Toronto Film Week
2026 Awards

Toronto Film Week proudly announces the award winners of its 2026 edition.

 

Toronto Film Week returned this week with a diverse lineup of indie films. Festival curator, Kris De Meester, expressed great satisfaction with the 2026 edition: "Looking back on the 2026 edition of Toronto Film Week, what stays with me most is the sheer richness and diversity of voices that came together—films that challenged, provoked, and, at times, quietly reshaped the way we see the world. One of the most memorable surprises was the audience’s embrace of The Insides of Our Lives by Misja Pekel. A deeply experimental work, constructed from thousands of fragments of found 8mm footage, it could easily have remained at a distance. Instead, it resonated profoundly. What emerged was not fragmentation, but an unexpected emotional unity—a singular life seemingly unfolding from countless anonymous ones. The story of two girls growing up along a border that slowly divides them became, in the hands of Pekel, a universal reflection on memory, identity, and the quiet violence of separation. That such a formally daring film found such warmth and attentiveness from the audience is a reminder of why we do this. It reaffirmed my belief that viewers are far more open, curious, and emotionally available than we sometimes dare to assume"

 

Selected from over a thousand of entries, this year's official selection featured 26 films from around the world. Toronto Film Week is delighted to announce the jury results for the 2026 awards today:

 

Best Narrative Feature Film

The Insides of our Lives (Netherlands) by Misja Pekel

 

Best Documentary Feature Film

Inferior Shadows (Iran) by Ramin Khalighi

 

Best Narrative Short Film

Measurements (Italy) by Marta Capossela

 

Best Documentary Short Film

The Other Side of Despair (Switzerland) by Varsy Buchmann

 

Best Animated Short Film

Bugsick (Canada) by Venya Aggarwal

 

Best Experimental Film

The journey (United Kingdom) by Mel Steele

 

Best Underground Film

The Ogre (United States) by Justin Boswick

 

Best LGBTQ+ Film

On Queer Aging and Endings (Canada) by Christian Schulz-Quach

 

Best New Filmmaker

Lovers’ Story: fragment(s) (Italy, Korea) by Marta Irene Giotti

 

Best Dance Film

Kielo (Finland) by Janina Rajakangas, Sinem Kayacan

 

Best Canadian Film: 

Waiting for Paul (Canada) by Paul Martin Janicki

 

Audience Choice Award

Ottilie Moore’s Protégé Charlotte Salomon (United States) by Dana Plays

 

Congratulations to all!

 

Official Selection / winners of The Tarkovski Grant:

Humanism (Italy) by Nicolò Faietti

Inferior Shadows (Iran) by Ramin Khalighi

The journey (United Kingdom) by Mel Steele

Waiting for Paul (Canada) by Paul Martin Janicki

You Can't Find Love (United States) by Tom Bessoir

The Insides of our Lives (Netherlands) by Misja Pekel

The Bull (United Kingdom) by Victor Nauwynck

The Other Side of Despair (Switzerland) by Varsy Buchmann

On Queer Aging and Endings (Canada) by Christian Schulz-Quach

Bugsick (Canada) by Venya Aggarwal

The Ogre (United States) by Justin Boswick

Super V (France) by Franck Janin

Get You Better (United States) by Danica Jensen

Measurements (Italy) by Marta Capossela

Lovers’ Story: fragment(s) (Italy, Korea) by Marta Irene Giotti

The Door (Canada) by Joel Ruscinski

Mary Mother of God (Germany) by Johannes Fröhlich

Kielo (Finland) by Janina Rajakangas, Sinem Kayacan

The End in Slow Motion (United States) by Joshua Kaufman

Ottilie Moore’s Protégé Charlotte Salomon (United States) by Dana Plays

Home (Belgium) by Hanne Schillemans, Ralph Timmermans

Natal Kick, Cosmo Ground (Korea, South Korea) by Jaeik Kim

Kissing Ralph (United States) by Daniel Lewinstein

Dragonfly (China) by Siyang Liu

Release (Hungary) by Zoltan Gergely Szabo

The Simultaneity of Breathing (Austria) by Mersolis Schöne