After months of decent, but below average films to help us get through the summer slog, we finally are on the Oscar hunt as Canada has finally brought us the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival Lineup! While most Best Picture winners in recent years have premiered at Telluride and Venice, TIFF still has a great deal to say about the Oscar race – last year, they single-handedly launched the conversations for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and I, Tonya. And this year should be no different, as this is one of the most well-rounded lineups ever.
In terms of the Oscar race, there is no shortage of baity titles to entice critics and audiences alike. Damien Chazelle’s Neil Armstrong biopic First Man will have a bow at the festival shortly after it opens in Venice, putting it on a trajectory for Oscar glory. Also making an appearance are weighty titles A Star Is Born, Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s Oscar bid, and If Beale Street Could Talk, Barry Jenkins’ follow-up to the Oscar-winning Moonlight. Meanwhile, the Steve Carell–Timothée Chalamet tearjerker Beautiful Boy will make its world premiere, as will the dark comedic Western The Sisters Brothers. And if you’re looking for past nominees, look no further than Steve McQueen’s heist thriller Widows or Jason Reitman’s political comedy The Front Runner, both of which can make an impact and enter the Oscar race outright.
Many other films that aren’t looking to make an Oscar bid (at least not outright) will be in attendance at the festival. The topical YA adaptation The Hate U Give will unsurprisingly make its debut here (it is wisely taking the Perks of Being a Wallflower route – dropping a great, resonant adaptation in the middle of an artsy festival so the critical word of mouth helps it earn a strong following). Melissa McCarthy’s Can You Ever Forgive Me? is hoping to return the star to more dramatic roles after a successful string of comedies. Robert Redford’s The Old Man & The Gun is looking to give one last hoorah to the man who defined a generation. Alfonso Cuarón is looking to make his return to more intimate projects with Roma. Matthew McConaughey looks showy in the crime epic White Boy Rick. And Paul Dano looks to try his hand at directing with the popular Sundance title Wildlife.
Beyond the more popular titles, a handful of hits from earlier festivals, as well as foreign contenders, are looking to make a splash at TIFF this year. Sundance hits like Galveston, The Kindergarten Teacher, Colette and Monsters and Men will be in attendance, as will Cannes favorites Everybody Knows, Burning, Cold War, and Shoplifters. We will also have a chance to see Zhang Yimou’s newest film. All in all, it’s shaping up to be a great year at Toronto.
We’ll know soon enough which films will have the juice to go the distance Oscar season. In the meantime, you can see the full list of premieres below. The 2018 Toronto International Film Festival will run from September 6 through September 16.
GALAS 2018
- Beautiful Boy – Felix van Groeningen
- Everybody Knows – Asghar Farhadi
- First Man – Damien Chazelle
- Galveston – Mélanie Laurent
- The Hate U Give – George Tillman, Jr.
- Hidden Man – Jiang Wen
- High Life – Claire Denis
- Husband Material – Anurag Kashyap
- The Kindergarten Teacher – Sara Colangelo
- The Land of Steady Habits – Nicole Holofcener
- Life Itself – Dan Fogelman
- The Public – Emilio Estevez
- Red Joan – Sir Trevor Nunn
- Shadow – Zhang Yimou
- A Star Is Born – Elizabeth Chomko
- Widows – Steve McQueen
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2018
- Ben Is Back – Peter Hedges
- Burning – Lee Chang-dong
- Can You Ever Forgive Me? – Marielle Heller
- Capernaum – Nadine Labaki
- Cold War – Pawel Pawlikowski
- Colette – Wash Westmoreland
- Dogman – Matteo Garrone
- The Front Runner – Jason Reitman
- Giant Little Ones – Keith Behrman
- Girls of the Sun (Les filles du soleil) – Eva Husson
- Hotel Mumbai – Anthony Maras
- The Hummingbird Project – Kim Nguyen
- If Beale Street Could Talk – Barry Jenkins
- Manto – Nandita Das
- Maya – Mia Hansen-Løve
- Monsters and Men – Reinaldo Marcus Green
- Mouthpiece – Patricia Rozema (OPENING FILM)
- Non-Fiction – Oliver Assayas
- The Old Man & The Gun – David Lowery
- Papi Chulo – John Butler
- Roma – Alfonso Cuarón
- Shoplifters – Hirokazu Kore-eda(CLOSING FILM)
- The Sisters Brothers – Jacques Audiard
- Sunset – László Nemes
- Through Black Spruce – Don McKellar
- The Wedding Guest – Michael Winterbottom
- The Weekend – Stella Meghie
- Where Hands Touch – Amma Asante
- White Boy Rick – Rick Yann Demange
- Wildlife – Paul Dano
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