Photo via tiff.net

Toronto International Film Festival is officially back to make its red carpet return. If you're wondering what are the must-watch films of this year, you've come to the right spot. Here are 11 of the best films you don't want to miss at this year's TIFF. 

Table of Contents:

1). Dumb Money

2). The Boy and the Heron

3). Concrete Utopia

4). Dream Scenario

5). Seven Veils

6). Next Goal Wins

7). Sly

8). Dicks: The Musical

9). Lee

10). Woman of the Hour

11). Quiz Lady

1). Dumb Money

World Premiere/United States of America 

Paul Dano and Seth Rogen star in Craig Gillespie's film, Dumb Money, which depicts the intense showdown between small-scale investors and powerful hedge fund billionaires in the infamous GameStop Wall Street scandal. They are pitted against each other in a high-stakes tug-of-war. Plus, with an extraordinary cast that includes Pete Davidson, Shailene Woodley, and America Ferrera, this film is one you should check out. 

Here is a summary of the film from TIFF's website: 

"Everybody expects GameStop to fail. With this struggling brick-and-mortar business further drained by the pandemic, it feels like it’s only a matter of time. Hedge fund managers like Gabe Plotkin (Rogen) bet billions on the hope that it does. Keith Gill (Dano) thinks otherwise. Operating out of his basement as an amateur investor, he’s been adamant for years that the company is undervalued, posting regular updates and videos online to make his case. When a few average citizens start to pay attention, it sparks a bonfire. Keith’s wager becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as big-name investors like Gabe feel the squeeze of its rising stock price."

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2). The Boy and the Heron

International Premiere/Japan

Hayao Miyazaki, an animator, filmmaker, co-founder of the animation group Studio Ghibli, and the director of many films, like My Neighbor Totoro, Ponyo is bringing this beautiful film masterpiece to TIFF. The Boy and the Heron starts as a tale of loss and love but ultimately transforms into a remarkable and imaginative story. The Boy and the Heron might just possibly be the final film that we will see from the great Hayao Miyazaki. 

Here is a summary of the film from TIFF's website: 

"During the Second World War, young Mahito Maki (Soma Santoki) suffers a heartbreaking family tragedy and must move immediately to the countryside, where his father (Takuya Kimura) works for a family making planes for Japan’s military, as Miyazaki’s own father did. Isolated, Mahito begins exploring the mysterious landscapes and encounters a grey heron, persistent in its presence. The boy also happens upon an abandoned tower. Curious, he enters. From there, The Boy and the Heron expands into a wondrous, often-startling phantasmagoria."

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3). Concrete Utopia

North American Premiere/South Korea

Directed by Um Tae-hwa, Concrete Utopia is a thought-provoking story that begins with an earthquake that has left Seoul in a smouldering ruin. It then follows its characters' gradual path into ruthless tribalism, mirroring real-world events.

Here is a summary of the film from TIFF's website: 

"From their balcony at the Hwang Gung apartment complex, Min-seong (Parasite’s Park Seo-jun) and Myeong-hwa (Park Bo-young) look out on nothing but corpses and rubble. It seems a miracle their building remains standing when all the others are destroyed. A stranger and her small child soon arrive at Min-seong and Myeong-hwa’s door begging to be let in, followed by dozens of others from the surrounding area desperately seeking food and shelter. As days pass and no rescue teams turn up, the tenants assemble, survey their limited resources, and vote to evict the “outsiders.” When Yeong-tak (I Saw the Devil’s Lee Byung-hun), the tenants’ elected leader, announces that the outsiders must leave Hwang Gung, all hell breaks loose. From this point on, tenants must be prepared to protect their property by any means necessary."

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4). Dream Scenario

World Premiere/United States of America

Dream Scenario stars Nicholas Cage, an inconspicuous academic who unexpectedly becomes a public figure when he inexplicably begins appearing in the dreams of others. Dream Scenario is a bit of a comedic reversal of A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Here is a summary of the film from TIFF's website: 

"Nicolas Cage stars as Paul Matthews, a listless family man and tenured professor with an affinity for evolutionary biology and anxiety regarding his own anonymity. One day, he discovers he has begun to appear in other people’s dreams at an exponential rate. As in life, his presence in these dreams is banal and non-intrusive — he’s simply there, staring indifferently at the fantasies and nightmares of strangers. Nonetheless, he becomes an overnight celebrity, and is soon showered with the attention he has long been denied. But when Paul encounters a dreamer whose visions of him differ substantially from the norm, he finds himself grappling with the Faustian bargain of fame as his dream-selves start inexplicably becoming violent within their respective subconsciousnesses."

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5). Seven Veils

World Premiere/Canada

Seven Veils will be making its official TIFF Special Presentation World Premiere at the Festival on September 10th. Directed by Atom Egoyan and starring Amanda Seyfried, this film is about a young theatre director compelled to confront her personal trauma while undertaking the production of Salome.

Here is a summary of the film from TIFF's website: 

"Bequeathed a job remounting a Canadian Opera Company production of Salome after the death of its revered creator, her mentor, a young director (Amanda Seyfried) is forced to re-examine her tangled personal history with the project, the deceased man, and her own family. Recently separated from her husband (Mark O’Brien), Seyfried’s Jeanine finds herself adrift, trying to explain her vision to the confused opera stars and taking comfort in reconnecting with an old friend (Douglas Smith) who’s understudying the role of Jochanaan."

