Twelve Toronto International Film Festival movies to get excited about (and when you can watch them in New Zealand)

The 47th edition of the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival gets underway in Canada later this week.

An 11-day annual celebration of global cinema, this year’s programme includes around 200 feature films in the first full-scale, in-person schedule since 2019.

New Zealand interest this year includes screenings of Tearepa Kahi’s Muru and Australasian Indigenous anthology We Are Still Here (both fresh from debuting here at the New Zealand International Film Festival), as well as the world premiere of Pearl, Ti West’s horror-prequel that he shot in the lower North Island at the same time as X.

After looking through the schedule, Stuff to Watch has come up with a list of the dozen titles we’re most excited about – and when you might be able to see them on a screen near you.

READ MORE:
* Neon’s American Gigolo, Netflix’s Heartbreak High among September’s must see TV
* Northspur: Kiwi action-drama a fitting showcase and swansong for Marshall Napier
* Netflix’s Blonde, Disney’s Pinocchio, Ticket to Paradise among September’s must see movies

The Banshees of Inisheran

The brilliant In Bruges duo of Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson reunite with that film’s writer-director Martin McDonagh for this 1920s-set fable about two lifelong friends who suddenly fall out when the latter’s Colm suddenly decides he’d rather compose music than going with the former’s Padraic for their daily pint.

This perceived slight becomes a standoff involving their whole village on a remote Irish island.

Scheduled to debut in Kiwi cinemas on Boxing Day.

Emily

Sex Education’s Emma Mackey headlines this “portrait” of the second-youngest of the Bronte sisters.

Billed as a “tale of creativity, secret desire and a woman’s arduous journey towards self-actualisation”, this 19th-century England set story is the directorial debut of veteran British-Australian actor Frances O’Connor (TV’s The Missing, Mr Selfridge). Adrian Dunbar and Fionn Whitehead also star.

Empire of Light

As the title suggests, 1917 and Revolutionary Road director Sam Mendes’ latest 1980s-set work revolves around an English movie theatre called the Empire.

When new Black employee Stephen (Micheal Ward) arrives, he instantly bonds with the long-serving and exploited Hilary (Olivia Colman). However, the pair’s future is still heavily influenced by difficult pasts.

Currently slated for a February 2 release here.

The Fabelmans

Steven Spielberg makes his first foray to the festival with perhaps his most intimate movie yet.

Based on the master director’s own childhood in Arizona, this follows young Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle) as he makes films with his friends and navigates a sometimes tempestuous home life. The cast also includes Michelle Williams, Paul Dano and Seth Rogen.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Rian Johnson’s sequel to one of the most beloved and breakout movies of 2019, see Daniel Craig’s eccentric detective Benoir Blanc off to Greece for his latest case. It involves an eclectic cast of characters who may have secrets to hide and motivations involving sins like greed, lust, envy and pride.

The impressively assembled ensemble includes Edward Norton, Leslie Odom Jr., Dave Bautista, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn and Janelle Monae. Set for a December 23 debut on Netflix, although it may play in Kiwi cinemas just before then.

The Greatest Beer Run Ever

Peter Farrelly follows up his Oscar-winning Green Book with this wild, 1967-set “true story” about a merchant seaman who accepts a bet to personally deliver a case of beer from New York to his army buddies in Vietnam.

Starring Zac Efron, Russell Crowe and Bill Murray, the production did apply for a New Zealand border exemption in mid-2020, but it appears they decided to pursue filming here. Scheduled to debut on Apple TV+ on September 30.

My Policeman

While Harry Styles has been getting a lot of attention for his other current movie project (Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Baby), this is potentially even more intriguing.

The pop-star plays a young policeman in 1950s Britain who embarks on a love triangle with teacher Marion (The Crown’s Emma Corrin) and museum curator Patrick (David Dawson).

Based on the 2012 novel by Bethan Roberts, it also features Linus Roache, Gina McKee and Rupert Everett as older versions of the trio. Currently headed for a November 4 debut on Prime Video.

Prisoner’s Daughter

Succession’s Brian Cox and Kate Beckinsale team up for this drama about a former boxer and dying convict who tries to reconnect with his direct offspring and bond with a grandson (Christopher Convery) he’s never known.

However, for Beckinsale’s Maxine, her father’s arrival just adds to her growing list of troubles.

Directed by Thirteen and Twilight helmer Catherine Hardwicke.

Raymond & Ray

Ewan McGregor stars alongside Ethan Hawke in this tale of long-estranged half-brothers who reunite to bury their father.

While neither of them had the greatest relationship with their Pa, much to their annoyance, they discover everyone they meet found him to be charismatic. Even worse, while he’s left them next to nothing financially, there is one “exhausting and aggravating final request”.

Scheduled to debut on Apple TV+ on October 21.

The Son

Like his last film The Father, Florian Zeller’s latest work has already been described as “bold, incisive and harrowing”.

Hugh Jackman and Vanessa Kirby are the couple facing a crisis when the former’s teenage son from a previous relationship comes to live with them. Suffering from severe depression, it’s an extra strain on a household who have just experienced the joy of a much-smaller new addition.

An adaptation of Zeller’s internationally acclaimed 2019 play, it is currently scheduled for release in New Zealand on February 9.

The Whale

Former George of the Jungle and The Mummy star Brendan Fraser returns to the spotlight with this drama about a reclusive English professor struggling with self-acceptance and personal relationships.

Mother! And Requiem for a Dream director Darren Aronofsky is the one calling the shots for Samuel D. Hunter’s adaptation of his own 2012 play.

Weird: The Al Yankovich Story

This biopic of the musical parody king also attempts to skewer many of the tropes of your typical “pop-star’s rise to fame” flick.

Daniel Radcliffe dons the curly wig, the Hawaiian shirts and the accordion, to bring to life the man who gave the world such gems as Like a Surgeon, Amish Paradise and Eat It.

Co-written and produced by Yankovic himself, the movie also features Evan Rachel Wood, Rainn Wilson and Julianne Nicholson.

The 47th Toronto International Film Festival is taking place from September 8 to 18.