The Rolling Tape

*TIFF Recap recorded BEFORE the People's Choice Announcement*
See all of The Rolling Tape's TIFF 2026 coverage here.
By the time you're listening to this, the 51st Toronto International Film Festival will have wrapped up its 11-day run, which featured world premieres of Siân Heder's Being Heumann, Chris Rock's Misty Green, Peter Farrelly's I Play Rocky, and many more films coming off festivals like Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, and Venice. Famously dubbed the "People's Festival," Toronto gives movie fans and critics the opportunity to see some of the most acclaimed films of the year.
This year, The Rolling Tape also had the privilege of having five of its members on the ground in Toronto: Cameron Ritter, Nadia Arain, Kasey Dunifer, Jacob Diedenhofer, and Evan Miller.
This year's winners have already been announced, with Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo's La Bola Negra taking the People's Choice Award, Peter Farrelly's I Play Rocky finishing as the first runner-up, and Siân Heder's Being Heumann finishing as the second runner-up. Since 2008, 16 of the 18 People's Choice Award winners have gone on to receive Best Picture nominations at the Oscars, with Slumdog Millionaire, The King's Speech, 12 Years a Slave, Green Book, and Nomadland ultimately winning Best Picture.
Today, we're going to recap some of the films that played, the reception they received, and what we think their prospects might be heading into the rest of awards season. We'll also bookend the episode with an abridged conversation about our post-fall Oscar predictions across several categories.
On this episode:
Paul Rai
Adam Patla
Jacob Diedenhofer
Evan Miller
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Credits:
Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
Artwork: Danny Jarabek
Editor: Danny Jarabek
Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

After seven live action films in the video game adaptation franchise, Resident Evil is back in business with Zach Cregger at the helm coming off the meteoric Oscar sensation for Amy Madigan in Weapons in his third feature. 
Resident Evil is directed by Zach Cregger and written by Cregger and Shay Hatten, based on the Resident Evil video game franchise. It follows Bryan (Austin Abrams), a medical courier who must fight through an outbreak of infected monsters in Raccoon City. Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, and Paul Walter Hauser feature in supporting roles.
We review the film and play a mini-game at the end guessing video game movies based on ambiguous Letterboxd reviews.
Our pre-episode Patreon exclusive conversation features:
Narnia first look images
Digger unofficial reactions
Minotaur selected by France
On this episode:
Danny Jarabek
Mariana Fabian
Joshua Mbonu
Red Broadwell
Support the show
Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon
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Have questions? Email info@therollingtape.com
Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
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Credits:
Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
Artwork: Danny Jarabek
Editor: Danny Jarabek
Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

Bachata music dominates the world today. With artists like Luis Vargas, Anthony Santos, Juan Luis Guerra, and Romeo Santos, the upbeat tunes with the somber lyrics are a staple of Hispanic and Latino clubs, parties, weddings, and so on. The music has a long history – it’s one that contemporary audiences might not know, and it’s part of what Agridulce, Frank Pavich’s new documentary, is trying to showcase. 
Producer of the film, Benjamin de Menil joins The Rolling Tape to talk about his experience founding The Academia de Bachata, his reasoning for making Agridulce, the importance of bachata and music for society and humanity, and more.
Follow our interviewee online:
Benjamin de Menil
Follow our interview host online:
Mariana Fabian
Support the show
Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon
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Have questions? Email info@therollingtape.com
Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
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Credits:
Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
Artwork: Danny Jarabek
Editor: Danny Jarabek
Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

Judy Heumann lived a storied life, challenging the status quo, exposing governmental flaws, and giving a voice to one of the most marginalized, castaway communities: people with disabilities. She passed away suddenly in 2023 at age 75, after years of involvement in the movie adaptation of her biography, “Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist.” Siân Heder, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker known for CODA (2021), helms the adaptation, titled Being Heumann.  
Halfway through reading Heumann’s memoir, Heder immediately reached out to discuss adapting it for the screen. The two met, and the rest was history. Eleven years later, Being Heumann premiered to a sold-out, ecstatic crowd at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival. 
After the screening, Kasey Dunifer met up with two of the film’s producers, John Beach and Kevin Cleary, on the red carpet to talk about what this film means to them and how they hope it inspires viewers.
Follow our interviewees online:
John Beach IMDb, Instagram
Kevin Cleary IMDb
Follow our interview host online:
Kasey Dunifer
Support the show
Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon
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Have questions? Email info@therollingtape.com
Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree
Credits:
Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
Artwork: Danny Jarabek
Editor: Danny Jarabek
Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

Nick Kozakis is already on his third feature film, but this year marks his first TIFF appearance and his first Midnight Madness world premiere. Kick On follows a group of partiers looking to score to keep their night going, only to cross the wrong mob boss and end up in a bloody fight for survival. 
Nadia Arain sat down with Kozakis at the festival to talk to him about his approach to storytelling and his influences as a filmmaker.
Read more of her interview here.
Follow our interviewee online:
Nick Kozakis IMDb, Instagram
Follow our interview host online:
Nadia Arain
Support the show
Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon
Listen Here:
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Have questions? Email info@therollingtape.com
Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree
Credits:
Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
Artwork: Danny Jarabek
Editor: Danny Jarabek
Assistant Producer: Evan Miller