The 2024 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival is almost upon us. The fest has been a staple of Contra Zoom going back to our first year of the podcast back in 2015. I’ll be attending the fest in person for the first time in five years since I’ve been living out in Vancouver post-pandemic. Joining me in previewing TIFF is Jeff Bulmer, a frequent contributor to the site and podcast guest who will be helping me cover the fest. We each picked five films that excite us. Look for a podcast version of this list coming out, along with plenty of reviews and a wrap up podcast after the fests conclusion!
What movies playing are you most excited for?
Directed By: Edward Berger
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini
Synopsis: When the Pope unexpectedly dies, Cardinals from all over the world rush to the Vatican, where they immediately sequester themselves. Digital devices are stashed, doors are locked, and windows are shuttered as they prepare for the election of a new leader — one who will not only provide spiritual guidance for the world’s Catholics, but set the tone for the future.
Why I’m Excited: As a recovering Catholic, there is something weirdly appealing about films about the Vatican. The Two Popes was one of my favourite films of 2019, and this looks like an exciting chamber drama about choosing the new pope with all the intrigue you hope happens (in reality, I’m sure it’s very boring). – DA
Directed By: Joseph Kahn
Starring: Brandon Routh, Malina Weissman, Harrison Cone
Synopsis: In the small American town of Eastbrook, nearly two decades after a viscous vine-like growth — colloquially referred to as “the Ick” — began encroaching on every nook and cranny, a nonplussed populus have found their lives seemingly unaffected by the creeping anomaly. The exceptions to this oblivious conformity are high school science teacher Hank Wallace and his perceptive student Grace, who both regard the Ick with a suspicious scrutiny that is soon violently validated.
Why I’m Excited: It’s a big year for the cast of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. After reprising his role as Todd Ingraham in the phenomenal series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Brandon Routh returns for his first film role in 4 years with Ick.
Alien horror like Alien, Bodysnatchers, and The Thing can use the extraterrestrial to illuminate highly terrestrial fears of the unknown, and interrogate how the subjects of those fears ought to be treated (in each of those cases, the answer is “flamethrower”). It’s not unheard of for horror to feature an ultimately non-threatening antagonist, but it’s definitely unusual for the genre to explore a state of emergency so prolonged it wraps back around to indifference. What’s Kahn cooking up? It sounds fascinating! – JB
Directed By: Andrew DeYoung
Starring: Tim Robinson, Paul Rudd, Kate Mara
Synopsis: When an errant delivery pulls suburban dad Craig Waterman into the orbit of his mysterious and charismatic new neighbour Austin Carmichael, a sweet bromance seems to blossom over an innocent evening of urban exploration, punk rock, and a mutual appreciation for paleolithic antiquities. But what should have been the start of a beautiful friendship is soon waylaid as Craig’s obsessive personality begins to alienate his new pal, subsequently inducing a spiral that threatens to upend Craig’s entire life.
Why I’m Excited: As a fan of Robinson’s Netflix smash I Think You Should Leave, the comedian’s latest star-vehicle Friendship shot to the top of my most-anticipated list the moment it was announced. Robinson’s particular brand of cringe comedy regularly gets at inscrutable feelings through relatable situations hyperexaggerated into absurdity. The mileage Robinson can get out of a simple gag like accidentally pulling when a door says “push”, or nervously trying to one-up the only person you know at a party is incredible. Robinson’s style struck a chord with me personally, and clearly plenty others, as I’ve seen this listed as one of the most anticipated Midnight Madness selections this year. – JB
Directed By: Mike Flanagan
Starring: Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, Karen Gillan
Synopsis: The world feels like it’s ending and everybody’s saying goodbye to Chuck. Wherever Marty goes, he can’t get away from Charles Krantz. His face shows up on billboards, window signs — even TV commercials. What’s so special about this seemingly ordinary accountant and why does he warrant such a sendoff?
Chuck’s life story soon begins to unravel in front of us, going back to a childhood with grandfather Albie, who teaches him about accounting and passes on a love for dancing, all the while keeping him from a prophetic secret in the attic.
Why I’m Excited: In 2019, horror director Mike Flanagan achieved what had until then been thought impossible: adapting the Steven King novel Dr. Sleep into a film the author actually enjoyed. Since then, Flanagan has built his credentials as the creator of several high-profile prestige horror series on Netflix, and as the director studios turn to when the going gets tough for their horror franchises. In 2016 he directed the critically-acclaimed Ouija: Origin of Evil, a prequel to the critically-reviled Ouija, and he was recently hired to follow-up the latest reboot of The Exorcist, Believer.
The Life of Chuck reunites Flanagan with Stephen King’s material, but represents a departure from the horror genre. Instead, Chuck tells the whole life story of a humble and unassuming accountant in reverse. A story that starts grand and ends intimate. Featuring a cast of likable actors in Hiddleston, Hamill, Ejoifor, and others, Chuck promises to be an optimistic and entertaining meditation on a life well-lived. – JB
Directed By: Paul Schrader
Starring: Richard Gere, Uma Thurman, Jacob Elordi, Michael Imperioli
Synopsis: Leonard Fife, who left the US for Canada as a young man during the Vietnam war draft. Fife became an acclaimed documentary filmmaker in Montreal. Now, riddled with illness and palliative medicine, he allows former film students, led by Malcolm, to interview him. Fife’s watchful wife Emma, stands guard to protect her husband’s legacy. But as Fife’s memories pour out to the camera and come to life in flashbacks, the great man’s official story fractures.
