9 Movies from Venice and TIFF We're Most Excited For

The fall festival circuit delivered some genuine surprises this year, with Venice crowning Jim Jarmusch's Father Mother Sister Brother as its Golden Lion winner, while TIFF audiences chose Chloé Zhao's Hamnet as their People's Choice favorite.

Both festivals showcased ambitious filmmaking from auteurs alongside breakthrough performances, and these festival entries will likely dominate this awards season.

Here are the nine films that have us the most excited.

Hamnet

- YouTube www.youtube.com

An adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's novel, Chloé Zhao's Hamnet imagines how the death of Shakespeare's son inspired the creation of Hamlet.

The film stars Jessie Buckley as Agnes and Paul Mescal as Shakespeare. David Fear of Rolling Stone said that people "will be talking about Jessie Buckley's performance for years."

After winning TIFF's People's Choice Award (often an Oscar predictor), Hamnet has positioned itself as a contender.

The film is scheduled for limited theatrical release on Nov. 27, expanding nationwide on Dec. 12.

Father Mother Sister Brother

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Jim Jarmusch's humorous relationship triptych won the top prize at Venice, exploring the relationships between adult siblings and their parents.

This marked Jarmusch's first Venice appearance in 22 years, and his acceptance speech was perfect. Jarmusch said, "Oh shit," then added, "As filmmakers, we're not motivated by competition, but this is something I truly appreciate" (via Variety).

It's scheduled for theatrical release on Dec. 24.

Frankenstein

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Del Toro's lifelong passion project earned a 13-minute standing ovation at Venice, bringing both Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi to tears.

Deadline called it "a fascinating and thoughtful tale on what it means to be a human." For del Toro, this represents the culmination of a decades-long obsession with Mary Shelley's novel, and early reviews suggest it was worth the wait.

The film comes to select theaters on Oct. 17 and joins Netflix on Nov. 7.

A House of Dynamite

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Kathryn Bigelow's nuclear thriller earned an 11-minute standing ovation at its Venice world premiere. The film follows events after a mysterious missile heads for Chicago, told through three different perspectives over the same timeframe.

This marks Bigelow's first feature since 2017's Detroit. Deadline wrote it was "more frightening" than any horror movie because "it is so completely plausible in the powder keg of a planet on which we currently exist."

"Hopefully the film is an invitation to decide what to do about all these weapons," Bigelow said, per Variety. "My answer would be to initiate a reduction in the nuclear stockpile."

The film will release globally on Oct. 10 and stream on Netflix on Oct. 24.

Bugonia

- YouTube www.youtube.com

If Yorgos Lanthimos releases a film, I'm there. This is the fourth collaboration between Lanthimos and actor Emma Stone, and it received a nearly seven-minute ovation at Venice.

An English-language remake of the 2003 South Korean film Save the Green Planet!, the film follows two men who kidnap a pharmaceutical CEO, convinced she's an alien.

Focus Features will release the film wide on Oct. 31.

After the Hunt

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Luca Guadagnino's drama starring Julia Roberts earned significant attention at Venice, marking what critics consider Roberts' strongest role since 2000's Erin Brockovich.

The film tackles cancel culture and social media accountability, with Roberts playing a college professor whose past draws unwelcome attention.

As Deadline's review noted, "After the Hunt isn't just a diatribe about 'woke' culture, it's a genuine attempt to look at what's happening now and see where it might take us."

The film will release nationwide on Oct. 17.

The Smashing Machine

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Benny Safdie won Venice's Silver Lion for Best Director for his MMA biopic starring Dwayne Johnson as fighter Mark Kerr.

Variety's review called it "a bracing, clear-eyed and laceratingly humane sports biopic."

A24 will release this one on Oct. 3.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Rian Johnson's third Knives Out film continued the franchise's winning streak, though it faced tough competition from Hamnet for TIFF's People's Choice Award.

Johnson's mystery franchise has proven consistent, and many are eager to see Benoit Blanc solve another case.

The film will have a limited theatrical release starting Nov. 26, followed by its streaming release on Netflix on Dec. 12.

No Other Choice

- YouTube www.youtube.com

Another winner at TIFF, Park Chan-wook's South Korean comedy/thriller No Other Choice came away with the international People's Choice Award, putting it squarely in Oscar contention, too.

This narrative follows a paper mill manager who becomes redundant after Americans buy his company. Vulture praised Director Park's ability to coax the audience "into total identification with people doing insane things."

No Other Choice has a few more festival runs coming up, but does not currently have a wide release date.