The Films We Loved and Didn't Love at TIFF 2026

In this week's episode of the Black Girl Nerds podcast, we break down our experience at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival and discuss the films we love and didn't love this year. We also discuss the dynamic of how the festival has changed, episodic TV shows that premiered and some inside baseball on the experience navigating the fest as a journalist. Hosts: Jamie and Chalice Music by: Sammus Edited by: Jamie Broadnax Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Black Zombie digs beneath the blood-soaked spectacle of modern horror to uncover the zombie’s buried and unsettling origins. Long before it became associated with flesh-eating ghouls, the zombie was a living metaphor for slavery: not a monster, but the ultimate victim of colonial power. A symbol of stolen agency was recast as an object of fear, while Black spiritual traditions were distorted, sensationalized, and erased. Director Maya Annik Bedward traces the evolution of the zombie from colonial Haiti to contemporary Hollywood. Maya is an Afro-Caribbean-Canadian film director whose work blends history, resistance, and pop culture through bold, genre-bending storytelling. Her work has screened at TIFF, Hot Docs, BlackStar, and the New Orleans Film Festival. Her credits include the short films The Haircut(2018) and Why We Fight(2021), as well as the TV series LIDO TV(2022) and BLK: An Origin Story(2022). She is a founding member of the Black Screen Office, championing stories that center Black creativity and power. Host: Jamie Music by: Sammus Edited by: Jamie Broadnax Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week's episode of the Black Girl Nerds podcast, we interview co-director John Dierre of the film 'Meta Take One'. The film follows an obsessive young director and his crew over one frantic night as they try to finish a movie, even as the process becomes morally and emotionally destructive. Music by: Sammus Host: Jamie Edited by: Jamie Broadnax Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week's episode of the Black Girl Nerds podcast, we chat with the filmmakers behind the movie 'Kingston' which premiered at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival. At the prestigious Kingston College, paths collide between a first generation student, the son of a billionaire, a noncommittal situationship, and a Chinese professor. The semester will shake the identity of each, and of the university itself. Carlos Key (Writer-Director) is a 24-year-old filmmaker based in New York. Spending early childhood in China and Chile, he gained an early fascination with languages and cross-cultural narratives. He continued to develop this passion through filmmaking in the following years, and pursued East Asian Studies with a focus on Chinese at Columbia University. Carlos and his now long-term creative partner Kalijah Rowe met in their Seattle high school film club. Over the past eight years the duo have collaborated on over a dozen short films, with multiple screened at festivals including SIFF and NFFTY. Their most recent projects were the short film MARRIED TO THE GAME and the featurette MEMORIES OF MEAT, where they honed their directorial style in a longer runtime format. Now, the best-friends-turned-co-directors have completed their first feature-length film KINGSTON, where they seek to capture the trials, tribulations, and general absurdity of their generation’s college experience. Kalijah Rowe (Writer-Director) Kalijah Rowe is a 24-year-old filmmaker currently based in New York. After feeling limited at his film school in Seattle, he left to develop his style on his own terms. Producing numerous experimental shorts and music videos independently, he consistently found himself drawn to imagery with a surrealist texture as a tool for expressing what words could not. Kalijah and his now long-term creative partner Carlos Key met in their Seattle high school film club. Over the past eight years the duo have collaborated on over a dozen short films, with multiple screened at festivals including SIFF and NFFTY. Their most recent projects were the short film MARRIED TO THE GAME and the featurette MEMORIES OF MEAT, where they combined their individual strengths into a style that is both introspective but also kinetic. Now, the best-friends-turned-co-directors have completed their first feature-length film KINGSTON, where they seek to capture the trials, tribulations, and general absurdity of their generation’s college experience. Jenna Shen (Writer-Producer) Jenna Shen is a Beijing-born filmmaker currently based in New York. She is a rising senior at Columbia University double majoring in English and Film. Her approach to filmmaking blends academic inquiry with socio-cultural awareness, with a particular focus in low budget independent, international, and arthouse cinema. EVERYTHING YOU DON’T KNOW, the first short film she co-wrote, directed, and edited in high school, has been viewed more than 40K times online and continues to spark conversations around public education in China. In New York, she has been involved in numerous thesis projects from schools such as SVA, NYU Tisch, and Columbia School of the Arts. Some of her recent credits include co-writing and producing KINGSTON (selected to compete in the U.S. Narrative Feature category at the 2026 Tribeca Festival) and co-producing MASQUERADE (a BAFTA-Yugo Short Film Commissioning Grant winner). PERFORMANCE, an experimental feature she assistant directed, is currently in post production. Host: Jamie Music by: Sammus Edited by: Jamie Broadnax Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Courtney A. Kemp is the visionary behind STARZ’s groundbreaking hit Power Universe franchise, creating multiple spin-off series including Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, Power Book IV: Influence, and Power Book V: Force, all produced by End of Episode, her powerhouse production company, In 2021, Kemp and End of Episode entered into a multi-year overall deal with Netflix, enabling the company to expand its creative footprint with an eye toward global reach and to create stories about and from women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ voices. The first project under this deal is Nemesis. The new series stars Matthew Law and Y’lan Noel. Host: Jamie Music by: Sammus Edited by: Jamie Broadnax   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week's interview we chat with James C. Portis III, also known online as JPenumbra. he's one of the leaders of the DCSoWhite Campaign. A movement focused on trying to address the issue that its been over 1100 days since a black character at DC Comics had an ongoing series in their mainline continuity. Through this campaign they've been striving to convince DC to not only address this issue, but also how they handle marketing and tracking sales from marginalized groups buying their content. Host: Jamie Music by: Sammus Edited by: Jamie Broadnax Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

LaNisa Renee Frederick is a Los Angeles-based actor, writer, podcast host, and voiceover artist whose work sits at the intersection of comedy, culture, and lived experience. She can be seen in Shifting Gears (ABC), NCIS (CBS), Brooklyn 99 (NBC), and A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO), and is a series regular on Jury Duty Season 2 (Amazon). Host: Jamie Music by: Sammus Edited by: Jamie Broadnax Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week's episode of the Black Girl Nerds podcast, we chat with Stephan James, Sheryl Lee Ralph and director Rashad Frett of 'Ricky'. Directed by Rashad Frett, Ricky is a raw, deeply human drama about a 30-year-old man navigating life after prison — a man who was charged as an adult as a teenager and is now confronting the gap between the person he’s become and the world that wasn’t waiting for him. When a stolen car and a hit-and-run put everything on the line, Ricky asks a question that lingers long after the credits: will he do the right thing, even if no one is watching? Host: Jamie Music by: Sammus Edited by: Jamie Broadnax   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week's episode of the Black Girl Nerds podcast we chat with actress Samantha Walkes of the hit Prime Video series 'Cross'. We discuss the currently role as Elle in season 2, some bits about the upcoming season. And we talk about her artistry and being a new mom working in entertainment. Host: Jamie Music by: Sammus Edited by: Jamie Broadnax Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this week's episode of Black Girl Nerds we chat with actress Taylor Polidore Williams of Netflix's 'Beauty In Black'. In the series, A stripper's fate takes a turn when she crosses paths with the wealthy, dysfunctional family behind a cosmetics dynasty and a devious trafficking scheme. Season 2 is currently streaming on Netflix. Host: Jamie Music by: Sammus Edited by: Jamie Broadnax Image credit: Alex D. Rogers Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.