The 2026 TIFF Docs line-up features 21 titles and 18 World Premieres, and includes new works by celebrated docmakers.
“From archival portraits to dispatches from global front lines, this year’s Official Selection celebrates the art of non-fiction storytelling and its unique power to illuminate untold stories, challenge perspectives, and spark conversation,” the festival writes.
This year’s line-up includes new work by celebrated directors such as Mila Aung-Thwin, Barry Avrich, Maiken Baird, Lacey Schwartz Delgado, Sophie Fiennes, Alex Gibney, Barbara Kopple, and Sine Plambech, along with several emerging directors with breakthrough works.
The 51st edition of the Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10–20, 2026.
The documentary programme, gathered by Thom Powers, will open with Rapinoe, described as a “deeply personal” profile of the US soccer star Megan Rapinoe, by Rebeca Huntt (Beba, TIFF ’21).
The festival cites further high-profile world premieres coming to TIFF, including Edward Said: Between Worlds, tracing the life of the renowned Palestinian-American writer; Re/Pair, exploring the connections and tensions between American Black and Jewish communities; Bleeding Hearts, portraying the love story of Zella Day and Jesse Woods from the alt-country band Chaparelle; Low Lies the Land, following three winemaking families in Northern Italy; Cheyenne, capturing the world of cowgirls in a bucking horse competition; Rescue, depicting an extraordinary tale of a migrant trying to find his kidnapped wife and children;Black Sunflowers, covering the lives of young Ukrainians against the backdrop of war; The Ultra Runner, examining the extreme ultramarathon runner Tiberiu Uşeriu; and Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been, profiling the acclaimed soul singer.
TIFF points out that more than two-thirds of the programme’s films are directed by women, “connecting the legacy of visionaries like Barbara Kopple, whose influential Harlan County, U.S.A. screened at the first TIFF in 1976, with a new generation of rising voices.”
Kopple returns to the Festival this year with Union Town, which focusses on three distinct worker movements in New York City.
2026 TIFF DOCS PROGRAMME:
- Ba’s Book | Ashley Duong | Canada. World Premiere
- Black Sunflowers | James Marcus Haney | Ukraine, USA. World Premiere
- Bleeding Hearts | Andrew Morgan | USA. World Premiere
- Cheyenne | Taimi Arvidson | USA. World Premiere
- Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been | Barry Avrich | Canada. World Premiere
- Edward Said: Between Worlds | Maiken Baird | USA. World Premiere
- Gail | Michael Maxxis | Canada. World Premiere
- Like Magic | Melissa Saavedra Gil | Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay. World Premiere
- Low Lies The Land | Emanuele Gerosa | Denmark, Italy. World Premiere
- Musk | Alex Gibney | USA. North American Premiere
- Rapinoe | Rebeca Huntt | United Kingdom, USA. World Premiere
- Re/Pair | Lacey Schwartz Delgado | USA. World Premiere
- Rescue | Sine Plambech | Denmark, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Iceland. World Premiere
- Still Night, Burning House | Carol Nguyen | Canada. World Premiere
- Tehran, Under the Skin | Afsaneh Salari | France, Iran, Sweden. World Premiere
- The Final Act | Sophie Deraspe | Canada. World Premiere
- The Hummingbird Paints Fragrant Songs | Èlia Gasull Balada, Matteo Norzi | Peru, USA, Qatar. World Premiere
- The Pervert’s Guide to Utopias | Sophie Fiennes | Ireland, United Kingdom, Slovenia, Netherlands, Norway. North American Premiere
- The Ultra Runner | Mila Aung-Thwin | Canada. World Premiere
- Turtle Island Rap | Alexandra Lazarowich | Canada. World Premiere
- Union Town | Barbara Kopple | USA. North American Premiere
