TIFF Lightbox 2026 July/August programming highlights

This summer, alongside the recently announced marquee series Christopher Nolan: Grand Designs, TIFF honours the great international screen legend and longtime friend of the Festival, Catherine O’Hara, featuring some of her most iconic roles, and TIFF Cinematheque continues its Pride celebration with a rare spotlight on German-born lesbian filmmaker Monika Treut.

Additionally, TIFF Cinematheque’s summer-themed slate features anticipated revivals and landmark anniversary screenings including Henry Hathaway’s Niagara in honour of Marilyn Monroe’s centenary, the 25th anniversary of Lucrecia Martel’s La Ciénaga, and the 55th anniversary and new 4K Toronto Premiere of Gerald Potterton’s Tiki Tiki on Canada Day. Plus, a relaxed screening of The Bob’s Burger Movie, the 2022 animated musical based on Loren Bouchard’s beloved animated sitcom.

Not to be missed, Tsai Ming-liang’s much-lauded fourth feature The Hole (TIFF ’98) — an absurdist mix of dark comedy, Hong Kong musical, and Kafkaesque sci-fi — returns for a limited run on a newly struck 35mm print.

The schedule for Downtown Movies in the Park is now available, with this year’s series celebrating timeless sports films about underdogs and misfits on the unlikely road to victory. Featuring six free weeks of outdoor screenings under the stars at David Pecaut Square, this year’s films are: Next Goal Wins (June 24), Cool Runnings (July 1), A League of Their Own (July 8), The First Slam Dunk (July 15), Bend It Like Beckham (July 22), and Remember the Titans (July 29).

Information is subject to change. Please visit tiff.net for up-to-date programming details. Tickets for July programming will be available to TIFF Members on Wednesday, June 10, and to the public on Friday, June 12. Tickets for August programming will be available to TIFF Members on Wednesday, July 15, and to the public on Friday, July 17.

TIFF Cinematheque Programming Highlights

Monika Treut: Transcending Gender
June 26–July 24
This July, TIFF Cinematheque continues its Pride celebration with Monika Treut: Transcending Gender, a rare spotlight on the German-born, lesbian filmmaker, curated by TIFF Cinematheque programmer Jacob Crepeault. Treut explores queer and trans identities through the ambiguities and fluid margins that exist between restrictive binaries, turning the camera to subjects whose interior lives had rarely been documented at the time. This series presents new 2K restorations from the Hamburg Kinemathek released by Muscle Distribution, with Canadian Premieres of My Father is Coming (TIFF ’91), Female Misbehavior (TIFF ’92), Didn’t Do It For Love (TIFF ’97), and Gendernauts (1999), and Virgin Machine (TIFF ’88) with an introduction by Toronto-based drag artist and film curator Weird Alice.

Catherine O’Hara: Queen of Comedy
August 21–26
Moira Rose. Delia Deetz. Cookie Fleck. We know these characters by name because they were brought to life with such precision, vigour, and humanity by the incomparable Catherine O’Hara. In this summer spotlight, Catherine O’Hara: Queen of Comedy, curated by TIFF programmer Keith Bennie, we celebrate O’Hara’s most memorable film roles, trace her comedic evolution from SCTV to Schitt’s Creek, and pay tribute to her ability to balance character eccentricity with emotional truth, cementing her legacy as Canada’s queen of comedy. Films featured in the series: After Hours (1985), Beetlejuice (1988), Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), and A Mighty Wind (2003).

TIFF Cinematheque Special Screenings

• June 27, 3:45pm: Suddenly, Last Summer (1959) dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz
• June 27, 6:30pm & July 25, 6:30pm: Summer Interlude (1951) dir. Ingmar Bergman, 75th anniversary!
  
  
• June 28, 4pm: Niagara (1953) dir. Henry Hathaway, Marilyn Monroe centenary
• July 5, 6:30pm & July 18, 1pm: La Ciénaga (2001) dir. Lucrecia Martel, 25th anniversary!
  
  
• July 23, 7pm: Material Practice: Luke Fowler and Corin Sworn, with both directors in attendance
• July 26, 6:30pm: Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) dir. John Carpenter, 4K restoration and 50th anniversary!
  
