Earlier this year, the Academy Awards announced that the winner of TIFF’s Platform Award—alongside major prizes from other leading international festivals—would automatically qualify for consideration in the Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars. A significant evolution for a section that, just a decade ago, showcased titles such as Pablo Larraín’s Jackie, William Oldroyd’s Lady Macbeth, and Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight, Platform continues to sharpen its identity as a discovery space, not interested in name names that would normally compete for a Golden Bear, Palme d’Or or Golden Lion. This year, the programming team is doubling down on its original mission, returning with a dozen selections and also new this year: a five-member jury, reviving a format TIFF experimented with in the past before returning to the traditional three-person panel.
Opening the section we find Japanese filmmaker Miwa Nishikawa returning to TIFF for a fourth feature in a row. Children Untold is set in Tokyo during the final days and immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the film follows a 12-year-old orphaned girl, the daughter of musicians, who disguises herself as a boy in order to survive the underworld… From Italy, Irene Dionisio who gave us Le ultime cose (Pawn Street) in 2016 (a Venice Film Festival – International Film Critics Week selection), gives us Idda – the tale of two childhood friends meet again at the age of thirty to tackle the ascent of Etna volcano together. South Africa’s John Trengove will be presenting The Smell of Apples the book to film adaptation is set in the insulated bubble of white Apartheid South Africa, Marnus, a sheltered 11-year old boy accuses the grandson of his family’s domestic worker of steeling his fishing rod. A brutal chain of events is set in motion, shattering the illusion of his family’s wholesome facade. Sweden’s Amanda Kernell who gave us Sami Blood in 2016 and Charter in 2020 (read our Sundance review) returns to the Sámi village backdrop for the tale of 20-year-old Ejva – who inherits her late father’s reindeer herd. As she struggles to keep the herd thriving, local leader Heaika develops romantic feelings for her… And from Brazil, Gabriel Martins (who landed at Sundance with Mars One) brings us On Behalf of My Son. A Netflix project, this follows Vicentina as she struggles to cope with the death of her son Wesley after a tragic bus accident, in which he was the driver. As the investigation unfolds, evidence suggests that Wesley’s actions may have been a suicide attempt. Vicentina then embarks on a journey to seek out the victims’ families and apologize, while confronting her own grief and uncertainty. Here is the 2026 Platform section:
Angh | Theja Rio | India
Brace Your Heart | Amanda Kernell | Sweden/Norway/Denmark/Iceland/Bulgaria
Children Untold | Miwa Nishikawa | Japan | Opening Film
Djinn Wedding | Ferit Karahan | Turkey
Idda | Irene Dionisio | Italy
In the Heart of the South | Nyla Innuksuk | Canada
Masc | Bertil Nilsson | United Kingdom
On Behalf of My Son | Gabriel Martins | Brazil
Silenced Nights | Lawrence Fajardo | Philippines
The Smell of Apples | John Trengove | South Africa/Netherlands/Chile
The World Before | Yoon Dan-bi | South Korea
Wild Wild East | Jan Holoubek | Poland
