tiff26 ATONEMENT First Look | Trailer & Key Stills | Directed by Reed Van Dyk

Displaced from their home by U.S. military action during the early days of the Iraq War, the Khachaturian family finds refuge with relatives, gathering their three generations together under one roof. But when another bombing erupts nearby, they decide to return to their home across the city. As they navigate the war-torn streets of Baghdad, the family is trapped in a firefight between U.S. Marines and insurgents, and one Marine’s split-second decision devastates the family. Years later, haunted by his time in Iraq and aided by a New Yorker journalist, the Marine seeks to reconcile with the Khachaturian matriarch and her surviving family members. Anchored by moving, unforgettable performances from Boyd Holbrook, Hiam Abbass, and Kenneth Branagh, Atonement is a powerfully human story about the immeasurable costs of war, exploring universal questions about guilt, redemption, and the nature of forgiveness.

FANTASTIC FEST 2026 | DEATH OF A YELLOW BIRD | Trailer | A film by Cody Calahan

 Death of a Yellow Bird is about to have it's world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2026. Written and directed by Cody Calahan (Undertone) 

After refusing treatment, a terminally ill man returns to his childhood home searching for closure. While there he discovers, buried in the earth, the family’s long lost VHS camera. Inside the camera he finds a video tape of home movies. But as he watches, something disturbing begins bleeding through the static. And before long, a disembodied voice. At first, he suspects it’s his medication, but soon discovers a lurking presence, turning his isolated childhood home into a waking nightmare. With his days numbered and the hauntings escalating, he must solve a dark family secret before his past consumes him.

Here is the trailer: 

FANTASTIC FEST 2026 THE ONES WHO GREIVE: Director Quarxx in Coversation with Robert Aaron Mitchell

 

The Ones Who Greive is about to premiere in Austin, Texas at this years edition of Fantastic Fest.

Writer & Director Quarxx had a conversation with Robert Aaron Mitchell about the filmmaking process to realize his latest film. Here is that conversation:

Fantastic Fest 2026: Death Has No Master. Director Jorge Thielen Armand in Conversation with Robert Aaron Mitchell

Prior to flying from Italy to Austin for the North American premiere of Death Has No Master Jorge Thielen Armand had a conversation about the film. The challenges in the five year journey to realize the movie, the casting and the work that he and cinematographer Luis Armando Artega did to find the visual language of the film. 

Fanatstic Fest 2026 GODMOTHER First Look Poster and Stills

 Theo and her boyfriend travel to the desert for adventure and a romantic getaway. They meet a couple of friendly retirees. Then everything goes of the rails.

Fantastic Fest 2026 THE SQUIRREL Dir Markus Lehmusruusu Actor Mimosa Willamo in Coversation with Robert Aaron Mitchell

The Squirrel the new film from writer and director Markus Lehmusruusu is set to have it's world premiere at fantastic Fest 2026. I was able to have a conversation with Markus and actor Mimosa Willamo about the journey to bring this story to cinematic life. The Squirrel is also Finland's entry to the Academy Awards for best International Picture. Bonus, my cat Batman makes an appearance.

Fantastic Fest 2026 Girl In The Night (Trailer) Directed by Luka Marčetić

Girl in the Night follows the aimless life of a lonely kleptomaniac (Urban Kuntarič) takes an unexpected turn for the worse when he steals a bicycle from a mysterious girl (Lara Wolf ) who spends her nights fighting crime. To cut through the mundanity of his night shifts, Rok keeps himself busy by stealing chocolate bars at the gas station where he works. One night, he meets a mysterious girl with severe bruises on her face. She only appears at night, is all about fighting crime, and claims to possess superpowers. If he wants to meet her again, Rok will have to come up with a cunning plan – so he decides to steal her bike.

Girl In The Night will have it's world premiere at Fantastic Fest September 20. Here is the trailer:

Fantastic Fest 2026: The Squirrel (Trailer) Directed by Markus Lehmusruusu

 

In the far future, in a sterile world without nature or animals, Pasi (Miro Lopperi), a lonely designer of synthetic pets, unexpectedly discovers the last surviving squirrel. He decides to defy the rules and keep it alive, but things don’t go quite according to plan: the squirrel gets depressed, Pasi falls in love, and his carefully controlled life begins to unravel. The Squirrel is Finland's Official Entry for the Academy Awards Best International Feature Film. Here is the trailer:

tiff26 Midnight Madness: Three Films On My Radar

Midnight Madness at the Toronto International Film Festival is a program that means the world to me for both professional and personal reasons. The anticipation of a premiere at midnight is worth the price of a ticket alone. The buzz and excitment as the theater begins to fill up with people is palable. Programmer Peter Kuplowsky once again as searched the globe for the state of genre cinema. Here are three movies I'm anticipating. 

