TIFF Interest List 2018
by Col Needham | created - 29 Aug 2018 | updated - 19 Dec 2021 | PublicThis is a list to track films I want to catch at The Toronto International Film Festival in 2018. As usual it is an excellent line-up and, starting with over 100 films, obviously no chance of catching all of these in 10 days, but I will try my best.
As I watch things they will be moved to this list.
The list is in alphabetical order after the opening film. My Top 20 picks can be found on this list.
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1. The Accused (2018)
TV-MA | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young student is the only one accused of the brutal murder of her best friend, a case that is excessively reported by the media. Cornered by the evidence, she must face her own doubts about what really happened.
Director: Gonzalo Tobal | Stars: Lali Espósito, Emilio Vodanovich, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Inés Estévez
Votes: 2,525
2. aKasha (2018)
78 min | Comedy, Romance
A Kasha is a universal offbeat love story set in a time of civil war - but the war is in Sudan and it is happening right now. We follow Adnan, an AK47-loving rebel, his long-suffering love ... See full summary »
Director: Hajooj Kuka | Stars: Abdallah Alnur, Ganja Chakado, Ekram Marcus, Kamal Ramadan
Votes: 71
3. Angel (2018)
105 min | Drama, Romance
Un Ange follows the encounter of a prostitute, Fae, and a world-famous athlete, Thierry.
Director: Koen Mortier | Stars: Vincent Rottiers, Fatou N'Diaye, Paul Bartel, Aïcha Cissé
Votes: 520
4. Aniara (2018)
R | 106 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
A spaceship carrying settlers to Mars is knocked off course, causing the consumption-obsessed passengers to consider their place in the universe.
Directors: Pella Kagerman, Hugo Lilja | Stars: Emelie Garbers, Bianca Cruzeiro, Arvin Kananian, Anneli Martini
Votes: 11,894 | Gross: $0.04M
5. Before the Frost (2018)
104 min | Drama
In 1800s Denmark, a farmer has a bad harvest and thus not enough food for his family. He makes a deal, that includes his farm and his daughter getting married, with a nearby rich farmer.
Director: Michael Noer | Stars: Jesper Christensen, Clara Rosager, Magnus Krepper, Ghita Nørby
Votes: 1,579
6. Blindsone (2018)
98 min | Drama
BLIND SPOT is a story about the grey zones in mental illness; the blind spots hard to discover, as experienced by a mother realizing her daughter struggling with far worse issues than she realized.
Director: Tuva Novotny | Stars: Pia Tjelta, Anders Baasmo, Per Frisch, Oddgeir Thune
Votes: 1,164
7. Cities of Last Things (2018)
TV-MA | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Sci-Fi
This is a story about a common man who has extraordinary events in his mundane life. The film depicts the protagonist's turns of events in three eras, three seasons, three nights, in the same city, as told with reverse chronology.
Director: Wi Ding Ho | Stars: Jack Kao, Hong-Chi Lee, Louise Grinberg, Ning Ding
Votes: 2,156
8. Clara (III) (2018)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
An obsessive astronomer and a curious artist form an unlikely bond which leads them to a profound, scientific discovery.
Director: Akash Sherman | Stars: Patrick J. Adams, Troian Bellisario, Ennis Esmer, Kristen Hager
Votes: 5,805
9. Climax (I) (2018)
R | 97 min | Drama, Horror, Music
French dancers gather in a remote, empty school building to rehearse on a wintry night. The all-night celebration morphs into a hallucinatory nightmare when they learn their sangria is laced with LSD.
Director: Gaspar Noé | Stars: Sofia Boutella, Romain Guillermic, Souheila Yacoub, Kiddy Smile
Votes: 79,356 | Gross: $0.80M
10. Complicity (2018)
116 min | Drama
A Chinese man moves illegally to Japan in order to improve his life and gain opportunity. He buys and assumes a false identity at considerable cost and is, therefore, more than happy to ... See full summary »
Director: Kei Chika-ura | Stars: Yulai Lü, Tatsuya Fuji, Sayo Akasaka, Yasuyuki Hayashi
Votes: 264
11. The Dig (2018)
Not Rated | 97 min | Thriller
After serving fifteen years for murder, Callahan returns home to find Sean, his victim's father searching for the body. Callahan soon realises that the only way to get rid of him is to help him dig.
Directors: Andy Tohill, Ryan Tohill | Stars: Moe Dunford, Emily Taaffe, Francis Magee, Lorcan Cranitch
Votes: 910
12. Donnybrook (2018)
R | 101 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Two men prepare to compete in a legendary bare-knuckle fight where the winner gets a $100,000 prize.
