Toronto International Film Festival 2018
This is a list of movies from TIFF 2018 which I have seen, using my TIFF Interest List as the source and listed in chronological viewing order. I saw titles #1-11 before the festival in other locations, and then #12-41 in Toronto itself. Post-festival screenings will start at #42 ... the answer to life, the universe and everything!
My TIFF Recommendations List is also available.
My TIFF Recommendations List is also available.
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92 titles
- DirectorWash WestmorelandStarsKeira KnightleyFiona ShawDominic WestColette is pushed by her husband to write novels under his name. Upon their success, she fights to make her talents known, challenging gender norms.Seen at Sundance 2018
- DirectorPaul DanoStarsEd OxenbouldJake GyllenhaalCarey MulliganA teenage boy must deal with his mother's complicated response after his father temporarily abandons them to take a menial and dangerous job.Seen at Sundance 2018
- DirectorElizabeth ChomkoStarsHilary SwankMichael ShannonRobert ForsterBridget returns home at her brother's urging to deal with her ailing mother and her father's reluctance to let go of their life together.Seen at Sundance 2018
- DirectorSara ColangeloStarsMaggie GyllenhaalGael García BernalAto Blankson-WoodA kindergarten teacher in New York becomes obsessed with one of her students who she believes is a child prodigy.Seen at Sundance 2018
- DirectorSam LevinsonStarsOdessa YoungAbraSuki WaterhouseAfter a malicious data hack exposes the secrets of the perpetually American town of Salem, chaos descends and four girls must fight to survive, while coping with the hack themselves.Seen at Sundance 2018
- DirectorReinaldo Marcus GreenStarsJohn David WashingtonAnthony RamosKelvin Harrison Jr.The aftermath of a police killing of a black man, told through the eyes of the bystander who filmed the act, an African-American police officer and a high-school baseball phenom inspired to take a stand.Seen at Sundance 2018
- DirectorEva HussonStarsGolshifteh FarahaniEmmanuelle BercotZübeyde BulutA Kurdish female battalion prepares to take back their town from extremists.Seen at Cannes 2018
- DirectorAsghar FarhadiStarsPenélope CruzJavier BardemRicardo DarínLaura, a Spanish woman living in Buenos Aires, returns to her hometown outside Madrid with her two children to attend her sister's wedding. However, the trip is upset by unexpected events that bring secrets into the open.Seen at Cannes 2018
- DirectorPawel PawlikowskiStarsJoanna KuligTomasz KotBorys SzycIn the 1950s, a music director falls in love with a singer and tries to persuade her to flee communist Poland for France.Seen at Cannes 2018
- DirectorJafar PanahiStarsBehnaz JafariJafar PanahiMarziyeh RezaeiThree actresses at different stages of their career. One from before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, one popular star of today known throughout the country, and a young girl longing to attend a drama conservatory.Seen at Cannes 2018
- DirectorKore-eda HirokazuStarsLily FrankySakura AndôKirin KikiOn the margins of Tokyo, a dysfunctional band of outsiders are united by loyalty, a penchant for petty theft and playful grifting. When the young son is arrested, secrets are exposed that upend their tenuous, below-the-radar existence.Seen at Cannes 2018
- DirectorMatteo GarroneStarsMarcello FonteEdoardo PesceNunzia SchianoA timid dog groomer living in a poor suburb sells cocaine on the side and stays out of trouble, while trying to deal with his unstable, violent acquaintance who is a menace to the whole neighborhood.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsChao DengLi SunRyan ZhengIn a Chinese royal court, an army commander secretly trains a "shadow" to retake a city against the wishes of the king.
- DirectorDavid MackenzieStarsChris PineStephen DillaneRebecca RobinA true David vs. Goliath story of how the 14th century Scottish 'Outlaw King' Robert the Bruce used cunning and bravery to defeat the much larger and better equipped occupying English army.
- DirectorMax MinghellaStarsElle FanningAgnieszka GrochowskaArchie MadekweA shy teenager dreams of escaping her small town and pursuing her passion to sing. She enters a local singing competition that will test her integrity, talent and ambition. A spin on the Cinderella story.
