There are literally too many potentially great movies playing at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival for a single person to see them all over the course of the festival’s eleven-day run. The lineup for TIFF 2013 is one of its strongest yet, and for those of us fortunate enough to attend, it all but guarantees a fantastic two weeks of cinema, and for the rest of the movie watching public, it indicates good things for the upcoming fall and winter film seasons.
In some cases, movies being screened at TIFF are set for release just weeks later in September, so the headstart festival audiences will have is not all that noteworthy. Others—such as You’re Next, for instance, which premiered at TIFF two years ago and finally saw a theatrical run this summer—may not be seen for some time.
The festival has a history of offering heightened publicity for awards seasons contenders. Last year it boasted premieres of the likes of Silver Linings Playbook and Argo, which went on to big things. Festival publicists are also quick to point out other success stories like Precious and Slumdog Millionaire.
The truth is, the festival premiere circuit is becoming more arbitrary and crowded. This week we’ve been hearing all about the films showing at Telluride and Venice, which is in turn generating buzz for TIFF, which will likely generate buzz for late fall releases and Oscar consideration. I’m personally far less interested in that than in having the opportunity to get an early viewing of some of the best filmmaking of the year.
So, with that in mind, here are 10 of the most highly anticipated TIFF 2013 movies that you’ll be hearing plenty more about in the coming weeks.
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