Director: Tim Sutton | Stars: Michael Agee, Adam Bartley, Jamie Bell, Chris Browning
Votes: 2,476 | Gross: $0.03M
13. El Angel (2018)
Not Rated | 118 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The angelic face of Carlos, a 17-year-old teenager, hides a dark facet of robberies, lies and murders.
Director: Luis Ortega | Stars: Lorenzo Ferro, Cecilia Roth, Luis Gnecco, Malena Villa
Votes: 11,548 | Gross: $0.09M
14. A Faithful Man (2018)
75 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A couple's relationship becomes complicated when she leaves him for his best friend, and returns after he dies.
Director: Louis Garrel | Stars: Louis Garrel, Laetitia Casta, Lily-Rose Depp, Joseph Engel
Votes: 4,343 | Gross: $0.06M
15. The Fall of the American Empire (2018)
R | 127 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A shy and insecure delivery truck driver accidentally arrives on the scene of a major crime and picks up two bags of cash and hides them. Only the help of a prostitute and a former biker released from jail might get him out of trouble.
Director: Denys Arcand | Stars: Alexandre Landry, Maripier Morin, Rémy Girard, Louis Morissette
Votes: 4,269 | Gross: $2.18M
16. Fig Tree (I) (2018)
93 min | Drama
16 year old Jewish Mina, is trying to navigate between a surreal routine dictated by the civil war in Ethiopia and her last days of youth with her Christian boyfriend Eli. When she ... See full summary »
Director: Aalam-Warqe Davidian | Stars: Mareta Getachew, Yohannes Musa, Weyenshiet Belachew, Rodas Gizaw
Votes: 153
17. Float Like a Butterfly (2018)
PG | 104 min | Drama, History, Sport
From the producers of "Once" and "Sing Street", "Float Like a Butterfly" is a powerful, timely story of a girl's fight for freedom and belonging. In a gender-reversal of the classic film "... See full summary »
Director: Carmel Winters | Stars: Hazel Doupe, Dara Devaney, Johnny Collins, Hilda Fay
Votes: 370
18. Florianópolis Dream (2018)
106 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A recently separated Argentinian couple, along with their two teenage children, go on a family vacation to Florianópolis, Brazil, where they become delightfully and problematically involved with the family from whom they rent a house.
Director: Ana Katz | Stars: Mercedes Morán, Gustavo Garzón, Manuela Martínez Morán, Joaquín Garzón
Votes: 569
19. Giant Little Ones (2018)
R | 93 min | Drama
Two popular teen boys, best friends since childhood, discover their lives, families, and girlfriends dramatically upended after an unexpected incident occurs on the night of a 17th birthday party.
Director: Keith Behrman | Stars: Josh Wiggins, Darren Mann, Taylor Hickson, Maria Bello
Votes: 9,770 | Gross: $0.18M
20. Girl (II) (2018)
R | 105 min | Drama
A promising teenage dancer enrolls at a prestigious ballet school while grappling with her gender dysphoria.
Director: Lukas Dhont | Stars: Victor Polster, Arieh Worthalter, Oliver Bodart, Tijmen Govaerts
Votes: 17,012
21. The Good Girls (2018)
TV-MA | 93 min | Drama
A well-to-do socialite and her husband must wrestle with the impact of Mexico's 1982 economic crisis.
Director: Alejandra Márquez Abella | Stars: Ilse Salas, Flavio Medina, Cassandra Ciangherotti, Paulina Gaitan
Votes: 2,044
22. The Great Darkened Days (2018)
95 min | Drama, History
While a world war rages, Philippe, a draft-dodger from Quebec, takes refuge in the American West, surviving by competing in Charlie Chaplin impersonation contests. As Philippe makes his ... See full summary »
Director: Maxime Giroux | Stars: Martin Dubreuil, Romain Duris, Reda Kateb, Sarah Gadon
Votes: 514
23. Hidden Man (2018)
137 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A young swordsman in 1930's China returns home to try and solve a five-year-old murder case. Described as the third installment of the gangster trilogy that includes "Let The Bullets Fly" and "Gone With The Bullets."
Director: Wen Jiang | Stars: Eddie Peng, Fan Liao, Yun Zhou, Qing Xu
Votes: 2,573
24. Husband Material (2018)
Not Rated | 156 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A love triangle between a spirited young woman, her outgoing boyfriend and a fiance who's husband material.
