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.

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.