TIFF 2026 Opens: Deadline's First Reviews — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- TIFF 2026 launched September 10 as its 51st edition, running 10 days as the third and final leg of the fall festival tour alongside Venice and Telluride
- Siân Heder's "Being Heumann" opened the festival as the official opening-night film, a disability rights biopic about activist Judy Heumann's accessibility legislation work starring Ruth Madeley, Mark Ruffalo, and Dylan O'Brien
- Rebel Wilson's "Girl Group" drew praise as a musical comedy compared to "Pitch Perfect," featuring an ensemble cast including Nicole Scherzinger, Melanie Chisholm, Sheridan Smith, and Jennifer Coolidge
- Naomi Watts stars in "The Housewife," Ben Shirinian's debut feature set in 1950s Queens, delivering what Deadline calls a "stunning" performance as a housewife "harboring a horrific secret"
- "Stuffed" starring Jodie Comer and Harry Melling is described as "Sweeney Todd with taxidermy" — a musical black comedy tackling modern loneliness
- The festival also features world premieres from Peter Farrelly ("I Play Rocky"), John Madden ("Onwards and Sideways"), Chris Rock ("Misty Green"), and Anton Corbijn ("A Talent for Murder")
Why it matters: TIFF's reviews are the final major critical verdicts before awards season after Venice and Telluride, and Deadline's early takes position Rebel Wilson's musical and Naomi Watts' dark debut vehicle as festival standouts. With world premieres from Peter Farrelly, Chris Rock, and John Madden still to debut, the next 10 days will shape Oscar positioning through the fall.
Ask SkimNews