- DirectorTom DonahueStarsReese WitherspoonMira NairShonda RhimesAn investigative look and analysis of gender disparity in Hollywood, featuring accounts from well-known actors, executives and artists in the Industry.
- DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsAnders Danielsen LieJonas Strand GravliJon ØigardenA three-part story of Norway's worst terrorist attack in which over seventy people were killed. 22 July looks at the disaster itself, the survivors, Norway's political system and the lawyers who worked on this horrific case.
- DirectorDan FogelmanStarsOscar IsaacOlivia WildeAnnette BeningAs a young New York City couple goes from college romance to marriage and the birth of their first child, the unexpected twists of their journey create reverberations that echo over continents and through lifetimes.
- DirectorBradley CooperStarsLady GagaBradley CooperSam ElliottA musician helps a young singer find fame as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.
- DirectorMaryam KeshavarzStarsSusan SarandonMatt BomerLola KirkeA war correspondent gets taken hostage while on assignment, prompting his mother, impatient with the government's lack of concern, to take matters into her own hands.
- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsRyan GoslingClaire FoyJason ClarkeA look at the life of the astronaut, Neil Armstrong, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the Moon on July 20, 1969.
- DirectorTom HarperStarsJessie BuckleyMatt CostelloJane PattersonA troubled young Glaswegian woman dreams of becoming a Nashville country star.
- DirectorXavier DolanStarsKit HaringtonNatalie PortmanJacob TremblayA decade after the death of an American television star, a young actor reminisces about the written correspondence he shared with him, as well as the impact those letters had on both their lives.
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsMatthias SchoenaertsLéa SeydouxPeter SimonischekThe 2000 K-141 Kursk submarine disaster is followed by governmental negligence. As the sailors fight for survival, their families desperately battle political obstacles and impossible odds to save them.
- DirectorKaryn KusamaStarsNicole KidmanToby KebbellTatiana MaslanyA police detective reconnects with people from an undercover assignment in her distant past in order to make peace.
- DirectorChanya ButtonStarsGemma ArtertonElizabeth DebickiIsabella RosselliniThe fascinating true story of the love affair between socialite and popular author Vita Sackville-West and literary icon Virginia Woolf.
- DirectorDominga SotomayorStarsDemian HernándezAntar MachadoMagdalena TótoroDuring the summer of 1990 in Chile, people begin to feel a growing sense of freedom and three teenagers face their first loves and fears.
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsYalitza AparicioMarina de TaviraDiego Cortina AutreyA year in the life of a middle-class family's maid in Mexico City in the early 1970s.
- DirectorBrady CorbetStarsNatalie PortmanJude LawStacy MartinAn unusual set of circumstances brings unexpected success to a pop star.
- DirectorLee Chang-dongStarsYoo Ah-inSteven YeunJeon Jong-seoJong-su bumps into a girl who used to live in the same neighborhood, who asks him to look after her cat while she's on a trip to Africa. When back, she introduces Ben, a mysterious guy she met there, who confesses his secret hobby.
- DirectorVeena SudStarsPeter SarsgaardMireille EnosJoey KingA father and daughter are on their way to dance camp when they spot the girl's best friend on the side of the road. When they stop to offer the friend a ride, their good intentions soon result in terrible consequences.
- DirectorPeter FarrellyStarsViggo MortensenMahershala AliLinda CardelliniA working-class Italian-American bouncer becomes the driver for an African-American classical pianist on a tour of venues through the 1960s American South.
- DirectorYann DemangeStarsMatthew McConaugheyRichie MerrittBel PowleyThe story of teenager Richard Wershe Jr., who became an undercover informant for the FBI during the 1980s and was ultimately arrested for drug-trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.
- DirectorJonah HillStarsSunny SuljicKatherine WaterstonLucas HedgesFollows Stevie, a thirteen-year-old in 1990s-era Los Angeles who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop.
- DirectorPaddy BreathnachStarsSarah GreeneMolly McCannDarragh MckenzieThe story of a mother trying to protect her family after their landlord sells their rented home and they become homeless.
