Jodie Comer and Harry Melling’s Stuffed tops TIFF Discovery slate
TIFF has announced its 2026 Discovery lineup, with Theo Rhys’s debut feature Stuffed set as the section’s opening film.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
2 min read
Jodie Comer and Harry Melling are heading to Toronto with Stuffed, which the Toronto International Film Festival has set as the opening film for its 2026 Discovery selection.
The festival announced the Discovery lineup Wednesday morning, placing British director Theo Rhys’s first feature among the titles due to screen at this year’s event. TIFF 2026 is scheduled to run from September 10 to 20.
Stuffed expands on Rhys’s 2021 short film of the same name. Deadline reported that the feature has been described as a “gloriously twisted musical.” The film will have its world premiere in Toronto, according to the festival lineup.
The Discovery section also includes Ancestors, directed by David Turpin and starring Éanna Hardwicke, Jack Wolfe and Rupert Everett. That Ireland and United Kingdom production is also set for a world premiere.
Another notable entry is Drifter, the directorial debut of Fast & Furious actor Sung Kang, which TIFF lists as a U.S. world premiere. The slate also features Ghasideh Golmakani’s Head to Head, Tom Nicoll’s Salvation and Voices, a 1960s-set musical from first-time filmmaker and former NFL player Deantè Gray.
The full Discovery lineup
- A Common Story, Anna Foglietta, Italy, international premiere
- Ancestors, David Turpin, Ireland and United Kingdom, world premiere
- Arne Goes to Space, Lars Vega, Sweden, world premiere
- Bedford Park, Stephanie Ahn, USA, international premiere
- Drifter, Sung Kang, USA, world premiere
- Head to Head, Ghasideh Golmakani, Iran and Germany, world premiere
- I Am Mario, Sharon Kleinberg, Mexico, international premiere
- In Waves, Phuong Mai Nguyen, France and Belgium, international premiere
- Krux, Tony Vahl, Germany and Poland, world premiere
- Magazine, Alexandra Pechman, USA, world premiere
- Memories of a Forest, Katharina Rabl, Germany and Austria, international premiere
- Nosotros, Joaquín Ruano, Guatemala and Mexico, world premiere
- Purgatory, Lindsay Lanzillotta, Canada and USA, world premiere
- Salvation, Tom Nicoll, United Kingdom, world premiere
- Seventeen, Justin Ducharme, Canada, world premiere
- Sisters, Ione Hernández, Spain, world premiere
- Strong Son, Ian Bawa, Canada, world premiere
- Stuffed, Theo Rhys, United Kingdom, world premiere and Discovery opening film
- The Daughters of Abraham, Hanaël El Yousfi, France, international premiere
- The Fortunate Isles, Helena Girón and Samuel Delgado, Spain and Greece, world premiere
- Voices, Deantè Gray, USA, international premiere
- We Are Born Good, Leung Chuen Yeung, Hong Kong, world premiere
- What Lies Between Us, Amalie Næsby Fick, Denmark, world premiere
- Zjili: A Story of Sisterhood and The Burdens of Excess, Christine Boateng and Hajara Musah Chambas, Ghana, world premiere
TIFF said the 2026 Discovery Official Selection was programmed by Jason Anderson, Kelly Boutsalis, Diana Cadavid, Robyn Citizen, Claire Diao, Giovanna Fulvi, June Kim, Peter Kuplowsky, Dorota Lech and Jason Ryle.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.