The Toronto Film Festival kicks off today and yours truly will be virtually covering this year’s festivities. The festival has consistently been one of the most important festivals in regards to the commencement of the Oscar Season. While not all films were made available via the digital platform, there are still an array of great selections available.
These are the 10 films I’m most excited to see during the Toronto Film Festival:
1. The Survivor – Director: Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson’s biographical drama stars Ben Foster as boxer Harry Haft, who looks to carry on after fighting to survive in WWII concentration camps.
2. The Power of the Dog – Director: Jane Campion
What some may consider the front runner for best picture, Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst lead Jane Campion’s drama about two brothers whose lives change when a widow and her son arrive at their ranch.
3. The Humans – Director: Stephen Karam
Steven Yeun, Beanie Feldstein, and Richard Jenkins star in Stephen Karam’s adaptation of his Tony Award-winning multi-generational family drama.
4. Jagged – Director: Alison Klayman
Alanis Morissette reflects on her 1990s rise to rock stardom, in this new documentary from Alison Klayman (Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry).
5. Flee – Director: Jonas Poher Rasmussen
In this poignant animated documentary from Danish filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen, a man shares his journey as a child refugee from Afghanistan.
6. Petite Maman – Director: Celine Sciamma
Director Celine Sciamma’s follow-up to her 2019 selection Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Petite Maman follows a girl’s journey to her mother’s childhood home, French auteur Céline Sciamma’s latest is a tender tale of intergenerational connection.
7. Benediction – Director: Terence Davies
Terence Davies’ latest is an equally somber and sumptuous portrait of 20th-century English poet and soldier Siegfried Sassoon.
8. The Good House – Directors: Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky
Sigourney Weaver and Kevin Kline play ex-flames who rekindle their romance, in this drama from directors Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky.
9. Encounter – Director: Michael Pearce
A decorated Marine (Riz Ahmed) goes on a rescue mission to save his two young sons from an inhuman threat, in the latest from director Michael Pearce.
10. The Guilty – Director: Antoine Fuqua
Jake Gyllenhaal stars in Antoine Fuqua’s thriller set over the course of a single morning in a 911 dispatch center.