- DirectorJoel EdgertonStarsLucas HedgesNicole KidmanJoel EdgertonThe son of a Baptist preacher unwillingly participates in a church-supported gay conversion program after being forcibly outed to his parents.
- DirectorMike LeighStarsRory KinnearMaxine PeakeNeil BellThe story of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre in which British forces attacked a peaceful pro-democracy rally in Manchester.
- DirectorJustin KellyStarsKristen StewartLaura DernJim SturgessA young woman named Savannah Knoop spends six years pretending to be the celebrated author JT LeRoy, the made-up literary persona of her sister-in-law.
- DirectorMia Hansen-LøveStarsRoman KolinkaAarshi BanerjeeAlex DescasThe film follows a 30-year-old man named Gabriel, a French war reporter who was taken to hostage in Syria and then heads to India after months in captivity.
- DirectorNicole HolofcenerStarsBen MendelsohnNatalie GoldThomas MannAfter leaving his wife and his job to find happiness, Anders befriends a drug-addicted teen, sending him down a path of reckless and shameful behavior.
- DirectorZach LipovskyAdam B. SteinStarsEmile HirschBruce DernGrace ParkA bold girl discovers a bizarre, threatening, and mysterious new world beyond her front door after she escapes her father's protective and paranoid control.
- DirectorJacques AudiardStarsJohn C. ReillyJoaquin PhoenixJake GyllenhaalEli and Charlie Sisters, an infamous duo of gunslinging assassins, chase a gold prospector and his unexpected ally in 1850s Oregon.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsJim AcostaRoger AilesBrooke BaldwinFilmmaker Michael Moore examines the current state of American politics, particularly the Donald Trump presidency and gun violence, while highlighting the power of grassroots democratic movements.
- DirectorJeremy SaulnierStarsJeffrey WrightAlexander SkarsgårdJames Badge DaleAfter the deaths of three children suspected to be killed by wolves, writer Russell Core is hired by the mother of a missing six-year-old boy to track down and locate her son in the Alaskan wilderness.
- DirectorShane BlackStarsBoyd HolbrookTrevante RhodesJacob TremblayWhen a young boy accidentally triggers the universe's most lethal hunters' return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled scientist can prevent the end of the human race.
- DirectorSteve McQueenStarsViola DavisMichelle RodriguezElizabeth DebickiFour women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities take fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms.
- DirectorRyûsuke HamaguchiStarsMasahiro HigashideErika KarataSairi ItôAsako lives in Osaka. She falls in love with Baku, a free-spirit. One day, Baku suddenly disappears. Two years later, Asako now lives in Tokyo and meets Ryohei. He looks just like Baku, but has a completely different personality.
- DirectorAli AbbasiStarsEva MelanderEero MilonoffJörgen ThorssonA customs officer who can smell fear develops an unusual attraction to a strange traveler while aiding a police investigation which will call into question her entire existence.
- DirectorDavid LoweryStarsRobert RedfordCasey AffleckSissy SpacekBased on the true story of Forrest Tucker and his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 to an unprecedented string of heists that confounded authorities and enchanted the public.
- DirectorFelix van GroeningenStarsSteve CarellMaura TierneyJack Dylan GrazerBased on the best-selling pair of memoirs from father and son David and Nic Sheff, Beautiful Boy chronicles the heartbreaking and inspiring experience of survival, relapse and recovery in a family coping with addiction over many years.
- DirectorCarol MorleyStarsMamie GummerToby JonesBri CollinsWhen Detective Mike Hoolihan is called to investigate the shooting of leading astrophysicist and black hole expert, Jennifer Rockwell, she is affected in ways she struggles to comprehend.
- DirectorJason ReitmanStarsHugh JackmanVera FarmigaJ.K. SimmonsIn 1987, U.S. Senator Gary Hart's presidential campaign is derailed when he's caught in a scandalous love affair.
- DirectorLászló NemesStarsJuli JakabVlad IvanovEvelin DobosA young girl grows up to become a strong and fearless woman in Budapest before World War I.
