Yesterday we took a look at some of this year's award hopefuls making their world premieres at TIFF 2019. Today we switch gears and preview a few of the hits from past fests continuing their runs at Toronto.
Joker
This very dark take on the super villain genre debuted to huge fanfare at Venice last month. It stars Joaquin Phoenix as the eponymous baddie and already has plenty of awards buzz for him and The Hangover director Todd Phillips. Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, and Shea Whigham co-star.
Galas
The Lighthouse
Robert Eggers' highly anticipated follow-up to The Witch made its debut at Cannes where it found all kinds of fans of its stylish insanity. It stars Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe as two lighthouse keepers on a desolate rock. A24 is bringing it to screens soon.
Special Presentations
Waves
The awards buzz has been pulsing for the third feature from Krisha and It Comes at Night director Trey Edward Shults. It follows one family as its sports-star eldest son starts to spiral out of control. A24 will be putting its muscle behind this one for sure.
Special Presentations
Les Misérables
Ladj Ly borrowed the title of the Victor Hugo classic to tell this tale set in the modern day Parisian neighborhood of Hugo's birth. The racially-tinged story of hard nose cops and the streets they terrorize/protect was a hit at Cannes and will be released by Amazon.
Contemporary World Cinema
The Australian Dream
The Game of Their Lives director Daniel Gordon turns from footie to Aussie Rules footie in this documentary about indigenous rights activist and footballer Adam Goodes.
TIFF Docs
The Painted Bird
This stylized story of a Jewish boy wandering Europe during World War II received raves from its debut in Venice.
Special Presentations
The Long Walk
Dearest Sister director Mattie Do returns with this Venice Days-premiering story of a man haunted by the spirit of a woman he saw die. It's Executive Produced by our own Todd Brown.
Contemporary World Cinema
The Aeronauts
Director Tom Harper made a big splash with his 2018 festival debuting Wild Rose. His follow-up is a very different film, a Victorian-era hot air balloon thriller that re-teams Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. Amazon will be putting it out this year.
Galas
Deerskin
Jean Dujardin stars in this weird one from a director quite well known for his weird ones (Rubber and Wrong director Quentin Dupieux). It premiered at Directors Fortnight in Cannes.
Special Presentations
The Climb
Michael Angelo Covino and co-writer/co-star/best pal Kyle Marvin adapted this award-wining brotastic short into a fantastic Cannes-premiering comedy. Sony Pictures Classics is releasing.
Contemporary World Cinema
To the Ends of the Earth
The latest from Pulse and Tokyo Sonata director Kiyoshi Kurosawa is the story of a Japanese TV-show host on location in Uzbekistan on a journey of self-discovery. It premiered at Locarno.
Masters
Uncut Gems
The latest from the Safdie Brothers (Good Time, Heaven Knows What) is another pulse-pounding New York City thriller. It stars Adam Sandler, Julia Fox, Lakeith Stanfield, Idina Menzel, and Kevin Garnett.
Special Presentations
No. 7 Cherry Lane
Peony Pavillion director Yonfan turns to animation in this 1960s Hong Kong-set love triangle drama.
Special Presentations
Citizen K
Alex Gibney's latest tells the tragic tale of anti-Putin billionaire-turned-martyr Mikhail Khodorkovsky. It premiered at Venice.
TIFF Docs
Mosul
This feature directorial debut for big budget writer Matthew Michael Carnahan (The Kingdom, Deepwater Horizon) is an actioner set in Syria in 2016.
Special Presentations
The Laundromat
Steven Soderbergh's Netflix-produced Panama Papers feature stars Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, and Antonio Banderas and made its debut at Venice.
Special Presentations
The Truth
The first English language feature from the Japanese master director of The Shoplifters and Like Father, Like Son, Hirokazu Kore-eda, stars Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche, and Ethan Hawke. It will be released by IFC Films.
Special Presentations