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6). Next Goal Wins

World Premiere/United States of America

If you're a huge fan of soccer and the Fifa World Cup, then you need to check out this film. Taika Waititi's Next Goal Wins features Michael Fassbender, Elisabeth Moss, and Oscar Kightley and follows the American Samoa soccer team as they strive to qualify for the World Cup. 

Here is a summary of the film from TIFF's website: 

"The nation of American Samoa (population 45,000) was never going to be an international football powerhouse, but a 31-0 loss to Australia put them in the record books in the worst possible way. Dutch-American manager Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) lands in the slow-paced island community determined to inject footballing discipline into the team as they make a qualifying run for the 2014 FIFA World Cup."

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7). Sly

World Premiere/United States of America 

If you're a huge fan of Sylvester Stallone, then this is the film for you. Directed by Thom Zimny, this documentary offers a look into Sylvester Stallone's life and career. Playing major roles like Rocky Balboa, John Rambo, and Barney Ross, you'll get to dive deeper into who Sylvester Stallone really is. 

Here is a summary of the film from TIFF's website: 

"Sly shows us Stallone’s rough beginnings in New York City as a troubled kid who’d escape his angry household to watch movies all day with his brother Frank Jr., and then come home to write scripts himself. Zimny leads Stallone through his rollercoaster career, which exploded when Rocky — a role he had to fight to play, despite having written the damn movie — catapulted him to a level of stardom for which he was entirely unprepared."

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8). Dicks: The Musical

World Premiere/United States of America 

Catch the world premiere of the Dicks: The Musical at this year's TIFF. Dicks: The Musical is a comedy movie musical that is directed by Larry Charles, who is known for directing Borat. The movie centres around identical twins who hatch a plan to reconcile their divorced and notably eccentric parents, portrayed by Nathan Lane and Megan Mullally.

Here is a summary of the film from TIFF's website: 

"There’s no business like show business — except perhaps the business of selling the bristles and brushes for robot vacuums, a cutthroat industry that pits “confident heterosexual” salesmen like Craig and Trevor against each other on a daily basis. But before Craig can shove a hose in Trevor’s mouth and turn on the water, these two big-dicked blowhards come to the startling realization that they are fucking identical twins raised apart since birth. Fortunately, these are the perfect conditions to mount an old-fashioned parent trap, and so the pair swap lives to restore the nuclear family that they have long been denied."

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9). Lee

World Premiere/United Kingdom

Directed by Ellen Kuras, Oscar-winner Kate Winslet stars in this film as Lee Miller. The story begins in the South of France in 1938 and follows Lee Miller whose talent and fierceness "gave us some of the 20th century’s most indelible images" according to TIFF. Capturing images of Buchenwald and Dachau concentration camps on the day of their liberation, Lee captures a series of powerful and haunting images that will become iconic historical records.

Here is a summary of the film from TIFF's website: 

"The threat of war looms and almost overnight everything about their daily lives changes completely. In the midst of the blitz, Lee follows the love of her life, Roland Penrose (Alexander Skarsgård), to London, where she seeks out work as a photographer for British Vogue. Frustrated by the limitations of documenting life on the home front, Lee gains a US war accreditation and heads off to Europe. Alone. After battling her way through the siege of Saint-Malo, Lee joins forces with close friend and fellow photographer David E. Scherman (Andy Samberg). Lee and Scherman capture the liberation of Paris. They sneak into Hitler’s abandoned Munich home — where Scherman captures Miller bathing in der Führer’s tub. They are among the first photographers to enter the camps at Buchenwald and Dachau on the day of the liberation, where Lee crafts a series of horrifying, urgent images that will sear themselves into history."

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10). Woman of the Hour

World Premiere/United States of America, Canada

Woman of the Hour is Anna Kendrick's directorial debut and explores unsettling gender dynamics through the astonishing real-life story of Rodney Alcala, who appeared on The Dating Game during his 1970s murder spree.

Here is a summary of the film from TIFF's website: 

"In the 1970s Rodney Alcala went on a murder spree, luring women by posing as a photographer looking for models. Though already a registered sex offender and recently released from prison, he infamously appeared on The Dating Game, a show that introduced a set of three new bachelors each week, hidden from view as a woman asked them amusing questions before choosing a winner to go on an all-expenses-paid trip with her. Woman of the Hour also harbours a dark truth: when you’re confronted by the rage of men, the only way to make it out alive is to play the game."

Click here for more information. 

11). Quiz Lady

World Premiere/United States of America 

Directed by Jessica Yu, Quiz Lady is a comedy that features a quiet, cardigan-clad Anne (Awkwafina) and volatile, wayward Jenny (Sandra Oh ) as contrasting sisters who must settle their mother's gambling debts by devising a plan to participate in a quiz show.

Here is a summary of the film from TIFF's website: 

"Until one day, that is, when a telephone call comes revealing that Anne’s mother has absconded on a large gambling debt to an unsavoury group of lenders, and they want their money back. The unexpected return of Jenny adds a further chaotic element to the situation. When Anne’s beloved dog is kidnapped, the sisters set out on a cross-country road trip to get the cash owed the only way they know how: by turning Anne into a game-show champion."

Click here for more information.

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