The film adaptation of Prima Facie, starring Cynthia Erivo, will make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, Variety reports. The film was originally announced in 2023, and was in development with Participant Media, which was dissolved in 2024. As BroadwayWorld reported in 2025, the film was shopped to potential buyers at France’s Cannes market, with the intention of securing distribution.
The 2026 edition of TIFF will take place from September 10 – 20, 2026. Other films that will premiere include Sian Heder’s activist drama “Being Heumann”, and “The Assassin(s)” from Korean filmmaker Hur Jin-ho.
Read the original story on Variety.
In addition to starring in Prima Facie, Erivo will also executive produce the project through her banner, Edith’s Daughter. Susanna White will direct from a screenplay by Prima Facie playwright Suzie Miller, who has adapted the play for the screen.
Prima Facie starred Jodie Comer on the West End and Broadway, and earned four Tony Award nominations, with Comer winning for Best Actress. The Broadway production received two Drama League Award nominations for Outstanding Production of a Play, the Distinguished Performance Award (Comer), and an Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance (Comer).
For her performance in the West End production, Comer won the Olivier Award for Best Actress, the Evening Standard Award for Best Actress, the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Performer in a Play, the West End Debut Award from The Stage, and the BroadwayWorld UK/West End Award for Best Newcomer.
The story of Prima Facie follows Tessa (Erivo) who has worked her way up from working-class origins to be at the top of her game; defending; cross examining and winning, until an unexpected event forces her to confront the lines where the patriarchal power of the law, burden of proof and morals diverge.
About Cynthia Erivo
Cynthia Erivo, MBE is an Emmy, Tony, 2x Grammy Award-winning, and 3x Academy Award-nominated actress, singer, author, and producer. She stars as Elphaba in Universal’s film adaptation of the musical WICKED from director Jon M. Chu. WICKED Part One opened on November 22nd, 2024, and has since become the highest-grossing movie ever at the domestic box office based on a Broadway musical. For her performance as Elphaba, Erivo received Golden Globe, SAG, Critics’ Choice, NAACP, BAFTA, and Academy Award nominations. The second part of the film, WICKED: FOR GOOD, opened on November 21, 2025.
Erivo began acting in a 2011 stage production of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. She gained recognition for starring in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple from 2015 to 2017, for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Erivo ventured into films in 2018, playing roles in the heist film Widows and the thriller Bad Times at the El Royale. For her portrayal of American abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the biopic Harriet (2019), Erivo received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress; she also wrote and performed the song “Stand Up” on its soundtrack, which garnered her a nomination in the Best Original Song category. In February 2026, Erivo starred in the West End production of Kip Williams’ play DRACULA playing 23 characters in the one-woman production.
In November 2025, Erivo published her book Simply More: A Book for Anyone Who Has Been Told They’re Too Much via Flatiron Books, an imprint of Macmillan Publishers. The book was released on November 18, 2025, and became an instant NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller.
She recently wrapped production on Paramount’s CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE, where she will star alongside an incredible ensemble cast including Viola Davis, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Idris Elba, Amandla Stenberg, Damson Idris, Regina King, Lashana Lynch, and more, as well as KAROSHI.
