TIFF's Must-Watch Docs
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The Toronto International Film Festival’s 2026 documentary lineup celebrates the power of non-fiction storytelling, bringing together 21 films from 20 countries, including 18 World Premieres. These are our Must-Watch TIFF DOCs for you to keep an eye on.
RESCUE
RESCUE
On a dead-calm morning in the Mediterranean, the migrant rescue ship of Doctors Without Borders spots a deflating rubber boat. Dozens of people are struggling in the water. Among the refugees is Roro, a Yemeni mother traveling with her husband, Hani, their two-month-old baby, and two young sons. As the rescue begins, a Libyan militia intervenes and abducts Roro and the children, dragging them back to Libya. Meanwhile, Hani is rescued and arrives in Europe alone. A family is violently torn apart across the Mediterranean. While Hani fights from Europe to reunite the family, Roro struggles to survive captivity in Libya and to protect her children.
DIRECTOR: SINE PLAMBECH
WORLD PREMIERE | 90m | TIFF DOCS
THE ULTRA RUNNER
THE ULTRA RUNNER
Driven by a violent past and hardened by years of crime and incarceration, Romanian ultramarathoner Tibi Useriu battles endless terrain and his own demons in search of a better life for his family, his country, and himself.
DIRECTOR: MILA AUNG-THWIN
WORLD PREMIERE | 98m | TIFF DOCS
RAPINOE
RAPINOE
Soccer star Megan Rapinoe explores what it means to win and lose in this intimate portrait.
DIRECTOR: REBECA HUNTT
WORLD PREMIERE | 92m | TIFF DOCS
TEHRAN, UNDER THE SKIN
TEHRAN, UNDER THE SKIN
Téhéran à vif
In an age of body anxiety, filmmaker Afsaneh Salari embeds herself in the offices of Iranian plastic surgeons to interview their clients with humour and empathy.
DIRECTOR: AFSANEH SALARI
WORLD PREMIERE | 84m | TIFF DOCS
RE/PAIR
RE/PAIR
Prominent Black and Jewish figures engage in conversations about rifts in their historic alliance, partly centered on but not limited to current events in the Middle East.
DIRECTOR: LACEY SCHWARTZ DELGADO
WORLD PREMIERE | 101m | TIFF DOCS
RUN TERRY RUN
RUN TERRY RUN
See the legend like never before.
The extraordinary story of Canadian icon Terry Fox will be told like never before in Run Terry Run, a new feature-length documentary directed by acclaimed filmmaker Sean Menard. The film offers an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at Terry’s legendary 1980 Marathon of Hope, drawing from 96 reels of never-before-seen footage and unheard audio interviews that have remained untouched for 45 years.
DIRECTOR: SEAN MENARD
WORLD PREMIERE | 108m | GALA PRESENTATIONS
THE PERVERT’S GUIDE TO UTOPIAS
THE PERVERT’S GUIDE TO UTOPIAS
Philosopher Slavoj Žižek is our guide through landscapes of classic film, music, social media, archive and webcasts. Making unexpected twists and turns, he maps the utopian illusions of our times. Through absurd juxtapositions and startling insights, we are seduced into recognising our fate, in order to change it.
DIRECTOR: SOPHIE FIENNES
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE | 133m | TIFF DOCS
