{"id":231310,"date":"2026-08-26T22:41:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T20:41:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iffr.com\/en\/?p=231310"},"modified":"2026-08-26T22:41:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T20:41:24","slug":"blog-iffr-tiff-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iffr.com\/en\/blog-iffr-tiff-2026","title":{"rendered":"TIFF screens five HBF and Darkroom titles plus IFFR Youth Jury Award-winner Ah Girl"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Released from prison, a woman returns to her village to face her past in Indonesian filmmaker Kamila Andini\u2019s Four Seasons in Java<\/strong>, now set for its world premiere in Toronto after three-time support from the Hubert Bals Fund and CineMart presentation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s one of five supported titles screening at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), running Thursday 10 to Sunday 20 September 2026. Ah Girl<\/strong> by Ang Geck Geck Priscilla \u2013 winner of the IFFR Youth Jury Award at IFFR 2026 \u2013 also heads to Toronto for its North American premiere following its world premiere in IFFR\u2019s Bright Future programme.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Four Seasons in Java<\/strong> by Kamila Andini<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

World Premiere, TIFF Centrepiece
Indonesia, France, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Singapore
Support: HBF Development 2024, NFF+HBF 2025, HBF+Europe: Post-production Support 2025, CineMart 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cKamila Andini, the brilliant mind behind TIFF \u201921 Platform Award winner Yuni<\/strong>, returns with another polished and picturesque film with a strong women’s narrative, starring Indonesia\u2019s biggest talents Putri Marino, Christine Hakim, and Arya Saloka.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indonesian filmmaker Kamila Andini found praise in recent years for films such as Before, Now & Then<\/strong>, which premiered at the 2022 Berlinale, where Laura Basuki won a Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance. The latest film was presented at CineMart 2025, with support through HBF Development, NFF+HBF and HBF+Europe: Post-production Support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Film still: Amor es el monstruo<\/strong> by Neto Villalobos Brenes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Amor es el monstruo<\/strong> by Neto Villalobos Brenes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

World Premiere, TIFF Centrepiece
Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, Chile, Mexico
Support: Darkroom 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn a chilling dystopian thriller shaped by fear and inequality, Neto Villalobos Brenes follows a grandmother, powerfully portrayed by Paulina Garc\u00eda, whose granddaughter’s kidnapping forces her into impossible moral choices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amor es el monstruo<\/strong> is the latest feature from Costa Rican filmmaker Neto Villalobos, whose earlier films All About the Feathers<\/strong> and Helmet Heads<\/strong> both premiered at TIFF. A Rotterdam Lab 2011 alumnus, he presented the project as a work-in-progress through Darkroom at IFFR 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Film still: Ben’imana <\/strong>by Marie-Cl\u00e9mentine Dusabejambo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ben’Imana<\/strong> by Marie-Cl\u00e9mentine Dusabejambo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

North American Premiere, TIFF Centrepiece
Rwanda, Gabon, France, Norway
Support: HBF Development 2022<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn this powerful, feminist debut feature, which won the Cam\u00e9ra d\u2019Or at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, Marie-Cl\u00e9mentine Dusabejambo brilliantly explores the issue of forgiveness in the wake of the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ben’Imana<\/strong> is the debut feature from Rwandan filmmaker Marie-Cl\u00e9mentine Dusabejambo, whose short film Lyiza<\/strong> screened at Tribeca and won prizes including the Ousmane Sembene Award and Golden Dhow at ZIFF. The film premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2026, where it won the Cam\u00e9ra d’Or, and was supported through HBF Development in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Film still: Conversation With the Sea<\/strong> by Muayad Alayan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Conversation With the Sea<\/strong> by Muayad Alayan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

North American Premiere, TIFF Centrepiece
Palestine, Netherlands
Support: HBF Development 2024, HBF+Europe: Minority Co-production Support 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCondemned to pay the social security contributions owed by his son, a father (Kamel El Basha) desperately tries to prove his death in the moving drama Conversation With The Sea<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the latest film from Palestinian filmmaker Muayad Alayan, whose second feature The Reports on Sarah and Saleem<\/strong> won the Hubert Bals Fund Audience Award in the Tiger Competition at IFFR 2018. The film premiered in the Spotlight section at Venice 2026, with support through HBF Development and HBF+Europe: Minority Co-production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Film still: Elephants in the Fog<\/strong> by Abinash Bikram Shah<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Elephants in the Fog<\/strong> by Abinash Bikram Shah <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

North American Premiere, TIFF Centrepiece
Nepal, France, Germany, Brazil, Norway
Support: HBF Development 2021, HBF+Europe: Minority Co-production Support 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA village matriarch (Puspa Thing Lama) must choose between her heart\u2019s desires and her duty to her community when a young woman disappears into the forest in this delicate, riveting thriller.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elephants in the Fog<\/strong> is the feature directing debut of Nepalese filmmaker Abinash Bikram Shah, whose short Lori<\/strong> received a Special Mention for the Palme d’Or Short at Cannes in 2022. The project premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2026 where it was awarded the Jury Prize, after support through HBF Development and HBF+Europe: Minority Co-production Support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t

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