Toronto Film Festival Adds ‘Wild Horse Nine’, Mara Sisters ‘Bucking Fastard’

The 51st edition of the Toronto Film Festival rounded out its schedule today with 11 more films bringing this year’s count to 293 titles.

Of note, following the world premieres at Venice, Searchlight’s Martin McDonagh film Wild Horse Nine, Werner Herzog’s Rooney and Kate Mara movie Bucking Fastard, and Nanni Moretti’s It Will Happen One Night find their way to Toronto.

Wild Horse Nine stars John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Parker Posey, Steve Buscemi and Tom Waits in a story about two CIA agents who are facing a trust-testing mission from Santiago, Chile to Easter Island during 1973.

In Bucking Fastard, the Maras star as sisters Jean and Joan Holbrooke, who are so close that they speak in unison, love the same man, have the same dreams and event make the same slips of the tongue. Pic is based on a true-story. Given the designation of Canadian premiere for both Bucking Fastard and Wild Horse Nine it wouldn’t be shocking if we find these films showing up in Telluride’s lineup, which is unveiled shortly before that fest starts.

Moretti’s latest dramedy, centers around four tenants who live in the same building in an Israeli city. Each faces personal problems and emotional voids. Their lives intertwine as they search for fulfillment, connection, and redemption.

The Idiot(s) stars White Lotus’  Aimee Lou Wood, Johnny Flynn, Vicky Krieps, and Christian Friedel in a story about newlyweds’ European honeymoon which leads them to Baden, which turns into an unexpected and explosive years-long stay as they struggle and overcome obstacles in pursuit of one of them, Fyodor, writing his to-be masterpiece, The Idiot. With a Canadian premiere label here, we can figure it’s also going to Telluride.

Oscar winner Guy Nattiv arrives at TIFF with The Liberation also having a Canadian premiere. Pic stars Carrie Coon, Lily James, Bella Ramsey, Odessa Young, Tracy Letts, and Jaime Ray Newman. Coon plays Rita, a woman in midlife haunted by the weight of her past, encounters magnetic young spiritual leader Ricki (James) and leaves her family to follow her to an all-female commune. But when her daughters Ella (Ramsey) and Jo (Young) arrive unexpectedly and become drawn into the group’s seductive world, Rita is forced to choose between the family she left behind and the life she believes can save her.

Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh stars in Bai Xue’s It’s My Time receiving a North American premiere. The movie tells the story of a woman who always makes trouble in the nursing home, using her “nonsense” to fight against aging and prejudice. Unexpectedly, a small Rubik’s Cube becomes the fulcrum for her to pry open the future.

Getting a world premiere is actor Cody Fern’s directorial Closing Night starring Naomi Watts, Sarah Paulson and Odessa A’zion. The family drama follows a renowned actress who faces mounting pressure during show rehearsals when her estranged sister suddenly reappears after three decades.

Peter Ho-Sun Chan was previously at a festival, specifically Cannes, in 2024 with She’s Got No Name, and he’s coming to TIFF with the world premiere of The Road Not Taken.

Films announced today (in alphabetical order)

A Good Little Soldier | Stéphane Brizé | France
North American Premiere | Special Presentations

Bucking Fastard | Werner Herzog | USA
Canadian Premiere | Special Presentations

Closing Night | Cody Fern | Australia, Canada
World Premiere | Special Presentations

It’s My Time | Bai Xue | China
North American Premiere | Gala

It Will Happen Tonight | Nanni Moretti | Italy, France, Spain
International Premiere | Special Presentations

Neil Peart: No One’s Disciple | Scot McFadyen, Sam Dunn | Canada
World Premiere | Special Presentations

The Idiot(s) | Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert | Poland, Germany
Canadian Premiere | Special Presentations

The Liberation | Guy Nattiv | USA
Canadian Premiere | Special Presentations

The Road Not Taken | Peter Ho-Sun Chan | China
World Premiere | Special Presentations

Trees are Watching | Bahman Ghobadi | Turkey
World Premiere | Centrepiece

Wild Horse Nine | Martin McDonagh | USA, Chile
Canadian Premiere | Special Presentations

You can find the full TIFF 2026 schedule here.