The 46th edition of the festival kicked off Thursday, September 9, and runs for 10 days. COVID-19 protocols meant a first-of-its-kind hybrid year for the fest, including parts in-person, online and digital, which means more options for filmgoers to check out the 100+ movie slate.

“Programming for TIFF 2021 has been such a unique experience as we've seen different realities reflected to us from around the world through the cinema that we see, and through our news feeds,” says Diana Sanchez, TIFF's Senior Director of Film. “That multi-layered view of the world is present in TIFF's 2021 boutique selection. Themes like isolation and identity are explored through diverse examples of cinematic language and genres from filmmakers both in Canada and from around the world, from new emerging voices, and from long-established filmmakers. TIFF 2021's selection continues TIFF's tradition of presenting a diversity of bold and audacious films and filmmakers to the world.”

Here's a rundown of some of the buzziest flicks of the fest to get your viewing party started.

All My Puny Sorrows
Written and directed by Michael McGowan 

Based on the novel by Canadian novelist Miriam Toews, the film is a poignant story of two sisters, Elfrieda (Sara Gadon), a concert pianist in Switzerland obsessed with ending her life, and Yolani (Alison Pill), a writer who wants to do everything she can to save her sister.  

The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Screenplay by Abe Sylvia 
Director: Michael Showalter

Jessica Chastain stars as flamboyant televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in this humanizing portrait of the rise and fall of the Bakker network empire in the 1970s and 1980s. Andrew Garfield co-stars as her husband, Jim Bakker. Based on the documentary by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato.

The Survivor 
Screenplay by Justine Juel Gillmer
Director Barry Levinson

Barry Levinson's biographical drama stars Ben Foster as boxer Harry Haft, who fought fellow prisoners in WWII concentration camps to survive. After the war, he looks to return to boxing including a high-profile fight with champ Rocky Marciano. 

Last Night in Soho
Screenplay by Edgar Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns
Director Edgar Wright

A young woman (Thomasin McKenzie) obsessed with the 1960s moves from the English countryside to study in the city. Ostracized by the students around her, she gets the chance to live in her favorite decade firsthand thanks to her strange connection to another woman (Anya Taylor-Joy), a singer in 1966. 

Night Raiders
Written and directed by Danis Goulet

A thriller set in the near future, Night Raiders digs deep into Canada’s painful colonial past as a Cree mother joins an underground band of vigilantes to try and rescue her daughter from a state-run institution. 

The Power of the Dog
Written and directed by Jane Campion

Adapted from Thomas Savage’s novel of the same name, Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst lead Jane Campion’s drama about two brothers whose lives change when a widow and her son arrive at their Montana ranch in the 1920s. 

Colin in Black & White 
Creators: Ava DuVernay, Colin Kaepernick

Screenplay:  Ava DuVernay, Colin Kaepernick, Michael Starrbury, Evan Ball, Teri Schaffer, Raynelle Swilling, Natasha R. Trotter
Directors: Ava DuVernay, Sheldon Candis, Robert Townsend, Angel Kristi Williams, Kenny Leon

Ava DuVernay’s limited series chronicles what inspired activist and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to risk his livelihood in support of civil rights, which started when he silently took a knee during the US national anthem in 2016.

Spencer
Written by Steven Knight
Director Pablo Larraín

Starring Kristen Stewart as Diana, Spencer follows the Princess of Wales during the Christmas holidays with the Royal Family at their Sandringham estate in Norfolk, which, ultimately, leads Diana to decide to end her marriage to Prince Charles. 

The Humans
Written and directed by Stephen Karam

An adaptation of his own Tony-winning play, Stephen Karam’s directorial debut follows the course of an evening in which the Blake family gathers to celebrate Thanksgiving during which family tensions and long-standing grievances reach a boiling point. Starring Amy Schumer, Beanie Feldstein, Jayne Houdyshell, Richard Jenkins, Steven Yeun, and June Squibb.