The Toronto International Film Festival is back for another year of exciting fall cinema. The 2026 slate of films includes many titles for music lovers, from documentaries about legendary rockers to insightful, behind-the-scenes looks at rising stars.
CBC Music has selected 10 music-themed films to catch at TIFF, which runs from Sept. 10-20. See all the can’t-miss movies below.
Neil Peart: No One’s Disciple
WATCH | The movie trailer for Neil Peart: No One’s Disciple:
Starring Neil Peart, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson
Directed by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn
This film is a documentary meets concert film, featuring some iconic drummers filling in for Neil Peart to celebrate the late Rush percussionist. The Police’s Stewart Copeland, Tool’s Danny Carey, Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Gavin Harrison of Porcupine Tree and King Crimson each take their turn at the drumkit, performing some of the band’s biggest hits with Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson. It’s a touching tribute to Peart, who died in 2020, and follows his early years as he eventually becomes one of rock’s famed drummers. The film will also be available to watch on CBC Gem on Sept. 23, following its run at TIFF.
Turtle Island Rap
WATCH | A clip from the film Turtle Island Rap:
Starring Wiidaaseh, A$h Da Hunter, Travis Thompson
Directed by Alexandra Lazarowich
Documentary filmmaker Alexandra Lazarowich’s feature debut follows three young Indigenous musicians as they navigate the road to success in the North American music scene: Wiidaaseh, a rapper, producer and chef from Wiikwemkoong Unceded First Nation, A$h Da Hunter, an indie rapper from the Yavapai-Apache nation, and Travis Thompson, a Navajo skater turned rapper from a Seattle suburb. The film provides a candid look inside each artist’s life, from personal and familial issues, to juggling work and creative life, all while handling setbacks and disappointments along the way. The project taps several established musicians in production roles, including the Halluci Nation’s Tim “2oolman” Hill and Bear Witness as creative producers.
Gail
Starring Gail E. Lichtman
Directed by Michael Maxxis
Gail E. Lichtman is living the dream of all music superfans. The Bronx, N.Y.-based transit worker has been following Canadian band Our Lady Peace since 1995. She talks the band up constantly in her daily life: at the doctor’s office, while shopping, and at work. And now, a documentary has been made all about her love of the band, following Lichtman as she follows Our Lady Peace on its 30th anniversary tour. It’s the debut doc from director Michael Maxxis, who up until now had mostly directed music videos for Kygo, Orville Peck, Billy Talent, City and Colour and dozens of others. “For 30 years, Gail has worked in a five-by-eight-foot transit booth. But every few months, she crosses cities, countries and continents to explore, commune and rock out, unconfined. Her story is one of loyalty and devotion, and now that devotion has reached a fascinating and beautiful culmination,” wrote Maxxis in a personal essay for CBC Arts. The documentary is scored by Lesley Barber, with orchestral arrangements done by Eric Rosse.
Always Lalisa
Starring Lisa Manobal
Directed by Sue Kim
Lisa Manobal is one-fourth of the most successful K-pop girl group in the world, Blackpink. But in the past few years, she has started branching out into a solo music and acting career with a notable role last year on HBO’s hit series The White Lotus. Always Lalisa works as both an introduction to the artist for those who are unfamiliar, as well as a deeper, behind-the-scenes look inside the work and life of an international star. Charting her career from childhood dance competitions to her breakout K-pop debut and creating her own record label, the film follows Manobal during a pivotal part of her career when she’s expanding her artistic horizons and attempting to break through in the western market.
Pretenders 
Starring Chrissie Hynde, Johnny Marr
Directed by Joss Crowley
American rocker Chrissie Hynde founded the Pretenders after moving to London and embracing the leather and black eyeliner of the ’70s, and in this documentary, archival footage and interviews with Hynde trace her journey to becoming an icon. A number of famous faces appear throughout, including Paul McCartney and former bandmate Johnny Marr, telling the story of how the band penned hits such as Brass In Pocket and many more. Hynde’s influence on punk and rock is also examined, stretching her legacy from her 20s all the way to today, as she continues to release music and perform.
Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been
Starring Darlene Love, Cher, Bruce Springsteen
Directed by Barry Avrich
Grammy-winning singer Darlene Love has had many career milestones, from her days in the group the Blossoms to singing Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), and getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Now, a new doc produced by Taraji P. Henson will look back on how Love went from singing in a choir as a child to performing hits. It took a while to get the ball rolling to get the film made, she told Rolling Stone: “A lot of people started out, even before the pandemic, wanting to do a documentary,” she said. “This one wanted to do it, or that one wanted to do it, and they start off, and they hold me for a couple of years, and then all of a sudden it falls apart. And it’s hard a lot of times to get a lot of your friends to do documentaries, because they’re so busy.” Director Barry Avrich stepped in, and Love shared her delight at the final product on Instagram. “I’m also so thankful for the amazing contributions and conversations from dear friends and legends like Cher, Bruce Springsteen, Nancy Sinatra, Stevie Van Zandt, Dionne Warwick, Paul Shaffer, David Letterman and more — your participation and voices mean everything to me,” Love wrote following the film’s announcement.
Bleeding Hearts
Starring Zella Day, Jesse Woods, Beau Bedford
Directed by Andrew Morgan
Country newcomers Chaparelle released their debut album, Western Pleasure, last year to critical acclaim with Texas Monthly praising it as “classic and modern, cohesive and dynamic.” The new documentary Bleeding Hearts takes fans behind the scenes of the band’s rise as independent artists, capturing the dynamics on and off the stage between couple Zella Day and Jesse Woods and third member Beau Bedford. Billed as a film that has enough “complications to fill a story arc of Nashville,” Bleeding Hearts not only promises to shed light on how hard it is to make it as a musician in today’s landscape, but perhaps introduce you to your new favourite band.
Girl Group
Starring Rebel Wilson, Jennifer Coolidge, Randall Park, Melanie Chisholm and Nicole Scherzinger
Directed by Rebel Wilson
In Girl Group, Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect, Bridesmaids) is Tassie Young, a popstar who decides to split from her girl group to pursue a solo career. After a fall from grace involving a DUI, she gets assigned community service where she has to mentor young women who want to be stars themselves. Hilarity — and vulnerability — ensues as Young reluctantly opens up to her newfound role. The cast is rounded out by comedy stalwarts Jennifer Coolidge and Randall Park and former girl group members Nicole Scherzinger and Ashley Roberts (Pussycat Dolls), Melanie Chisholm (Spice Girls) and Shaznay Lewis (All Saints).
Gentle Monster
WATCH | The movie trailer for Gentle Monster:
Starring Léa Seydoux
Directed by Marie Kreutzer
Austrian writer-director Marie Kreutzer returns to TIFF with her latest film, Gentle Monster, starring Léa Seydoux. The French actress plays Lucy Weiss, an experimental musician who crafts deconstructed pop songs on unconventional instruments. After her filmmaker husband, Philip, suffers a breakdown, the couple and their young son move from Munich to the countryside. It is there that a search warrant executed by a sex crimes unit leads to Philip’s arrest and Lucy begins a harrowing journey to navigate the intimate moral dilemmas within her family.
Club Kid
WATCH | The movie trailer for Club Kid:
Starring Jordan Firstman, Reggie Absolom, Diego Calva and Cara Delevingne
Directed by Jordan Firstman
In his debut feature, Jordan Firstman plays Peter Green, a club promoter who’s spent the better part of a decade partying until sunrise and recovering until the next function. Then he learns he has a 10-year-old son, Arlo. After the unexpected death of the boy’s mother, a forgotten hook-up from Peter’s earlier party days, the reckless promoter has his life upended by the ultimate responsibility: fatherhood. The two learn how to navigate their new reality and bond over Arlo’s prodigious DJ mixing skills, while Peter’s queer community coalesces around them like a makeshift family. From heartfelt moments shared at the piano to escapism on the dance floors of seedy clubs, Peter and Arlo come together through music.