TORONTO — “Fast & Furious” star Sung Kang’s directorial debut — about a racetrack janitor with a “gift for drifting” — will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. “Drifter”, which Kang also wrote and stars in, is one of two dozen films by debut and sophomore directors that will play the festival’s Discovery program. Also on deck is “Stuffed,” from writer-director Theo Rhys: a musical-horror romance about a taxidermist played by Jodie Comer who secretly wants to stuff a human cadaver. The film, which also stars Harry Melling, will open the Discovery lineup, which showcases emerging global talent. Also programmed are Métis filmmaker Justin Ducharme’s sex worker drama “Seventeen”; “Magazine” from Alexandra Pechman, about a young intern at a prestigious literary magazine in 2011 New York; and the coming-of-age dramedy “Purgatory” from Canadian director Lindsay Lanzillotta. TIFF is announcing its slate of films this week, and yesterday it shared the 10 titles that will compete for a $20,000 jury prize as part of the Platform program. They include “In the Heart of the South,” directed by Nunavut filmmaker Nyla Innuksuk and starring Anna Lambe as an Inuk multimedia artist who spirals out of control when an estranged friend returns from the past. Also in the running are “Children Untold,” a Second World War drama from Japanese director Miwa Nishikawa, and “On Behalf of My Son,” a story about a grieving mother from Brazilian director Gabriel Martins. This year, the stakes are even higher for some non-English-language films in the Platform program because winning the award allows filmmakers to independently submit for consideration for the best international feature at the Oscars. In previous years, films that screened as part of Platform have gone on to see success on the awards circuit, including Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” and Anthony Shim’s “Riceboy Sleeps.” TIFF will run from Sept. 10 to 20. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2026. -with files from Craig Macrae Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press
