Critics were overheard to complain that the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) wasn’t the strongest festival in terms of breakouts, and it’s certainly true that this year the top titles were split between fall festivals, with New York still to unveil a few (Foe, for example).
A lot of the Venice headliners didn’t play TIFF (eg Poor Things), and while some Telluride films played at TIFF (The Holdovers, Nyad), others skipped (Saltburn). And critics do tend to criticise.
In reality, though, there was plenty to be excited about. See below for our critics’ top tips from the festival.
American Fiction
Dir. Cord Jefferson
Screen’s critic said: “Jefferson’s impressive debut is a portrait of a frustrated Black author played with relish by Jeffrey Wright.”
Contact: MRC
The Boy And The Heron (international premiere)
Dir. Hayao Miyazaki
Screen’s critic said: “Miyazaki’s long-awaited return to film-making is full of stunning images that vary from sublime to nightmarish.”
Contact: Goodfellas
The Burial
Dir. Maggie Betts
Screen’s critic said: “A barnstorming performance from Jamie Foxx (and sterling supporting work from his suits) drives this punchy and wildly entertaining courtroom drama.”
Contact: Amazon Studios
The Dead Don’t Hurt
Dir. Viggo Mortensen
Screen’s critic said: “Mortensen’s second as director is a Western starring Vicky Krieps which marks an ambitious step up in scope.”
Contact: HanWay Films
Dicks: The Musical
Dir. Larry Charles
Screen’s critic said: “Hoping to infuriate religious conservatives, homophobes and anyone else who might be easily offended, Dicks: The Musical is a very fun romp.”
Contact: A24
Dream Scenario
Dir. Kristoffer Borgli
Screen’s critic said: “Borgli’s Nicolas Cage-starrer is tailored for an A24 fanbase, who will devour this mordant contemporary comedy with midnight sensibilities.”
Contact: A24
Dumb Money
Dir. Craig Gillespie
Screen’s critic said: “Dumb Money is a snappy, entertaining picture that taps into a lingering resentment about how rigged the financial markets feel to many Americans.”
Contact: Black Bear
The Holdovers (premiered at Telluride)
Dir. Alexander Payne
Screen’s critic said: “Crushingly wistful in precisely the way moviegoers have come to expect from Payne.”
Contact: Universal Pictures
Lee
Dir. Ellen Kuras
Screen’s critic said: “Kate Winslet stars in a satisfyingly textured portrait of a remarkable and unusual woman.”
Contact: Rocket Science
One Life
Dir. James Hawes
Screen’s critic said: “The feature a layered performance from Anthony Hopkins as a man who keeps the past locked up tight.”
Contact: Film Nation, Rob Carney
The Peasants
Dirs/scr: DK Welchman, Hugh Welchman
Screen’s critic said: “Five years after earning an Oscar nomination for their film Loving Vincent, directors DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman deliver another truly impressive animated work.”
Contact: New Europe Film Sales
The Royal Hotel (premiered at Telluride)
Dir. Kitty Green
Screen’s critic said: “Kitty Green delivers a further devastating drama on toxic masculinity.”
Contact: HanWay Films
Seven Veils
Dir. Atom Egoyan
Screen’s critic said: “Appropriate considering the source material, this intense psychodrama about buried trauma and doomed romance demonstrates an unapologetic operatic flair which entrances and over-reaches in equal measure.”
Contact: XYZ Films
Shoshana
Dir. Michael Winterbottom
Screen’s critic said: “Winterbottom carefully recreates Tel Aviv in the 1930s, where much of the tensions that affect Israel today are starting to bubble over.”
Contact: Vision Distribution
Solo
Dir. Sophie Dupuis
Screen’s critic said: “Montreal’s drag scene comes under the spotlight in this affecting drama about a romance that turns sour.”
Contact: SND
The Teacher
Dir. Farah Nabulsi
Screen’s critic said: “A teacher in Palestine is forced to confront his violent past in this passionate but uneven debut.”
Contact: Goodfellas / US sales: CAA/ MENA sales: Front Row Filmed Entertainment
Together 99
Dir. Lukas Moodysson
Screen’s critic said: “Moodysson presents a tender sequel to his 2000 portrait of a Stockholm commune.”
Contact: REinvent
Unicorns
Dirs: Sally El Hosaini, James Krishna Floyd
Screen’s critic said: “Like wrapping yourself up in a beloved book, Unicorns takes you to a new place, returning you charmed and changed.”
Contact: CAA
Wicked Little Letters
Dir. Thea Sharrock
Screen’s critic said: “Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley re-unite to delightfully profane effect in this sweary comic twist on the cosy period drama.”
Contact: Studiocanal
Woman Of The Hour
Dir. Anna Kendrick
Screen’s critic said: “A tremendous directorial debut from Anna Kendrick in this true-life serial killer drama which takes unexpected twists and turns.”
Contact: AGC International
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