Jeff Hitchcock from Seattle, WA, USA / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
Every September the world looks at Toronto for TIFF. The rest of the year, the city quietly keeps its screens lit. This is a calendar of the other festivals, in order, with the dates each organiser has published for the 2026 to 2027 season.
Dates were checked against each festival’s own page on October 20, 2026, so confirm them there before you buy tickets. For the year-round screens that host many of these programs, see our guide to independent movie theatres in Toronto, or browse the culture desk for more.
Reel Asian is first on this list. It runs in person from Nov 11 to 21, 2026, with events across downtown Toronto, and online across Canada from Nov 16 to 29. This is the 30th anniversary edition, and the festival was founded in Toronto in 1997.
Opening night, BA’S BOOK, is on Wednesday, November 11, 2026 at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema. Innis Town Hall screenings run November 17 to 19 and are listed with free tickets and open seating. Families can drop in free to Wee Asian at Innis Town Hall on November 21. For a screening-by-screening plan, read our Reel Asian picker.
The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, 2023.Fuzheado / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 4.0
The 2027 Hot Docs Festival presents documentaries from around the world in Toronto from April 23 to May 2. Hot Docs was founded in 1993 by the Documentary Organization of Canada and became a separately incorporated organization in 1996. It also operates the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, a century-old landmark in the Annex.
Inside Out’s 2027 festival takes place May 20 to 30 at TIFF Lightbox. The organization celebrated its first film and video festival in 1991. The festival brings together screenings, artist talks, panel discussions, installations and parties.
The 35th Toronto Jewish Film Festival runs in theatre from May 27 to June 6, 2027. If you want to start before then, its J-Flix virtual cinema lets viewers watch past festival titles for free across Canada.
The 27th annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival takes place June 1 to 6, 2027 in Toronto and June 7 to 13, 2027 online. imagineNATIVE is a registered charity that presents contemporary Indigenous-made media art, including film, video, audio and digital media. Its Tour programs offer Indigenous works from across Canada that were part of the 2026 festival’s Official Selection.
What about TIFF?
The 51st Toronto International Film Festival ran September 10 to 20, 2026. We have not listed 2027 dates because we only publish dates the organiser has posted. Check tiff.net for the next edition and tickets.
How do you plan a festival year?
Start with the calendar and pick one festival that sounds unfamiliar. In our view, the best festival film is often one you would never have searched for, and the audience is usually as curious as you are.
A digital cinema projector.Georg Pik / Wikimedia Commons / CC0
A simple plan works well. Put the November dates in your phone now. Set a reminder for March to look at the Hot Docs and Inside Out programs, then another in April for TJFF and imagineNATIVE. Read a film’s page before you commit to it, and keep one slot free for a surprise.
If you are new to festivals, try a daytime or family screening first. It is a low-pressure way to get a feel for the room, and it puts you among people who really love films. Bring a friend, pick something neither of you has heard of, and talk about it over dinner.
That is the year. Send this to the friend you would bring.
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