TIFF's Wavelengths Program Highlights Introspective Auteur Films for 2026

At a Tuesday press event, the Toronto International Film Festival revealed its Wavelengths program, a showcase for experimental and auteur cinema that leans toward introspection in a climate of bleak news. Curator Andréa Picard explained that many filmmakers are turning inward, investing personally in their work. The lineup features Beatrice Gibson’s 16mm debut At Night, which follows six women in Paris confronting the city’s nocturnal anxieties, and Mariano Llinas’s five-and-a-half-hour documentary Biografía de Jorge Luis Borges, a meta-portrait of both the writer and its maker.

Argentine director Lisandro Alonso returns with La Libertad Doble, a 35mm sequel echoing his earlier minimalist film Freedom and commenting on current economic hardships. Additional North American premieres include three Berlin selections—London, Lo demás es ruido, and Meine Frau Weint—plus a Canadian debut of the posthumous Harlem Renaissance documentary Once Upon a Time in Harlem. The program also presents world premieres from artists such as Yuula Benivolski and John Torres, alongside a diverse short and mid-length roster. TIFF runs from September 10 to 20, with further announcements pending.