Director: Anurag Kashyap | Stars: Taapsee Pannu, Abhishek Bachchan, Vicky Kaushal, Jasmin Bajwa
Votes: 9,212 | Gross: $0.57M
25. Icebox (2018)
TV-14 | 88 min | Drama
A young boy becomes trapped inside America's rigid immigration process. (Feature adaptation of the 2016 short film, "Icebox.")
Director: Daniel Sawka | Stars: Genesis Rodriguez, Carrie Lazar, Sarah Minnich, Anthony Gonzalez
Votes: 821
26. Jirga (2018)
Not Rated | 78 min | Drama, War
Former Australian soldier, Mike Wheeler, returns to Afghanistan, seeking redemption from the family of a civilian man he killed during the war.
Director: Benjamin Gilmour | Stars: Sam Smith, Mohammad Mosam, Kefayat Lag Humani, Naqibullah Khan Shinwari
Votes: 433
27. I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians (2018)
140 min | Comedy, Drama
An artist commissioned to stage a re-enactment of a Romanian war battle receives pushback from producers for including a realistic portrayal of her country's treatment of Jews during WWII.
Director: Radu Jude | Stars: Ioana Iacob, Alex Bogdan, Alexandru Dabija, Ion Rizea
Votes: 1,996 | Gross: $0.01M
28. Jessica Forever (2018)
Not Rated | 97 min | Drama, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
In a dystopian world where violent misfits reign supreme, one woman and her makeshift family of rehabilitated marauders fight for peace.
Directors: Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel | Stars: Aomi Muyock, Sebastian Urzendowsky, Augustin Raguenet, Lukas Ionesco
Votes: 1,042
29. Les salopes ou le sucre naturel de la peau (2018)
97 min | Drama
Revealing women, showing men Dermatology professor Marie-Claire is embarking on a new project linking skin cells and sexuality, when unexpected events disrupt her professional, family and intimate life.
Director: Renée Beaulieu | Stars: Brigitte Poupart, Vincent Leclerc, Nathalie Cavezzali, Normand D'Amour
Votes: 287
30. Look at Me (2018)
96 min | Drama, Family
A Tunisian immigrant has to return home when his wife has a stroke.
Director: Néjib Belkadhi | Stars: Nidhal Saadi, Idryss Kharroubi, Saoussen Maalej, Aziz Jebali
Votes: 160
31. Let Me Fall (2018)
136 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Drawing on true stories and interviews with the families of addicts, this harrowing portrait of addiction follows Stella and Magnea through the decades as precarious teenage years morph into perilous adulthoods.
Director: Baldvin Zophoníasson | Stars: Elín Hall, Eyrún Björk Jakobsdóttir, Lára Jóhanna Jónsdóttir, Kristín Lea
Votes: 1,036
32. Manto (2018)
112 min | Biography, Drama
The film is a biographical account of writer Saadat Hasan Manto's life and is set in 1940s India.
Director: Nandita Das | Stars: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Rasika Dugal, Tahir Raj Bhasin, Nazma Ali Shaikh
Votes: 4,684
33. Lady J (2018)
TV-14 | 109 min | Drama, Romance
Fooled by a notorious libertine, a widow plans her revenge.
Director: Emmanuel Mouret | Stars: Cécile de France, Edouard Baer, Alice Isaaz, Natalia Dontcheva
Votes: 3,939
34. Loro 1 (2018)
104 min | Biography, Drama
A film about the life of Silvio Berlusconi.
Director: Paolo Sorrentino | Stars: Toni Servillo, Elena Sofia Ricci, Riccardo Scamarcio, Kasia Smutniak
Votes: 5,305
35. The Mercy of the Jungle (2018)
91 min | Crime, Drama, War
The Mercy of the jungle is a road movie that deals with wars in Congo through the eyes of two lost soldiers in the jungle by showcasing their struggle, weakness and hope.
Director: Joël Karekezi | Stars: Abby Mukiibi Nkaaga, Cédrick Mbongo Mbulu, Nsereko Mazinga Henry, Ibrahim Ahmed
Votes: 298
36. A Million Little Pieces (2018)
R | 113 min | Drama
A drug-dependent young man faces his past and his inner demons after he is interned in an institution for the addicted.
Director: Sam Taylor-Johnson | Stars: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton, Odessa Young, Giovanni Ribisi
Votes: 4,211
37. Museo (2018)
128 min | Crime, Drama
In 1985, a group of criminals mock the security of the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City to extract 140 pre-Hispanic pieces from their showcases.
