'Predator' series alumni Amber Midthunder and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi and 'North of North' stars Anna Lambe and Zorga Qaunaq lead the celeb cohort lighting up Toronto's Indigenous screens With enticing acquisition titles, rising talent and supercharged industry presence at the market, the Toronto Intl. Film Festival’s 2026 Indigenous lineup delivers the creative and collaborative screen projects that are increasingly attracting global partners, buyers and audiences. For “How We Stand,” Marie Clements adapts her stage play about separated sisters — played by Amber Midthunder (“Prey”), Alyssa Wapanatâhk (“Little House on the Prairie”) and Isabel DeRoy-Olson (“Dark Winds”) — navigating 1970s political and cultural changes in L.A.
The film‘s DP is Adam Pietkiewicz, the recipient of the Variety Artisan Award at TIFF. In his social satire “God Bless You, Mr. Kopu,” Alex Liu casts Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi (“Predator: Badlands”) as a Tongan man drifting from his family while working for an American traveling salesman.
The cultures of queer sex workers, hockey players and hip-hop artists are expressed, respectively, in Justin Ducharme’ s chamber drama “Seventeen,” actor-director Cody Lightning’s underdog dramedy “Smudge the Blades” and Alexandra Lazarowich’s doc feature debut “Turtle Island Rap.” “My film explores why it’s hard to be a rapper or beat-maker, and why people still choose to become one,” Lazarowich tells Variety. The nuances of their Indigenous identity are reflected in the people listening to their music.” Inspired by a true story, “In Alaska” follows Woody (newcomer Leo Matthew Temela), a depressed teen who is pursued as an eco-terrorist by an FBI agent (Noomi Rapace) after accidentally shooting a hole in an oil pipeline. During an early stage, filmmaker Jaap van Heusden met Inuit actor-director Vinnie Karetak for script notes.
They became co-writers and co-directors. We talked about every scene, every character, every extra.” Karetak, who acted in “North of North,” says people in the community where the show was flmed helped out on “In Alaska.” “We cast Vinnie’s dog, his son and one of his close friends,” van Heusden recalls. Below are the Indigenous directors and their world-premiering features, screening in various programs at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival.
Darren Dale, Australia, English / Warlpiri (Primetime) “Angh,” dir. Theja Rio, India, Konyak (Platform) “Brace Your Heart” (Garrat Du Váimmu), dir. Amanda Kernell, Sweden / Norway / Denmark / Iceland / Bulgaria, Northern Sami / Swedish (Platform) “God Bless You, Mr Kopu,” dir.
Alex Liu, New Zealand / Australia, English / Tongan (Centrepiece) “How We Stand,” dir. Marie Clements, Canada, English (Centrepiece) “In Alaska,” dirs. Jaap van Heusden and Vinnie Karetak, Netherlands / Canada, English / Inuktitut (Special Presentations) “In the Heart of the South,” dir.
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