TIFF 2026: ‘Stuffed’ Starring Jodie Comer & Harry Melling Among Discovery Titles
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Stuffed is Theo Rhys's debut feature, starring Jodie Comer and Harry Melling, described as a "gloriously twisted musical" expanded from his 2021 short of the same name; it is set as the Discovery opening film
- Sung Kang, the Fast & Furious actor, makes his directorial debut with Drifter, a U.S. world premiere in the slate
- Voices is a 1960s period musical from first-time filmmaker Deantè Gray, a former NFL player
- David Turpin's Ancestors stars Éanna Hardwicke, Jack Wolfe, and Rupert Everett; the Discovery slate also includes Ghasideh Golmakani's Head to Head (Iran/Germany) and Tom Nicoll's Salvation
- The Discovery Official Selection was programmed by a 10-person team led by Jason Anderson, Kelly Boutsalis, Diana Cadavid, Robyn Citizen, Claire Diao, Giovanna Fulvi, June Kim, Peter Kuplowsky, Dorota Lech, and Jason Ryle
- The full lineup spans roughly 22 films from more than a dozen countries, including Ghana, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Sweden, Denmark, Mexico, Spain, and Canada
- TIFF 2026 runs September 10 to 20
Why it matters: Discovery is TIFF's curated showcase for emerging directors, and anchoring it with a star-driven musical gives Rhys and Comer/Melling a high-profile launchpad ahead of awards season. The slate's inclusion of two notable career-crossover debuts — actor Sung Kang directing Drifter and former NFL player Deantè Gray directing a 1960s musical — signals TIFF is widening its Discovery net beyond traditional film-school pipelines.
