our most anticipated autumn film festival premieres • Journal • A Magazine • , Life in canada

Two-thirds of the way through 2026, it’s already been an extraordinary year at the movies. Between record-breaking box-office hits like Spider-Man: Brand New Day, The Odyssey and Project Hail Mary, indie-horror phenomenons Obsession, Backrooms and It Ends, and acclaimed debut features like Blue Heron, Is God Is and Maddie’s Secret, there’s been a little something for everyone, and the theatrical experience is not simply surviving but thriving. 

That said, as blockbuster season cedes way to fall film festival time, studios large and small are preparing to unveil some of the buzziest movies on their slates, and so our contributors have dutifully studied the lineups from Venice, Toronto, New York, London and more. The crew’s most anticipated premieres of the fall include awards-tipped new pictures from Ava DuVernay (Selma), Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters), Andrew Haigh (All of Us Strangers), and other heavyweights, as well as currently under-the-radar gems from Canadian Métis, Iranian, Filipino and Brazilian filmmakers. Ready your watchlists and, as ever, we’ll see you at the movies!

Contributions from: Siddhant Adlakha, Mitchell Beaupre, Claira Curtis, Isaac Feldberg, Marya E. Gates, Ella Kemp, Katie Rife, Rafa Sales Ross and Brandon Streussnig.