ScreenRant's Best Of TIFF 2026 Awards

ScreenRant's TIFF 2026 Awards: Best Movie, Biggest Surprise & More

The Toronto International Film Festival offered a range of moving, exciting, and provocative programming over the course of its 10-day run this year.

The 2026 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has come to a close and brought with it nearly 300 feature and short films for lucky attendees to feast on. From world premieres of major awards contenders, to screenings of lesser-known indie and international fare, the festival offered a range of moving, exciting, and provocative programming over the course of its 10-day run this year.

While covering TIFF 2026 for ScreenRant, we had the opportunity to watch 41 movies (and two TV shows), some of which are destined to go down as some of the best films of the year. The festival has its own prizes – the coveted Audience Award went to La bola negra this year – but we've decided to hand out a few awards of our own!

Here are our picks for the best and most memorable movies and performances of TIFF 2026.

The "Learn Their Name" Award – Ong Xuan Jing

As much as TIFF is an established, star-studded stop on the awards campaign every year, it's also a place where early-career filmmakers and actors make their mark. Obsession premiered at Toronto in 2025, before taking the box office by storm this year and turning breakout performer Inde Navarrette into a recognizable star. Our choice for the name you should learn this year is a bit younger.

Singaporean filmmaker Ang Geck Geck Priscilla cast the titular role of Ah Girl, her beautiful and devastating coming-of-age tale, perfectly. Ong Xuan Jing is superb, emotive, and uncannily natural in a film that unflinchingly portrays an observant child trying (and failing) to make sense of a world she can’t fully come to terms with.

Ong Xuan Jing ensures that the emotional moments of Ah Girl land so devastatingly. At such a young age, she announced herself on the world stage, at one of the most prestigious film festivals, with one of the best child actor performances we've ever seen.

Best Audience Reaction – La Bola Negra

Sometimes, the magic of a film festival is the energy in the room, and we can't say we're too surprised to see this Spanish, queer epic drama win TIFF's Audience Award. La bola negra received a rapturous standing ovation that lasted through the entire rolling of the end credits. Audience members were in tears. Some festivals, like Venice and Cannes, are known for long ovations, but this was an unusual occurrence here.

Being in the crowd during this reception was akin to being at a political victory rally, or the long-awaited return of an artist performing on stage for the first time in years. The film itself was devastating and inspirational in equal measure, and this emotion proved so palpable that it spilled over into the credits, a rare feat for a screening at TIFF.

Biggest Surprise – The Last Photograph

It is with a heavy heart that we say that The Last Photograph was the biggest surprise out of TIFF 2026 – and not in a good way. We both appreciate, even adore, some of Zack Snyder’s movies, and believe that he has a singular, instantly recognizable filmmaking vision. Unfortunately, he delivered the worst film of his entire career at TIFF this year.

Overly long and painfully self-serious, The Last Photograph is a 2+-hour display of unnecessary brutality, nudity, and grimness that mistakes these for thematic depth. The reveals regarding the central mystery are underwhelming, while the film’s sole entertainment value comes from how consistently it provokes unintentional laughs.

Best Screenplay – Fjord

Fjord is destined to be one of the year’s most provocative, conversation-starting films. It bolsters extraordinary performances across the board, including from Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve, and it's gorgeously shot, but the screenplay is the movie's greatest asset.

Cristian Mungiu doesn’t shy away from engaging his characters (and the audience) in uncomfortable conversations that expose the horrors of parenthood, potential governmental overreach, and eradication of traditional values. With clever dialogue and deliberate staging of scenes, Mungiu’s screenplay constantly challenges audiences on both ends of the political spectrum to consider how far they would go to champion freedom of beliefs, even if those beliefs are in opposition to our own. No screenplay of any film at TIFF spoke so directly, presciently, and strikingly to modern audiences as this one.

Best Actor – Anthony Ippolito, I Play Rocky

Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky was one of our favorites of the fest, and Anthony Ippolito's complete transformation into Sylvester Stallone was a key reason why. The film that chronicles the extraordinary true story behind Stallone’s struggles to get Rocky made relies heavily on Ippolito’s performance, which superbly captures the charisma, vulnerability, and determination of the iconic actor he brings to life.

There are numerous scenes in I Play Rocky in which Ippolito is almost indistinguishable from Stallone. But this is not mere impersonation. He conveys the vulnerability underlying Stallone’s bravado, in turn nailing each and every one of the film’s emotional beats with precision and conviction.

Best Actress – Rinko Kikuchi, Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!

Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!, arguably the strangest titled film of TIFF 2026, serves as a resounding showcase for the remarkable talents of Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi. The bizarre, offbeat, inventive, and exceedingly heartwarming portrait of the role art can play in healing from loss is anchored by Kikuchi’s soulful and authentic performance.

Kikuchi brings incredible physicality to the dance numbers and heart to the quieter moments. Even if all director Josef Kubota Wladyka gives us is a split-second cutaway to her face, she is deftly capable of telling the audience exactly what her character is experiencing internally.

Best Director – Alex Liu, God Bless You, Mr. Kopu

A number of heavy-hitting directors brought films to TIFF, but it the debut feature of Polynesian filmmaker Alex Liu that impressed us the most.

With God Bless You, Mr. Kopu, Liu ushers in a new era of cinema he termed the “Pacific New Wave,” referring to filmmakers dedicated to making movies deeply rooted in their Pacific identities, while refusing to conform to convention. He tackles his first-ever film with the confidence of a seasoned cinema veteran, deftly blending a number of genres to scathingly comment on the seductive and cannibalistic nature of capitalism.

In addition to having a keen eye for shot composition and a natural ability to immerse audiences in his film’s 1993 setting, Liu demonstrates an extraordinary command of tone. The comedy never undercuts the commentary, which aids him in delivering a truly unexpected plot twist that few audience members will see coming. Liu announces himself to the world at TIFF with a film that suggests a promising career is ahead of him.

Best Film – Atonement

No one was asking for another Iraq War movie ahead of the festival, but Reed Van Dyk proved doubters wrong with Atonement. Van Dyk’s feature debut may not reinvent the war drama, but the powerful emotions it provokes, and the sensitivity with which it approaches difficult topics like guilt, PTSD, and redemption, make it the standout of the festival.

Boyd Holbrook delivers perhaps the finest performance of his career as a veteran devastated by the consequences of his actions, while Kenneth Branagh produces an understated, yet strong supporting turn.

It’s a testament to Van Dyk’s film that it covers familiar themes and beats, yet sits at the pinnacle of the movies we watched at TIFF this year. Assured directing and an emphasis on what people carry with them after war, rather than gratuitous depictions of violence, make Atonement one of the best war movies in years.

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is a major film event held annually in Toronto, Canada. It showcases a diverse selection of films from around the world, including premieres and indie films. Known for its influence on the awards season, TIFF attracts filmmakers, celebrities, and film enthusiasts globally. TIFF 2024 runs from September 5-15.