into its 90-minute runtime, not to mention many laugh out loud moments. The script – co-written by Hearon and Ruby Caster – is quick witted and has a lived in quality, likely due to the film being at least inspired by Hearon dealing with his own father’s death. TRASH MOUNTAIN does feel a bit slight in some instances, especially when it attempts to dig under surface level observations. It feels content to just hint at the deeper pains facing Gavin and Abbi, giving precious little time for any form of examination or thought that goes beyond snarky commentary between the pair at the dinner table about their upbringing. None of this takes away from how lovely a little gem the film is; rather, it just feels like a missed opportunity to have become even greater.

Hearon (who you might recognize from The Devil Wears Prada 2) is terrific as Gavin, bringing a real warmth and hysterical matter-of-factness to the character. He has winning chemistry with Jaboukie Young-White (who plays a Grindr hookup) and really soars when he plays off Deschanel, who is in tune with everything he throws at her. I wish we got a bit more depth from her and a bit more emphasis on her relationship with her husband played by Splitsville’s Kyle Marvin, but still thought she was quite effective from start to finish. Even better is Jacki Weaver, who plays Gavin and Abbi’s grandmother. Her character is overbearing and totally out of her element, and Weaver plays her with a chaotic precision that practically steals the show every time she opens her mouth.

TRASH MOUNTAIN screens at TIFF ‘26:

Fri. Sept 11 at 5:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre

Sat. Sept 12 at 9:00 PM at Scotiabank Theatre

Sat. Sept 19 at 5:30 PM at Scotiabank Theatre

Show quoted text

By Nicholas Porteous

Harry Melling bemoans his meaningless existence as a cheese sandwich assembly line worker, yearning to leave any kind of legacy behind. Meanwhile, Jodie Comer searches for a volunteer body to build her ultimate human taxidermy project. The two cross paths and… Stuffed happens. Did I mention it’s a musical? You could be forgiven for thinking, like I did, that this wild mashup of themes and genre might result in a sleeper cult hit at this year’s fest, but I’m sad to report Stuffed is dead on arrival.

For starters, there’s no engine propelling these characters forward beyond an abstract desire to be memorable and die. That wouldn’t be enough to spark a conventional narrative, and it sure doesn’t motivate a musical. Almost every song in Stuffed is just a melodic delivery device for information we already understand. The lyrics are practical, the observations are obvious, and the laughs are absent. There may be comedy to glean from the central musical subversion–characters singing with grandeur about their empty lives–but this ain’t it.

Stuffed has a polished exterior. The production design is textured, the visuals are sharp, and Melling and Comer do their damndest to bring life to the stagnant screenplay. There’s even some clever choreography, making use of Melling‘s sandwich assembly line. But the obvious metaphor can’t be avoided: beneath its glossy surface, Stuffed is a hollow experience, lifelessly lurching to an empty end. Unless you’re BIG on death and taxidermy, stay away.

Stuffed screens at TIFF ’26:

Fri. Sept 11 at 9:20 PM at Scotiabank Theatre

Sun. Sept 20 at 7:00 PM at Scotiabank Theatre