Leaning heavily on world premieres, TIFF’s 2026 Short Cuts programme welcomes back familiar names such as Yung Chang, Shaunak Sen and Zarrar Kahn while shining a spotlight on the next generation of emerging filmmakers. Docu filmmaker Yung Chang is transitioning into fiction film, and before he moves onto his fic feature debut Eggplant he brings us ‘The Highway’ — a haunting psychological horror starring Lu Huang. Shaunak Sen who gave us the masterwork All That Breathes will premiere ‘Termite’ – about a termite inspector named Ajith who navigates the complexities of friendship and love while confronting his own insecurities. Cannes selected In Flames filmmaker Zarrar Kahn will soon be lensing Suffering Is Optional, but in-between features he gives us ‘The Lion Does Not Concern Himself’ – a rom-com that is set in a gym. Here are the short selections:
Short Cuts Programme 01
Skinny Bottines | Romain F. Dubois | Canada – North American Premiere
Untitled Woman | Camille Summers-Valli | United Kingdom, USA – World Premiere
When the Ground Paused | Jess Barclay Lawton | Australia – International Premiere
The End | Niki Lindroth von Bahr | Sweden, France, Denmark – North American Premiere
The Highway | Yung Chang | Canada, China – World Premiere
Fried Chicken & Strip Checkers | Ophelia Harutyunyan | Armenia, France World Premiere
Short Cuts Programme 02
Leftover Women | Atalanta Swire | United Kingdom – World Premiere
The Comet | Julie Charette | Canada – North American Premiere
Forgotten Spaceman | Elham Ehsas | Afghanistan, United Kingdom – North American Premiere
Between Late April and Early May | Sophia Smith | Canada – World Premiere
Termite | Shaunak Sen | India – World Premiere
The Lion Does Not Concern Himself | Zarrar Kahn | Canada – World Premiere
Short Cuts Programme 03
A Tenderness | Sabrine Khoury | Netherlands, Palestine – World Premiere
Dough Man | Brittney Gavin, Amy Mielke | Canada – World Premiere
Fight Kid | Michael Del Monte | Canada – World Premiere
Terminal | Alexandre Siqueira | Portugal, Spain, France – World Premiere
Under the Same Clouds | Jérémi Roy | Canada – World Premiere
Patronymic | Mariia Ponomarova | Netherlands, Ukraine – World Premiere
The Episode | Logan Graham Greene | Canada – World Premiere
Short Cuts Programme 04
El Aumento | Maria Belen Poncio | Argentina, USA – World Premiere
BID16 | Mick Robertson, Margaret Rose | Canada – World Premiere
Beans and Belief | Tenzin Sedon | USA, Canada, China – World Premiere
Yek Rooz-e Shirin | Omid Abdollahi | Iran – North American Premiere
(Haboolm Ksinaalgat) Soul Catcher | Amanda Strong, Pamela Post | Canada – World Premiere
Fivehead | Christian Smith | Canada – World Premiere
Short Cuts Programme 05
Bloodline | Fala Chen | USA – World Premiere
Driftwood | A.C. Birch | Canada – World Premiere
Till The Milk Runs Dry | Kalainithan Kalaichelvan | Canada – World Premiere
Almost Pink | Justine Prince | Canada – World Premiere
2:Love | Ronni Shalev | Belgium, France, Israel – World Premiere
Buddies | Fraser Wolfe | Canada – World Premiere
The Spectacular Death of Prisca | Kaelo Iyizoba | Nigeria – World Premiere
Short Cuts Programme 06
Aman | Rahul Roye | India, United Kingdom, USA, France – World Premiere
The Day I Smoked a Cigarette with my Father | Sameh Alaa, Robin Vouters | France, Egypt, Belgium – World Premiere
Call Me Tim | Shamier Anderson | Canada – World Premiere
Pacific Spirit | Antoine Bourges | Canada – World Premiere
Imichki | Yza Nouiga | Canada – World Premiere
Please | Anna Mantzaris | Sweden, France, Czech Republic, Norway, Finland – North American Premiere
Moongirl | Victor Boccard | Japan – World Premiere
Strange Cuts
Melk | Filip Anthonissen | Belgium – North American Premiere
Koden’n | Daniel «Tètèl» Chérubin | Canada – World Premiere
MAMMALIA | Elia Kalogianni | Greece, Netherlands – World Premiere
Into The Betaverse | Varun Raman, Tom Hancock | United Kingdom – World Premiere
Madrugada | Sebastián Lojo | Guatemala – North American Premiere
The Dream Is A Snail | Thien An Nguyen | Vietnam, South Korea – North American Premiere
