TIFF's Indie Film Watchlist

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The Toronto International Film Festival returns from September 10–20, 2026 for audiences looking beyond major studio productions, TIFF has programs that provide opportunities to find distinctive stories, fresh perspectives, and filmmakers to watch. Below are some indie films to keep on your watchlist!

STRONG SON

STRONG SON

A former South Asian bodybuilder moves back in with his aging father to become his primary caregiver, forcing him to balance the physical strength that once defined him with the mental and emotional challenges of caring for the man who raised him.

DIRECTOR: IAN BAWA

WORLD PREMIERE | 92m | DISCOVERY

TICKETS

SEVENTEEN

SEVENTEEN

Set over the course of seventeen hours, the lives of three young, queer, Indigenous sex workers intersect through chance, relation, and the shared experience of familial and colonial displacement.

DIRECTOR: JUSTIN DUCHARME

WORLD PREMIERE | 88m | DISCOVERY & TIFF NEXT WAVE SELECTS

TICKETS

SMUDGE THE BLADES

SMUDGE THE BLADES

Treaty 6 Blades, an under-18 hockey team from an Alberta reservation, face their last season together while navigating their tough northern league.

DIRECTOR: CODY LIGHTNING

WORLD PREMIERE | 102m | CENTREPIECE

TICKETS

VOICES

VOICES

When a rising soul duo overdose just hours before their big break, a desperate bellhop and his closest friends seize the chance of a lifetime, only to discover that the price of fame is blood.

DIRECTOR: DEANTÈ GRAY

INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE | 99m | DISCOVERY

TICKETS