- DirectorNadine LabakiStarsZain Al RafeeaYordanos ShiferawBoluwatife Treasure BankoleWhile serving a five-year sentence for a violent crime, a 12-year-old boy sues his parents for neglect.
- DirectorPeter StricklandStarsSidse Babett KnudsenMarianne Jean-BaptisteJulian BarrattIn Fabric is a haunting ghost story set against the backdrop of a busy winter sales period in a department store and follows the life of a cursed dress as it passes from person to person, with devastating consequences.
- DirectorMarielle HellerStarsMelissa McCarthyRichard E. GrantDolly WellsWhen Lee Israel falls out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception.
- DirectorBarry JenkinsStarsKiKi LayneStephan JamesRegina KingA young woman embraces her pregnancy while she and her family set out to prove her childhood friend and lover innocent of a crime he didn't commit.
- DirectorMatthew HeinemanStarsRosamund PikeAlexandra MoenTom HollanderOne of the most celebrated war correspondents of our time, Marie Colvin is an utterly fearless and rebellious spirit, driven to the frontline of conflicts across the globe to give voice to the voiceless.
- DirectorDavid Gordon GreenStarsJamie Lee CurtisJudy GreerAndi MatichakLaurie Strode confronts her long-time foe, Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.
- DirectorGeorge Tillman Jr.StarsAmandla StenbergRegina HallRussell HornsbyStarr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Now, facing pressure from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and stand up for what's right.
- DirectorWanuri KahiuStarsSamantha MugatsiaNeville MisatiNice Githinji"Good Kenyan girls become good Kenyan wives," but Kena and Ziki long for something more. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced to choose between happiness and safety.
- DirectorSébastien PiloteStarsKarelle TremblayPierre-Luc BrillantFrançois PapineauA frustrated teenager frees herself from her mother's influence and her narrow life in a small industrial town to find out who she really is.
- DirectorCristina GallegoCiro GuerraStarsCarmiña MartínezJosé AcostaNatalia ReyesDuring the marijuana bonanza, a violent decade that saw the origins of drug trafficking in Colombia, Rapayet and his indigenous family get involved in a war to control the business that ends up destroying their lives and their culture.
- DirectorZhangke JiaStarsTao ZhaoFan LiaoZheng XuA story of violent love within a time frame spanning from 2001 to 2017.
- DirectorMarkus SchleinzerStarsMakita SambaAlba RohrwacherLarisa FaberIn early 18th century an African slave boy is chosen by a European Comtesse to be baptized and educated. Reaching adulthood, Angelo achieves prominence and becomes the Viennese court mascot until he decides to secretly marry a white woman.
- DirectorPeter HedgesStarsJulia RobertsLucas HedgesCourtney B. VanceA drug addicted teenage boy shows up unexpectedly at his family's home on Christmas Eve.
- DirectorJimmy ChinElizabeth Chai VasarhelyiStarsAlex HonnoldTommy CaldwellJimmy ChinAlex Honnold faces the biggest challenge of his career, climbing El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. He pursues it Free Solo, which means climbing without a rope and alone.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsIsabelle HuppertChloë Grace MoretzMaika MonroeA young woman befriends a lonely widow who's harboring a dark and deadly agenda toward her.
- DirectorAnnabel JankelStarsBilly BoydGregor SelkirkAnna PaquinIn 1950s small town Britain, a doctor develops a relationship with her young patient's mother.
- DirectorJohn ButlerStarsMatt BomerAlejandro PatiñoElena Campbell-MartinezA lonely TV weatherman strikes up an unusual friendship with a middle-aged Latino migrant worker.
- DirectorGuy NattivStarsJamie BellDanielle MacdonaldDaniel HenshallA destitute young man, raised by racist skinheads and notorious among white supremacists, turns his back on hatred and violence to transform his life, with the help of a black activist and the woman he loves.
- DirectorNick HammStarsJason SudeikisLee PaceJudy GreerIntense thriller where politics, big business and narcotics collide.