River directed by Jashua Giuliano

A corner stone of the program is the feature debut by filmmakers. Opening this years slate of movies is River written and directed by Joshua Giuliano. River is a movie that is anchored in the slasher genre while taking the beats of the genre and crafting entirely new movements and subverting expectations. 

 

Vintage Violence directed by Eugene Kotlyarenk. (The Code, Spree) Two distinct cultural worlds collide, violence ensues. Tiff midnight movies has seen copious amounts of blood cover the movie screen.Vintage Violence is set to unleash even more blood and gore upon the audience. 

Kick On directed by Nick Kozakis. As Alex says in A Clockwork Orange, "fancy, a bit of the old ultra-violence" Kick On delivers on the violence. Peter Kuplowsky mentions the Alfred Molina "drug deal gone bad" scene in Boogie Nights, which I consider one of the best scenes in American Cinema. Sign me up!

tiff26 IDDA Directed by Irene Dionisio (Platform) First Look. Toronto International Film Festival 2026

 

First-look image has been released for IDDA, the sophomore narrative feature from rising Italian filmmaker Irene Dionisio (Pawn Street), following today’s announcement of the film’s world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) Platform Competition. Starring two of Italy’s top emerging actresses, Tecla Insolia (The Art of Joy) and Romana Maggiora Vergano (There’s Still Tomorrow), the film follows childhood friends Adele and Sofia, now in their thirties, whose lifelong bond is challenged during a journey hiking up the eerie volcanic landscapes of Sicily’s Mount Etna.

 

Irene Dionisio is an Italian filmmaker and visual artist whose work was screened at majorfestivals, including Venice Critics’ Week, Visions du Réel and Festival dei Popoli. She receivedthe Solinas Prize, France’s SCAM Prize, and Jury Prize at Tehran’s Cinema Verité for herfeature documentary SHORES (2015). Dionisio's first narrative feature PAWN STREET (2017)premiered at Venice Critics’ Week. It was nominated for the David di Donatello & Globo d’Oroawards for Best Debut, winning the Silver Ribbon for Best Screenplay. Her video installationswere exhibited internationally, from Venice'S Palazzo Grassi to OCAT Shanghai. Dionisio wasthe artistic director of Turin's historic LGBTQI film festival Lovers for three years.

COYOTE TEETH: Teaser Trailer. The New Movie by Award-Winning Filmmaker Robert Aaron Mitchell

 

Here is the the teaser trailer for Robert Arron Mitchell's new movie, Coyote Teeth. The movie is currebtly being submitted to film festivals.

COYOTE TEETH: Teaser Poster Reveal. The New Film From Award-Winning Filmmaker Robert Aaron Mitchell

Here is the teaser poster reveal for my new film which wrapped principal photography on June 29, 2026. Post-production work has been on-going throughout the production phase of this movie. I have begun to submit the movie to film festivals. Here is the official IMDb page: Link Here

 

DIRECTOR STATEMENT 

My name is Robert Aaron Mitchell, and for the past year, I have been crafting this cinematic experience. First and foremost, the movie should speak for itself, or I have failed as a filmmaker. That being said, perhaps a little context is not a bad thing. 

I live in Dilley, Texas, which is a small town in South Texas that is the location of one of the largest detention centers in the United States of America. Its primary purpose is to incarcerate families. As of this writing on June 13, 2026, over five hundred babies have been imprisoned here. This place is run by the for-profit corporation Core Civic. The Orwellian name of this place is the South Texas Family Residential Center. In actuality, it is a concentration camp to enrich shareholders. I live next door to this monstrosity. 

I think a lot about evil. I also think about a phrase that is uttered many times, “This is not us.” These four words negate a 250-year history of the United States of America. This is us. We live, operate, and benefit from the machine and systems of cruelty of this country. 

My motivation in crafting this cinematic experience was my attempt to stay sane so I can assist people who are being devastated by the United States of America, so I can continue to decolonize my mind as well as continue the work of dismantling the systems of cruelty I live in. I am a lifelong student of Midnight Movies, and with all earnestness, I have done my best to craft a film worthy to be called weird. The movie is ultimately about complicity.