TIFF 2026 is down to its final days, and the biggest name to watch on Thursday is Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams, who gets two major TIFF moments: a solo conversation and the world premiere of his new supernatural mystery series, YAGA. Hollywood legends Antonio Banderas and Forest Whitaker are also expected on the red carpet for a major gala premiere, while Michelle Yeoh returns with a new comedy.
Here are some of the biggest premieres, stars and events to watch at TIFF on Thursday, Sept. 17.
Hudson Williams’ TIFF takeover
Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams is getting something close to a TIFF takeover Thursday, beginning with Making Waves With… Hudson Williams at the Royal Alexandra Theatre at 4 p.m.! The special TIFF Next Wave conversation will look at Williams’s sudden rise following his breakout role as Shane Hollander in Heated Rivalry, along with his early independent films and upcoming projects. He’ll also discuss YAGA and the forthcoming independent feature Apparatus.
Then, Williams heads to TIFF Lightbox for the world premiere of YAGA at 9 p.m. The Crave series reimagines the Baba Yaga legend as a contemporary supernatural mystery. Williams plays a missing heir whose disappearance in a small coastal town pulls an out-of-town private investigator and a local detective into an increasingly strange case involving secrets, suspicious characters and ancient magic.
The premiere should also bring out one of the evening’s strongest ensemble casts. Williams is expected on the red carpet alongside Carrie-Anne Moss, Noah Reid, Clark Backo, Sheila McCarthy, Megan Follows, Georgia Acken and Ezra Franky, as well as creator Kat Sandler and director Rachel Talalay.
Antonio Banderas and Forest Whitaker will hit the red carpet
Up Against It makes its world premiere at Roy Thomson Hall at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. Antonio Banderas stars opposite Eva Birthistle as a long-divorced couple forced to reconsider their relationship when their teenage daughter becomes seriously ill. Doctors present them with an unusual possibility: having another child who could provide the stem cells needed to help save their daughter. Their attempt to reunite for the sake of their family brings old conflicts and unresolved feelings back to the surface.
Banderas is scheduled to hit the red carpet at around 4 p.m., alongside Forest Whitaker (who previously won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland), Eva Birthistle, Eden Hamilton, Selena Tan and Mickey Sumner, along with director Trudie Styler.
Lee Min-ho returns for one of TIFF’s signature conversations
Korean superstar Lee Min-ho is back in the spotlight Thursday with In Conversation With… Lee Min-ho, taking place at the Princess of Wales Theatre at 6 p.m. The career-spanning convo comes during Lee’s TIFF visit for The Assassin(s) and will look back at nearly two decades of work that has made him one of the most recognizable Korean actors internationally.
i-dle’s Shuhua makes her acting debut
K-pop fans have another star to watch Thursday night when Shuhua of i-dle arrives for the world premiere of Happily Ever After.
The Taiwanese drama centres on two sisters whose different ideas of happiness begin to test their relationship. Kitty believes she is finally getting the stable life she wants when her longtime boyfriend proposes, while her older sister Claire has rejected many of the traditional expectations placed on her, even as she continues hiding her relationship with her girlfriend from their conservative mother. Wedding planning, family pressure and questions about what each sister wants push the pair further apart.
Director Feng-I Fiona Roan, Shuhua and co-star Xuan Chen are expected on the Royal Alexandra Theatre red carpet at around 6:15 p.m., ahead of the film’s 7:30 p.m. screening.
Michelle Yeoh closes out Roy Thomson Hall with It’s My Time
One of the biggest stars of the night arrives later when Michelle Yeoh returns to Roy Thomson Hall for It’s My Time, which has its North American premiere at 9:30 p.m. (Yeoh is expected on the red carpet at around 8 p.m., possibly alongside director Bai Xue).
Yeoh plays Zhao Yanhong, a rebellious 70-year-old woman who has little interest in quietly settling into life at a nursing home. Her life takes an unexpected turn when a younger man discovers that she has an extraordinary talent for solving a Rubik’s Cube, giving her a new shot at adventure and mega public attention. The comedy follows her road toward competitive cube-solving and unexpected fame, with Yeoh at the centre of a story about refusing to accept the limits other people place on age.
Yeoh also happens to be one of Toronto actor Miku Martineau’s role models, as the Crew Girl star recently told Streets of Toronto in an interview!
Gael García Bernal and Ricky Martin in Hombre al Agua
Another late screening is Hombre al Agua, directed by and starring Gael García Bernal, at Scotiabank Theatre at 9:20 p.m.
Bernal plays Camilo, a Cuban lifeguard who saves a wealthy Mexican businessman from drowning and is subsequently welcomed into his world. Camilo moves to Mexico, marries the man’s daughter and starts a family, only to discover that his seemingly fortunate new life is entangled in his father-in-law’s attempts at manipulation and control.
The cast also includes Ricky Martin, Esmeralda Pimentel, Débora Nascimento and Manuel García-Rulfo, so you could also see Bernal, Martin or other members of the ensemble around tonight’s screening.
TIFF’s final-night supper club
Le Germain Hôtel Toronto Mercer is one of the places worth watching for celebs. CineDine by Redbreast Irish Whiskey wraps its four-night run at PUNCH inside the hotel tonight. The invitation-only supper club has been hosting celebrations connected to several TIFF titles, including Hombre al Agua, Up Against It and Bunker. Stick around, and you might spot Gael García Bernal, Sting, Antonio Banderas or Forest Whitaker.
If you can’t make it downtown, here’s an inside look at every after party and red carpet at TIFF with all your favourite celebrities.
Midnight Madness ends Day 8 with Arrested Memory
Anyone still standing at midnight can finish the day at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, where SABU’s Arrested Memory screens at 11:59 p.m.
The thriller follows Lee, a celebrated Taipei police inspector who is transferred to a rural station after losing his team during an investigation. He develops amnesia following the trauma but tries to keep it secret, only to be handed a new case involving the kidnapping of a powerful Japanese businessman’s son.
Director SABU is expected to appear on the Midnight Madness red carpet at around 10:45 p.m.