- DirectorJasmin MozaffariStarsMichaela KurimskyKarena EvansCallum ThompsonA teenage girl and her friend run into problems when they plan to leave town.
- DirectorAmma AsanteStarsTom Goodman-HillAbbie CornishAmandla StenbergA rites of passage story of a bi-racial teen struggling for survival in Nazi Germany.
- DirectorSebastián LelioStarsJulianne MooreJohn TurturroCaren PistoriusA free-spirited woman in her 50s seeks out love at L.A. dance clubs.
- DirectorAnthony MarasStarsDev PatelArmie HammerNazanin BoniadiThe true story of the Taj Hotel terrorist attack in Mumbai. Hotel staff risk their lives to keep everyone safe as people make unthinkable sacrifices to protect themselves and their families.
- DirectorFlorian Henckel von DonnersmarckStarsTom SchillingSebastian KochPaula BeerGerman artist Kurt Barnert has escaped East Germany and now lives in West Germany, but is tormented by his childhood under the Nazis and the GDR-regime.
- DirectorWilliam McGregorStarsEleanor Worthington-CoxJodie InnesKobna Holdbrook-SmithA folk tale set in the hills of Wales during the industrial revolution.
- DirectorJake ScottStarsSienna MillerSky FerreiraKentucker AudleyA woman raises her young grandson after her daughter goes missing.
- DirectorAdewale Akinnuoye-AgbajeStarsLeke AdebayoAdemola AdedoyinAdejola AdeyemiBased on the writer/director's childhood, FARMING tells story of a young Nigerian boy, 'farmed out' by his parents to a white British family in the hope of a better future. Instead, he joins a white skinhead gang.
- DirectorAlex Ross PerryStarsElisabeth MossCara DelevingneDan StevensA self-destructive punk rocker struggles with sobriety while trying to recapture the creative inspiration that led her band to success.
- DirectorClaire DenisStarsRobert PattinsonJuliette BinocheAndré 3000A father and his daughter struggle to survive in deep space where they live in isolation.
- DirectorKim NguyenStarsJesse EisenbergAlexander SkarsgårdSalma HayekA pair of high-frequency traders go up against their old boss in an effort to make millions in a fiber-optic cable deal.
- DirectorWerner HerzogAndré SingerStarsMikhail GorbachevWerner HerzogAndré SingerThe life of Mikhail Gorbachev, the eighth and final President of the Soviet Union in chronological order.
- DirectorTrevor NunnStarsJudi DenchSophie CooksonStephen Campbell MooreThe story of Joan Stanley, who was exposed as the K.G.B.'s longest-serving British spy.
- DirectorAsh MayfairStarsHong Chuong NguyenLong Le VuNu Yên-Khê TranIn 19th century rural Vietnam, May is ready to become the third wife of a wealthy landowner. Little does she know that her hidden desires will force her to decide between living in safety and being free.
- DirectorMichael WinterbottomStarsDev PatelRadhika ApteJim SarbhA story centered on a mysterious British Muslim man (Dev Patel) on his journey across Pakistan and India.
- DirectorEmma TammiStarsCaitlin GerardJulia Goldani TellesAshley ZukermanA plains-woman faces the harshness and isolation of the untamed land in the Western frontier of the late 1800s.
- StarsTilda SwintonAdjoa AndohJane FondaA documentary that spans 13 decades and five continents to give a guided tour of the art and craft of movies as told by female filmmakers.
- DirectorMiranda de PencierStarsJack AnawakFred BaileySeth BurkeIn a small Arctic town struggling with the highest suicide rate in North America, a group of Inuit students' lives are transformed when they are introduced to the sport of lacrosse.
- DirectorLance DalyStarsHugo WeavingJames FrechevilleStephen ReaSet in Ireland during the Great Famine, the drama follows an Irish Ranger who has been fighting for the British Army abroad, as he abandons his post to reunite with his family.
- DirectorEmilio EstevezStarsAlec BaldwinTaylor SchillingEmilio EstevezAn act of civil disobedience turns into a standoff with police when homeless people in Cincinnati take over the public library to seek shelter from the bitter cold.