The Toronto International Film Festival has returned with an expansive international programme, bringing dozens of Asian and diaspora titles to Canadian cinema halls. For audiences following world cinema, the festival remains a reliable testing ground for works that will shape the international awards corridor and global theatrical releases over the coming year.
Among the vast selection of world premieres and festival circuit favourites, 13 particular titles from Asia and its diaspora demand attention.
The Surgeon (2026)
Director: Roshan Sethi
Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Martin Freeman, Laurie Davidson
Roshan Sethi directs a compact thriller starring Michelle Yeoh as a retired surgical consultant who has stepped away from clinical hospital medicine. Her quiet routine ends abruptly when an armed criminal syndicate kidnaps her from her home and transports her to an underground medical facility. The kidnappers demand that she perform high-risk surgery on an injured associate, played by Martin Freeman, threatening her life if the procedure fails. Sethi, who is an active physician, draws on real hospital procedures as the captive specialist uses her practical anatomical training to plot an escape.
Ah Girl
Director: Ang Geck Geck Priscilla
Starring: Ong Xuan Jing, Sydney Wong, Doreen Toh, James Seah, Carrie Wong
Ang Geck Geck Priscilla’s debut feature draws on her upbringing in 1990s Singapore. The story centres on a seven-year-old girl who spends weekdays living in an overcrowded council flat with her father, sister, and grandmother. At weekends, she travels across town to visit her mother, whose domestic situation is unstable. The film tracks the young girl’s day-to-day routines as she learns to interpret adult deceptions and cope with the legal consequences of her parents’ permanent separation.
Read more: ‘Ah Girl’ Proves Why Asian Childhood Trauma Deserves Honest Storytelling on Screen
The Assassin(s)
Director: Hur Jin-ho
Starring: Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il, Lee Min-ho
Hur Jin-ho directs a tense historical procedural set around the real-life 1974 attempted assassination of South Korean President Park Chung-hee. The plot centres on an investigative team of police officers and print journalists trying to make sense of the official government explanation. As their inquiries continue, they find contradictions in state records and uncover evidence of a state conspiracy. The cast features Lee Min-ho alongside Yoo Hai-jin and Park Hae-il.
Always Lalisa
Director: Sue Kim
Starring: Lalisa Manobal
Documentary filmmaker Sue Kim tracks the global career of Thai pop performer Lalisa Manobal, known globally as Lisa of the group Blackpink. The non-fiction feature follows her decision to establish an independent management company and pursue work as a solo artist. The production chronicles the recording of her solo release Alter Ego, her transition into television acting on the HBO series The White Lotus, and her first headline performance at the Coachella festival. Kim incorporates archival childhood material to explain the singer’s early years in Thailand before her professional training in Seoul.
Whatcha Want
Director: Mina Shum
Starring: Isabella Wei, Ming-Na Wen, Tzi Ma
Canadian filmmaker Mina Shum returns to the festival with a comedy drama set within the wealthy circles of Vancouver. Isabella Wei portrays Yin, a young woman who relocates from Hong Kong following an arranged marriage to a wealthy businessman. Living in an opulent home, Yin finds herself restricted by family expectations and domestic routine. Her chauffeur, played by veteran character actor Tzi Ma, and a close friend, played by Ming-Na Wen, advise her to accept her material comfort. Yin instead seeks personal independence through a local dance group.
Read more: ‘Bridgerton’ Season 4 Cast Discuss Asian Representation at MilkTea Event
Children Untold
Director: Miwa Nishikawa
Starring: Koji Yakusho, Fumi Nikaido, Ami Koyae
Miwa Nishikawa directs this period drama adapted from her own novel, focusing on the displaced youths left behind in Tokyo following the close of the Second World War. Newcomer Ami Koyae portrays Kotoko, a twelve-year-old orphan who cuts her hair and passes as a boy to navigate street crime and local black markets. In another part of the city, her former schoolteacher, played by Fumi Nikaido, mounts a search to find her student before the child slips into criminal life. The ensemble includes Koji Yakusho and Yutaka Takenouchi.
Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!