Director: Alonso Ruizpalacios | Stars: Gael García Bernal, Leonardo Ortizgris, Alfredo Castro, Simon Russell Beale
Votes: 5,968 | Gross: $0.15M
38. Mothers' Instinct (2018)
97 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
When a sudden tragedy uproots the lives of two women and their families, they begin to question the relationships they once held so dear, in this psychological thriller from Olivier Masset-Depass.
Director: Olivier Masset-Depasse | Stars: Veerle Baetens, Anne Coesens, Mehdi Nebbou, Arieh Worthalter
Votes: 1,929
39. Nekrotronic (2018)
R | 99 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
A man discovers that he is part of a secret sect of magical beings who hunt down and destroy demons in the Internet.
Director: Kiah Roache-Turner | Stars: Ben O'Toole, Monica Bellucci, Caroline Ford, Tess Haubrich
Votes: 3,797
40. Mouthpiece (2018)
91 min | Drama
Cassandra, who is portrayed by the two women, expresses the opposing voices that exist inside the modern woman's head, during a 48-hour period as she tries to organize the affairs for her mother's funeral.
Director: Patricia Rozema | Stars: Amy Nostbakken, Norah Sadava, Maev Beaty, Taylor Belle
Votes: 572
41. One Last Deal (2018)
95 min | Drama
An elderly art dealer investigates the history behind an unsigned painting that promises to bring his suffering career to a successful end.
Director: Klaus Härö | Stars: Heikki Nousiainen, Pirjo Lonka, Amos Brotherus, Stefan Sauk
Votes: 1,806
42. The Other Story (2018)
Not Rated | 112 min | Drama
Two rebellious young women - one fleeing the chaos of secular hedonism for the disciplined comforts of faith; the other desperate to transcend her oppressive religious cross paths unexpectedly in Jerusalem, to startling consequences.
Director: Avi Nesher | Stars: Sasson Gabay, Joy Rieger, Yuval Segal, Maya Dagan
Votes: 417 | Gross: $0.13M
43. Our Time (2018)
Not Rated | 177 min | Drama
A family lives in the Mexican countryside raising fighting bulls. Esther is in charge of running the ranch, while her husband Juan, a world-renowned poet, raises and selects the beasts. ... See full summary »
Director: Carlos Reygadas | Stars: Natalia López, Phil Burgers, Carlos Reygadas, Yago Martínez
Votes: 2,051 | Gross: $0.01M
44. Føniks (2018)
85 min | Drama
From a young age, Jill has acted as the responsible adult in her small family. She cares for her loving but mentally unstable mother and her younger brother. The news that their estranged ... See full summary »
Director: Camilla Strøm Henriksen | Stars: Ylva Bjørkaas Thedin, Maria Bonnevie, Sverrir Gudnason, Casper Falck-Løvås
Votes: 303
45. Quién te cantará (2018)
125 min | Drama, Music, Mystery
When Lila, a celebrated but fame-weary and amnesiac singer forgets how to perform, super-fan Violeta steps in to teach Lila how to be Lila once again.
Director: Carlos Vermut | Stars: Najwa Nimri, Eva Llorach, Carme Elias, Natalia de Molina
Votes: 3,354
46. The Candidate (2018)
132 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A Spanish politician whose high-class lifestyle is based on nefarious and illegal business threatens to break his entire party after a newspaper exposes him to the public eye.
Director: Rodrigo Sorogoyen | Stars: Antonio de la Torre, Mónica López, Josep Maria Pou, Bárbara Lennie
Votes: 9,438
47. Roads in February (2018)
84 min | Drama
Driven by childhood memories and the hope of a re-encounter, Sarah visits her paternal grandmother in her village in Uruguay. She takes long to understand the prevailing unease - But she is... See full summary »
Director: Katherine Jerkovic | Stars: Arlen Aguayo Stewart, Gloria Demassi, Mathias Perdigón, Cecilia Baranda
Votes: 107
48. Sew the Winter to My Skin (2018)
132 min | Action, Adventure
In a racially-charged and violent 1950's rural South Africa, a liberal journalist recounts the epic chase, edge-of-your-seat capture and intriguing trial of a flamboyant, native "Robin Hood... See full summary »
Director: Jahmil X.T. Qubeka | Stars: Ezra Mabengeza, Peter Kurth, Kandyse McClure, Zolisa Xaluva
Votes: 168
49. Splinters (2018)
94 min | Drama
After the death of her father, a young woman must come to terms with her strained relationship with her mother.
Director: Thom Fitzgerald | Stars: Simon Mutabazi, Shelley Thompson, Sofia Banzhaf, Bailey Maughan
Votes: 47
50. The Standoff at Sparrow Creek (2018)
Unrated | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A former cop-turned-militia man investigates a shooting at a police funeral.
