Toronto International Film Festival – 2024 – Preview

Award season is fast approaching, and the success of films at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) can be an early indication of their success when Oscar nominations are discussed later in the year.

Spanning 10 days, many films are having their world, international, and North American premieres. Billed as one of the biggest film festivals in the world, TIFF can be overwhelming, with so many films vying for your attention.

To celebrate this year’s program, I wanted to highlight ten films that I cannot wait to see and hope to watch. The order of this list does not reflect my level of excitement; this is not a ranking, and the films are listed in random order.

I, the Executioner

Director: Ryoo Seung-wan
The sequel to the South Korean action film Veteran. I, the Executioner debuted at the Cannes Film Festival this year and is having its North American Premiere at TIFF 2024. Detective Seo Do-cheol (Hwang Jung-min) returns as he and his team at Major Crimes team up with rookie cop Park Sun-woo (Jung Hae-in) to hunt down a serial killer who is targeting criminals who managed to escape Justice.

Eden

Director: Ron Howard
Have you ever seen a film solely because of the person behind the camera? Eden is that for me. Ron Howard is a legendary director so being able to see any project he is involved in with little expectation is exciting. Eden follows a group of Europeans who seek a new life. They seek a bright future on the rough landscape of an uninhabited island in the Galápagos.

Escape from the 21^st Century

Director: Yang Li
What would you do if you could sneeze 20 years into the future? Well, we will find out what three high schoolers will do in Yang Li’s Escape from the 21^st Century. The film takes place in 1999 on a planet like ours. The three leads discover they have the power to sneeze forward and backward in time. When in the future they realise the future kind of sucks. So, they will do what they can to change that.

Anora

Director: Sean Baker
After winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, I believe Sean Baker’s latest film is at the top of people’s watchlists after winning one of film’s most prestigious awards. The title character Anora (Mikey Madison) is a sex worker in Brooklyn when she gets her opportunity for a Cinderella story when she marries the son of a Russian Oligarch. However, her romance starts to fall apart when his parents go to get the marriage annulled.

Cloud

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Kiyoshi Kurosawa is a recognisable name when it comes to Japanese cinema. His films Cure and Pulse have taken audiences by storm and his latest film Cloud seems to be one to keep an eye on. Ryosuke Yoshii (Masaki Suda) is a factory worker in Tokyo who s himself by reselling items on the internet under a pseudonym. However, Ryosuke triggers events that lead to life-threatening consequences as he discovers multiple people are targeting him.

The Life of Chuck

Director: Mike Flanagan

One of the best horror directors working today is back and he is adapting another Stephen King story. Mike Flanagan had already brought Gerald’s Game and Doctor Sleep to life. So, I have high hopes for The Life of Chuck. However, The Life of Chuck is not a horror story. Like Stand by Me or The Shawshank Redemption, it’s a drama about an ordinary man named Charles Krantz (Tom Hiddleston).

Caught by the Tides

Director: Jia Zhangke

After seeing his small role in Black Dog I was excited to see what he did next behind the camera as he is a talented director. Well, we didn’t have to wait long as Caught by the Tides premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Caught by the Tides is a love story that spans over 20 years and is billed as being a reimagining of Jia Zhangke cinema. I am excited to see what is in store.

Emilia Perez

Director: Jacques Audiard

In a rare move by the Cannes Film Festival Jury, the ensemble cast of Emilia Perez won best actress at the Cannes Festival. The crime comedy musical is the latest film by Jacques Audiard and follows lawyer Rita (Zoe Saldana) who is overqualified and undervalued and enjoys helping criminals get away with crimes. However, suddenly she is given an unexpected task. To help a cartel leader leave the business and transition and become the woman they’ve always wanted to be.

The Shadow Strays

Director: Timo Tjahjanto

One of the faces of the Indonesian action renaissance, Timo Tjahjanto is back with his third action film for Netflix after The Night Comes for Us and The Big 4. The Shadow Strays follows a young assassin who decides to break rank at her organisation so they can rescue a boy from gangsters. Assuming it aligns with Timo Tjahjanto‘s previous film, I’m sure this will be a bloody and action-filled adventure

Happyend

Director: Neo Sora

The first fictional feature by Neo Sora after the documentary Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus which was released in 2023. Taking place in a near-future Tokyo, Happyend follows two friends Yuta (Hayato Kurihara) and Kou (Yukito Hidaka) as they are about to graduate from high school. They decided one day to play a prank on their principal, but this act led to serious consequences. An oppressive surveillance system is installed in the school. This system makes the students feel like prisoners.

2024 Toronto International Film Festival will run from the 15th until 20th September