Director: Josef Kubota Wladyka
Starring: Rinko Kikuchi, Alberto Guerra, Alejandro Edda
Josef Kubota Wladyka directs a Tokyo-set drama about bereavement and physical expression. Rinko Kikuchi stars as Haru, an accomplished competitive ballroom dancer who withdraws from society following the sudden death of her husband and longtime dance partner, played by Alejandro Edda. After a period of isolation, she encounters an energetic Spanish dance teacher, played by Alberto Guerra, who encourages her to resume regular training. The film won the directing prize in the dramatic section at the Sundance Film Festival.
We Are All Strangers
Director: Anthony Chen
Starring: Yeo Yann Yann, Koh Jia Ler, Andi Lim, Regene Lim
Singaporean director Anthony Chen concludes the thematic trilogy that began with Ilo Ilo in 2013 and continued with Wet Season in 2019. Chen cast the same two principal actors across thirteen years, tracking their real physical ageing across separate fictional scenarios. This final instalment details a father and son dealing with rapid economic changes in urban Singapore. The father forms a relationship with a local beer server, while the teenage son faces a crisis when his middle-class school classmate becomes pregnant.
Read more: Yeo Yann Yann Talks “Throwing Dark Energy” Into Villain Role in Tom Hardy Action Thriller ‘Havoc’
A Girl Unknown
Director: Zou Jing
Starring: Li Gengxi, Shen Jiani, Zu Feng, Cao Ruofan
Zou Jing’s debut feature draws on her family history to examine the personal cost of China’s historic one-child policy. The central character, Wang Juan, loses her father at an early age. When her mother remarries and becomes pregnant, local legal restrictions force the mother to send Wang Juan away to relatives in the city. Between the ages of six and 18, Wang Juan lives under three separate family names in three different households. The film follows her persistent attempts to secure legal identity papers and build an independent life.
The Age of Goodbyes
Director: Edmund Yeo
Starring: Vivian Sung, Stanley Yau, Troy Liu, Lixuan Siow
Adapted from the celebrated novel by Malaysian author Li Zi Shu, this ambitious historical drama links two eras through an unusual text. The story begins with a contemporary schoolboy who discovers a book describing events that took place in 1969 around the time of the Malaysian race riots. The historical narrative follows a woman named Du Li An who falls in love with a man carrying an ominous family secret. When the man vanishes without explanation, she meets someone who resembles him completely, while the reader in the modern timeline slowly uncovers his personal connection to these events.
Possible Love
Director: Lee Chang-dong
Starring: Jeon Do-yeon, Cho Yeo-jeong, Zo In-sung
Lee Chang-dong returns to cinema following his 2018 adaptation Burning. His new work arrives directly from the Venice Film Festival, where it met considerable acclaim. The plot follows two couples who engage in elaborate psychological games with each other. Through these strained relationships, the film examines modern social classes and generational friction in contemporary South Korea. The production brings together several of the country’s most established actors, including Cannes best actress winner Jeon Do-yeon and Parasite star Cho Yeo-jeong.
Read more: Lee Chang-Dong’s ‘Possible Love’ Receives Rapturous Venice Premiere
Bedford Park
Director: Stephanie Ahn
Starring: Son Suk-ku, Moon Choi
Stephanie Ahn makes her feature debut with a low-key drama set within the Korean American community. The story begins when Eli and Audrey meet because Eli has a car collision with Audrey’s mother. Both characters are second-generation immigrants in their thirties who carry difficult family histories. Their unexpected connection slowly develops from an awkward logistical necessity into a mutual domestic bond. The two leads spend their time coming to terms with old domestic arguments while managing their adult careers.
Look Back
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Starring: Natsuki Deguchi, Aju Makita, Furi Nanase, Rokka Okada
Palme d’Or winner Hirokazu Kore-eda directs an adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s popular manga title. The film focuses on two young schoolgirls who establish a friendship based on their shared dedication to drawing comic strips. One is confident and outgoing, while the other is a reclusive student who rarely leaves her bedroom. Their creative partnership tests their individual ambitions as they mature into young adulthood. The picture represents a direct shift for Kore-eda into popular graphic source material.
