AMANDA KERNELL’S BRACE YOUR HEART SELECTED FOR TIFF PLATFORM COMPETITION

BRACE YOUR HEART SELECTED FOR TIFF PLATFORM COMPETITION

Amanda Kernell’s new feature film Brace Your Heart / Garrat du váimmu will have its world premiere at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), taking place 10–20 September 2026.

The film has been selected for TIFF’s Platform Competition, a competitive program dedicated to films with a strong directorial vision and distinctive cinematic voice. This year, the Platform Award offers the winning film a direct path to International Feature Film Oscar consideration.

The film follows 20-year-old Ejva, who takes over responsibility for her family’s reindeer herd after the death of her father. She becomes dependent on the work leader Heaika, who falls in love with her. When Heaika’s cousin Nejla arrives, Ejva falls in love for the first time. The events that follow leave Ejva struggling to maintain control over her life and her future.

Brace Your Heart / Garrat du váimmu is written and directed by Amanda Kernell. The film is produced by Nordisk Film Production Sweden, in co-production with Forest People (Sápmi/Norway), Compass Films (Iceland), Invictus (Bulgaria), Nordisk Film Production Denmark, Filmpool Nord, SVT and Film i Väst.

The film has received support from the Swedish Film Institute, Danish Film Institute, International Sámi Film Institute, Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Bulgarian National Film Centre, Icelandic Film Centre, Eurimages and Arktisk Film Norge. International sales are handled by TrustNordisk.

Brace Your Heart is Kernell’s third feature film. Her feature debut, Sami Blood (2016), screened in TIFF’s Discovery program following its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival. Her second feature, Charter (2020), premiered in competition at the Sundance Film Festival and was later selected as Sweden’s official submission for the Academy Awards.

The 51st Toronto International Film Festival takes place 10–20 September 2026.