Okay, TIFF dropped the schedule.
This is Part 2 of 5 in our guide to 21 Black + African Diaspora films screening at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival. TIFF runs from September 10–20, 2026, and this list pulls together five more films Black creators, audiences, and film lovers should have on their radar. Check each official TIFF film page before making plans. Showtimes, ticket availability, screening rooms, and access details can change.
All times below use Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Make sure to read Part 1 covered five other titles. Let’s get to the films.
1. Misty Green
Programme: Gala Presentations
Director: Chris Rock
Context: American cinema
Rosalind Eleazar stars as Misty, a Black actor trying to revive her career while dealing with eviction, addiction, and a family crisis involving her brother, played by Daniel Kaluuya. TIFF frames Chris Rock’s film as a satire of Hollywood’s institutional bigotry, including the racism, classism, and misogyny that shape the industry.
Black creatives are often expected to be talented, marketable, grateful, available, polished, emotionally stable, and affordable at the same time. Girl… be serious.
The cast also includes Adam Driver and Anna Kendrick. TIFF lists content advisories for strobe lighting, themes of sexual violence, sexual content, drug use, and coarse language.
Showtimes:
- Saturday, September 12, 9:30 p.m., Roy Thomson Hall, Premium , tickets
- Sunday, September 13, 8:40 a.m., Scotiabank Theatre Toronto, Press & Market
- Sunday, September 13, 9:00 p.m., Scotiabank Theatre Toronto , tickets
- Friday, September 18, 12:10 p.m., Scotiabank Theatre Toronto, open captions , tickets
- Saturday, September 19, 3:00 p.m., TIFF Lightbox , tickets
2. On Behalf of My Son
Programme: Platform
Director: Gabriel Martins
Context: Latin American cinema
A public transit bus plunges from a bridge, killing multiple people. As the investigation unfolds, evidence suggests Vicentina’s son may have caused the crash deliberately. She meets the victims’ families to seek forgiveness and answers, although neither is guaranteed.
Martins, whose previous film Mars One was Brazil’s submission for the Academy Awards, approaches the grief through restraint. The film trusts a quiet conversation to carry weight.
Content advisories include accident trauma, self-harm, coarse language, and mature themes.
Showtimes:
- Saturday, September 12, 8:15 p.m., TIFF Lightbox , tickets
- Monday, September 14, 12:15 p.m., TIFF Lightbox , tickets
- Tuesday, September 15, 12:15 p.m., TIFF Lightbox, Press & Market
- Friday, September 18, 11:15 a.m., TIFF Lightbox , check the official TIFF film page for current access details
3. Once Upon a Time in Harlem
Programme: Wavelengths
Directors: William Greaves and David Greaves
Context: American documentary
William Greaves conceived and filmed this documentary in 1972. His son David completed the film more than 50 years later.
The film documents a gathering of Harlem Renaissance artists, poets, painters, musicians, scholars, and cultural figures at Duke Ellington’s townhouse. It includes people such as Aaron Douglas, Arna Bontemps, Richard Bruce Nugent, James Van Der Zee, and Ida Mae Cullen.
This is a living archive and a reminder that your interviews, family footage, community events, voice notes, and old recordings can become history. Label the files. Back them up. Do not leave your entire cultural record on one hard drive that makes a suspicious clicking sound.
TIFF lists content advisories for racist language and descriptions of racist violence.
Showtimes:
- Monday, September 14, 4:10 p.m., Scotiabank Theatre Toronto, Press & Market
- Tuesday, September 15, 6:20 p.m., Scotiabank Theatre Toronto , tickets
- Wednesday, September 16, 10:00 a.m., TIFF Lightbox , check the official TIFF film page for current ticket access
4. Prima Facie
Programme: Gala Presentations
Director: Susanna White
Lead performer: Cynthia Erivo
Context: British + Irish, directed by women
Cynthia Erivo stars as Tessa, an ambitious barrister who defends people accused of sexual crimes until she is sexually assaulted herself and is forced to confront the same legal system she once trusted.
Adapted from Suzie Miller’s acclaimed one-woman play, Prima Facie examines the legal system’s burden on victims and what happens when professional certainty meets personal experience. Keep your eyes on the structure here. A strong project can travel across formats. A stage production can become a film. A live show can become a recorded special. An idea can move when the work holds.
Content advisories include sexual assault, sexual content, crude content, depictions of racism, and explicit violence.
A still from Prima Facie featuring Cynthia Erivo.
Text description: Cynthia Erivo wears legal robes and a white barrister’s wig, looking to the side against a dark background.
Showtimes:
- Sunday, September 13, 5:45 p.m., Roy Thomson Hall , tickets
- Monday, September 14, 9:00 a.m., TIFF Lightbox, Press & Market
- Monday, September 14, 12:10 p.m., Scotiabank Theatre Toronto , tickets
- Friday, September 18, 6:45 p.m., Scotiabank Theatre Toronto , tickets
- Saturday, September 19, 9:00 p.m., Scotiabank Theatre Toronto, open captions , tickets
5. Re/Pair
Programme: TIFF Docs
Director: Lacey Schwartz Delgado
Context: Cultures, American documentary
Lacey Schwartz Delgado creates conversations between prominent members of Black and Jewish communities. The pairings include Patrisse Cullors and Rabbi Susan Goldberg, W. Kamau Bell and Adam Mansbach, Van Jones and Batya Ungar-Sargon, and Harry Lennix and David Schwimmer.
The documentary addresses identity, solidarity, racism, antisemitism, political conflict, and difficult community conversations. It does not offer easy solutions. Good. Real conversations rarely arrive gift-wrapped.
Podcasters, interviewers, and community storytellers should watch how the film holds tension without editing every disagreement into a fight. Let people finish their answers. Ask a better follow-up. Do not turn every disagreement into content court.
Showtimes:
- Monday, September 14, 3:45 p.m., Scotiabank Theatre Toronto , tickets
- Tuesday, September 15, 2:15 p.m., Scotiabank Theatre Toronto, Press & Market
- Wednesday, September 16, 9:55 p.m., Scotiabank Theatre Toronto , tickets
- Friday, September 18, 9:00 p.m., Scotiabank Theatre Toronto , tickets
Plan before you start sprinting between screenings
Use the TIFFR festival planner to map your schedule. TIFF spans multiple venues, so allow time for travel, lineups, food, accessibility needs, and rest.
Whether you are travelling from Vancouver, Montreal, Halifax, Calgary, Edmonton, or somewhere closer to the festival, check each official TIFF film page before making plans. Showtimes, ticket availability, screening rooms, and access details can change.
Which film are you adding to your TIFF list first: Misty Green, On Behalf of My Son, Once Upon a Time in Harlem, Prima Facie, or Re/Pair? Name your pick in the comments , and tell us why.
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Sources
- Misty Green : TIFF
- On Behalf of My Son : TIFF
- Once Upon a Time in Harlem : TIFF
- Prima Facie : TIFF
- Re/Pair : TIFF
- TIFFR 2026 festival planner
Tags: TIFF 2026, Black films, African Diaspora cinema, Black Canadian creators, film festivals, Canadian filmmakers, content creators, Black cinema
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