Why I’m Excited: The obvious is Richard Gere, reuniting with his American Gigolo director. But also I enjoyed Schrader’s Man in a Room trilogy (even if The Card Counter was a bit of a mess). The cast apart from Gere is interesting, as I’ve been happy to see a Michael Imperoli resurgence and I’m excited to see what Elordi does next after Saltburn and Prscilla. – DA
Directed By: Pedro Almodóvar
Starring: Julianne Moore, Tilda Swinton, John Turturro
Synopsis: Ingrid is a bestselling author so famously afraid of death she has written a book about it. When she learns that Martha — a former war correspondent — is ill, she visits her in hospital, reigniting a friendship from years past, when both were journalists.
Why I’m Excited: I was late to the Almodóvar club (Pain and Glory was my first), but I’m now a big fan. I’m a little hesitant about him working in English after the disastrous short Strange Way of Life, but casting Swinton and Moore in your leads is just about the peak of talent, even if that means we don’t get another Penelope Cruz collab just yet. – DA
Directed By: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Charles Dance, Alicia Vikander
Synopsis: At the annual G7 summit, the leaders of the world’s wealthiest liberal democracies — the US, Canada, Germany, Japan, Italy, France, and the UK — get lost in the woods at night while attempting to draft their provisional statement.
Why I’m Excited: Rumours features a stacked cast including Cate Blanchett, Charles Dance, Takehiro Hira, and Zlatko Burić. What’s more, it’s directed by one of Canada’s biggest experimental directors, Guy Maddin – of My Winnipeg and Tales from the Gimli Hospital fame – along with co-directors Evan and Galen Johnson, and premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (though it screened out of competition). Rumours is described as surreal, including “trademark oddities” such as the giant glowing brain that forms the centrepiece of the film’s most frequently-used press still, and “a brief foray into black and white.”
TIFF is routinely one of the best showcases for new Canadian film, and by all accounts Rumours is one of the most unique Canadian films on the slate! – JB
Directed By: Jason Reitman
Starring: Gabriel LaBelle, Cooper Hoffman, Dylan O’Brien, Lamorne Morris, Rachel Sennott and many more
Synopsis: It’s the mid-1970s, and a flipbook of Watergate, Vietnam, and rising counterculture make everything old in America feel broken, and everything new feel scary as hell. And now, yet another certainty is about to crack. Because in 90 minutes’ time, live, from New York, it’s Saturday Night.
Why I’m Excited: As a die hard SNL-head and someone who’s read the oral history (Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live as Told by Its Stars, Writers, and Guests is a must read), the moment this movie was announced I was excited. The casting looks spot on and Lorne Michaels seems to be the type that is fine showing the warts of SNL in order to get a better product. I do worry that Reitman hasn’t made a good movie since Up in the Air, but the trailer looks promising. – DA
Directed By: David Cronenberg
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Diane Kruger, Guy Pearce
Synopsis: Karsh, a technological entrepreneur still grieving the death of his wife Becca four years earlier. He has thrown himself into his work, devising technologically augmented burial shrouds that let loved ones watch their lost family members decompose. It’s the closest thing to being there with them — and no, it’s not for everyone. But when his wife’s plot is among several desecrated in an apparent act of vandalism, Karsh slips into a full-on crisis that expands to involve Becca’s lookalike sister, Terry, her ex-husband Maury, and, eventually, Soo-Min, the enigmatic wife of a dying Hungarian tycoon who wants to open one of Karsh’s cemeteries in Budapest. Is Karsh losing his mind, or is some strange web closing around him?
Why I’m Excited: David Cronenberg, that’s it. C-dawg is one of my all time favourite directors and his last film, Crimes of the Future, was one of my favourites of 2022. I’ll take anything that comes from his fucked up psyche and considering this movie is inspired by the passing of his long time wife, I’m sure it will be incredibly emotional. – DA
Directed By: Matthew Rankin
Starring: Rojina Esmaeili, Saba Vahedyousefi, Pirouz Nemati
Synopsis: The lives of multiple characters interweave with each other in surprising and mysterious ways. Gradeschoolers Negin and Nazgol find a sum of money frozen in the winter ice and try to claim it. Meanwhile, Massoud leads a group of increasingly-befuddled tourists through the monuments and historic sites of Winnipeg. Matthew quits his meaningless job in a Québecois government office and sets out upon an enigmatic journey to visit his mother. Space, time and personal identities crossfade, interweave and echo into a surreal comedy of misdirection.
Why I’m Excited: Another Canadian film which premiered at this year’s edition of the Cannes Film Festival, Universal Language is a slice-of-life film imagining a Canada where the two official languages are Persian and French. It’s the second feature of experimental filmmaker Matthew Rankin, whose debut, The Twentieth Century, was easily the standout of 2019’s Midnight Madness selection. Century took a surrealist approach to adapting the story of William Lyon Mackenzie King, featuring an Ottawa comprised of the suggestions of shapes and buildings, a tournament to determine the prime minister, and Annie St-Pierre playing a version of J. Israel Tarte that casts the Quebec separatist movement in an almost alien light. Influenced by the likes of Guy Maddin (director of Rumours), Fritz Lang, and early propaganda films, there’s really nothing else out there quite like Century, and Rankin’s idea of early Canada is easily the most interesting depiction I’ve ever seen. Universal Language looks to take place in a Canada that is surreal in quite a different – and perhaps more visually subtle – way, but one that promises to be no less fascinating. – JB
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