Director: Henry Dunham | Stars: James Badge Dale, Chris Mulkey, Brian Geraghty, Robert Aramayo
Votes: 4,574
51. Styx (I) (2018)
Not Rated | 94 min | Action, Crime, Drama
"Styx" depicts the transformation of a strong woman torn from her contented world during a sailing trip.
Director: Wolfgang Fischer | Stars: Susanne Wolff, Gedion Oduor Wekesa, Kelvin Mutuku Ndinda, Inga Birkenfeld
Votes: 3,411 | Gross: $0.07M
52. Stupid Young Heart (2018)
102 min | Drama
A teenage couple deals with an unexpected pregnancy while racial tensions mount in their neighborhood.
Director: Selma Vilhunen | Stars: Jere Ristseppä, Rosa Honkonen, Ville Haapasalo, Abshir Sheik Nur
Votes: 951
53. That Time of Year (2018)
101 min | Comedy, Drama
Deep-rooted grievances can rip families apart--and the ties that bind them together.
Director: Paprika Steen | Stars: Paprika Steen, Jacob Lohmann, Mikas Maximus Dalhoff Christiansen, Fanny Leander Bornedal
Votes: 1,635
54. Through Black Spruce (2018)
111 min | Adventure, Drama, Mystery
The disappearance of a young Cree woman in Toronto traumatizes her Northern Ontario family, and sends her twin sister on a journey south to find her.
Director: Don McKellar | Stars: Tanaya Beatty, Brandon Oakes, Kiowa Gordon, Tina Keeper
Votes: 736
55. Touch Me Not (I) (2018)
Not Rated | 123 min | Drama
Together, a filmmaker and her characters venture into a personal research project about intimacy. On the fluid border between reality and fiction, Touch Me Not follows the emotional journeys of Laura, Tómas and Christian, offering a deeply empathic insight into their lives.
Director: Adina Pintilie | Stars: Laura Benson, Tómas Lemarquis, Christian Bayerlein, Grit Uhlemann
Votes: 3,029 | Gross: $0.01M
56. Transit (I) (2018)
Not Rated | 101 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
A man attempting to escape occupied France falls in love with the wife of a dead author whose identity he has assumed.
Director: Christian Petzold | Stars: Franz Rogowski, Paula Beer, Godehard Giese, Lilien Batman
Votes: 11,851 | Gross: $0.82M
57. Ulysses & Mona (2018)
82 min | Comedy, Drama
Ulysses, a secluded artist who mysteriously retired a few years ago, meets Mona, a young art student full of life. The encounter will change them both.
Director: Sébastien Betbeder | Stars: Manal Issa, Eric Cantona, Mathis Romani, Marie Vialle
Votes: 201
58. Vision (I) (2018)
109 min | Drama
Frenchwoman Joan is a world traveller and chronicler. She travels, sees, experience and writes. She lands in the forest and hills near Nara, Japan and meets Satoshi. Despite the mysterious ... See full summary »
Director: Naomi Kawase | Stars: Juliette Binoche, Masatoshi Nagase, Takanori Iwata, Minami
Votes: 856
59. The Weekend (IV) (2018)
R | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A comedian goes away for the weekend with an ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend.
Director: Stella Meghie | Stars: Sasheer Zamata, Tone Bell, DeWanda Wise, Kym Whitley
Votes: 705
60. The Wild Pear Tree (2018)
188 min | Drama
An unpublished writer returns to his hometown after graduating, where he seeks sponsors to publish his book while dealing with his father's deteriorating indulgence into gambling.
Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Stars: Dogu Demirkol, Murat Cemcir, Bennu Yildirimlar, Hazar Ergüçlü
Votes: 27,869 | Gross: $0.03M
61. Kona fer í stríð (2018)
Not Rated | 101 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Halla becomes a determined environmental activist, but this threatens a long-held hope of hers.
Director: Benedikt Erlingsson | Stars: Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir, Jóhann Sigurðarson, Juan Camilo Román Estrada, Jörundur Ragnarsson
Votes: 11,300 | Gross: $0.85M
62. Working Woman (2018)
93 min | Drama
Life at work becomes unbearable for Orna. Her boss appreciates and promotes her, while making inappropriate advances. Her husband struggles to keep his new restaurant afloat, and Orna ... See full summary »
Director: Michal Aviad | Stars: Liron Ben-Shlush, Menashe Noy, Oshri Cohen, Corinne Hayat
Votes: 591 | Gross: $0.06M
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