  
• August 2: Le Rayon Vert (1986) dir. Eric Rohmer, 40th anniversary!
  
  

TIFF Cinematheque New and Restored

• June 28, 6:30pm: L’enfance nue (1968) dir. Maurice Pialat, Canadian Premiere of new 4K restoration!
  
  
• July 4, 1pm: La maison des bois (1971) dir. Maurice Pialat, Canadian Premiere of new 4K restoration!; screening with a 20‑minute intermission, 55th anniversary!
  
  
• July 11, 6:30pm & July 21, 6:30pm: Macho Dancer (1988) dir. Lino Brocka, recorded introduction by Lav Diaz, Toronto Premiere of new 4K restoration!
  
  
• August 8, 9 & 11: The Hole (1998) dir. Tsai Ming‑liang, limited run; Canadian Premiere of new 35mm print!
  
  

See the North presented by MUBI

• July 1, 6:30pm: Tiki Tiki (1971) dir. Gerald Potterton, Canada Day celebration; 55th anniversary and Toronto Premiere of new 4K restoration!
  
  

From the Collection with Cameron Bailey

• July 7, 6:30pm: Salaam Bombay! (1988) dir. Mira Nair, 35mm print!
  
  
• August 18, 6:30pm: The Crying Game (1992) dir. Neil Jordan, 35mm print!
  
  

TIFF Wavelengths Presents

• July 8, 6:30pm: Il pianeta azzurro (1982) dir. Franco Piavoli, curated by Dylan Adamson, Canadian Premiere of new 4K restoration!
  
  

Animate

• July 15, 6:30pm: Redline (2009) dir. Takeshi Koike
• August 5, 6:30pm: Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018) dir. Tatsuya Nagamine, 40th anniversary of the Dragon Ball TV series!
  
  

TIFF Next Wave Presents

• July 29, 7pm: Premium Rush (2012) dir. David Koepp, 35mm print! Presented in partnership with Charlie’s FreeWheels

MDFF Selects

• July 30: Student Film Showcase 2026, featuring a lineup of 10 short films representing an exciting range of modes, shining a light on the bright future of Canadian filmmaking.
  
  

TIFF Public Programming Highlights

• July 11, 1pm: The Bob’s Burgers Movie (2022) dirs. Loren Bouchard, Bernard Derriman, relaxed screening, introduction by author Sarah Kurchak
  Sun’s out and (burger) buns are out! Join us for a relaxed screening of the animated musical presented in collaboration with Surrey Place and Cinema from the Spectrum. An accessible entry point for fans and audiences new to the series, this “Sunny Side Up Summer” film finds third-generation restaurateur Bob and his family navigating debt, sinkholes, and a murder mystery. This screening will feature an introduction by Kurchak, author of the memoir I Overcame My Autism and All I Got Was This Lousy Anxiety Disorder, about neurodivergent-coded representation and “headcanons” in TV and film.
  
  
• August 13: 48-Hour Film Challenge
• TIFF Next Wave’s annual 48-Hour Film Challenge returns to the Lightbox this summer, inviting emerging filmmakers to produce a short film in only 48 hours. See youth creativity in motion with a screening of all of the films shot during the challenge and celebrate the future of cinema, presented in partnership with Future of Film Showcase and POV.
  
  

The next TIFF Bi-Monthly Programming Alert will be issued October 2026.

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About TIFF
TIFF is a not-for-profit cultural organization with a mission to transform the way people see the world through film. A global leader in film and entertainment, TIFF initiatives include the annual Toronto International Film Festival® in September; TIFF Lightbox, which features five cinemas, learning and entertainment facilities; the Donald Shebib TIFF Film Circuit, an innovative national distribution program; and the TIFF Content Market launching in 2026. The organization generates an estimated annual economic impact of $240 million CAD. TIFF Lightbox is generously supported by contributors including the Province of Ontario, the Government of Canada, the City of Toronto, the Reitman family (Ivan Reitman, Agi Mandel, and Susan Michaels), The Daniels Corporation, and RBC. For more information, visit tiff.net.

TIFF is generously supported by Major Sponsors RBC and Visa, and Major Supporters: the Government of Canada, Government of Ontario, and City of Toronto.

TIFF Cinematheque is supported by Ontario Creates and Canada Council for the Arts.