The 2024 Festival Films You Need to Know

It’s safe to expect the unexpected with Todd Phillips’ Joker sequel, Joker: Folie a Deux. The director was adamant his 2019 film was a standalone during its initial release, only for Phillips to announce a follow-up was in development the following June. Comics fans took up considerable server space speculating on whether the clown prince of crime’s girlfriend, Harley Quinn, would make an appearance in the movie, but few people guessed it would be pop icon Lady Gaga who would secure the role. And no one – we mean no one – was ready for the news that the picture would be a musical. Add to all this mystery the supporting cast additions of Brendan Gleeson and Catherine Keener, and it’s easy to see why this enigmatic continuation is one of the most anticipated of the year.

Premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival.

It's hard to believe it's been 16 years since George Clooney and Brad Pitt starred in a movie together, but after this far-too-long gap they're back together and working with Spider-Man: Homecoming director Jon Watts in the hitman action-comedy Wolfs. The story focuses on a pair of seasoned, lone-wolf fixers who are forced to work together after a gig goes south, and from the trailer it looks like everything we love from this actor/director combo: snarky back-and-forth sparring meets fast-paced action. We might not have to wait much longer for the next team-up as Clooney has mentioned being down for a potential sequel.

Premiered out of competition at the Venice Film Festival.

In her first role since 2021’s Eternals, Angelina Jolie emerges center-stage to portray renowned opera singer Maria Callas. Director Pablo Larraín is no stranger to tapping into the complex psyche of well-known women, as evidenced by his prior work on Jackie (2016) and Spencer (2021) — though you may be a fan for his more recent Oscar-nominated political-comedy El Conde. He’s well-suited to shepherd Callas’ story to the big-screen, illustrating the many dimensions of the famed soprano’s life, punctuated by scandal and a high-profile rivalry with fellow opera singer Renata Tebaldi. Jolie stars alongside Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog) and global talents Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, and Haluk Bilginer.

Premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival and showed in spotlight at New York Film Festival.

Pedro Almodovar continues his run as one of cinema’s most prolific directors with the first English-language film of his career. The Room Next Door stars Julianne Moore as a New York writer who reunites with an old friend, a war journalist played by Tilda Swinton. We’re dying to see New York through Almodovar’s lens, a perspective that’s been inextricably tied to Spanish cinema. The film has been chosen as the Centerpiece film of the New York Film Festival, where the director has screened 14 films, dating back to his international breakout, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.

Screened in competition at the the Venice Film Festival; appeared in TIFF's special presentations lineup; and showed as the centerpiece film at NYFF.

We were big fans of director Brady Corbett's Vox Lux and he’s already creating a bit of a stir with The Brutalist, his shot-on-film, 70mm epic that's shipping (to festivals anyway) with a 15-minute intermission and all the trimmings of a throwback theatrical experience. The early hype is nearly eclipsing the story, which pairs Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones as an architect and his wife whose lives are changed by a wealthy client soon after they arrive in the US from post-WWII Europe.

Premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival; screened in TIFF's special presentations lineup; and appeared as part of New York Film Festival's main slate.

Jude Law and Nicolas Hoult face off in this true crime thriller about one FBI agent’s mission to take down a ring of white supremacist bank robbers in the Pacific Northwest. Justin Kurzel (The Snowtown Murders) directs a script from Oscar and BAFTA nominee Zach Baylin (King Richard), based on the non-fiction book "The Silent Brotherhood" by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt. In addition to Law and Hoult, the cast will include Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett, Alison Oliver, Odessa Young, and Marc Maron, among others.

Premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival and screened in TIFF's special presentations lineup.

Before Daniel Craig returns as Benoit Blanc, he's sure to create a stir in Luca Guadagnino's adaptation of William S. Burroughs' novel set in 1950s Mexico, where the author once lived alongside expats and veterans cobbling together their lives in the capital city. Craig plays a semi-fictionalized version of Burroughs, who is in pursuit of Allerton, a young man living off of his G.I. Bill benefits. Drew Starkey got the call up from the “Outer Banks” to play the elusive subject of Craig’s affection. The novel was mostly assembled while Burroughs awaited trial for killing his common law wife, Joan Vollmer, and it continues to inspire debate as to whether it’s truly queer canon. Guadagnino re-teams with Justin Kuritzkes, the playwright who helped make Challengers one of the most talked about movies since Saltburn.

Premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival; screened in TIFF's special presentations; and appeared as part of New York Film Festival's spotlight lineup.

The last time director Halina Reijn stepped behind the camera she unleashed the whip-smart horror-comedy Bodies, Bodies, Bodies at SXSW 2023 to the delight of audiences and critics alike. Now the multi-talented filmmaker returns to the festival circuit with Babygirl, a picture that Venice Film Festival Artistic Director Alberto Barbera described as “a sadomasochistic relationship within an American corporation.” Starring Nicole Kidman as a high-powered CEO and Harris Dickenson as her much younger intern, this erotic thriller premieres at the Venice film festival before A24 distributes it to theaters just in time for Christmas 2024.

Premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival and screened in TIFF's special presentations.

We expect something simultaneously sweet and soul-crushing from director John Crowley’s upcoming romantic drama, a decade-spanning love story with Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh center of the frame. The trailer hints at a car crash meet-cute moment that sparks the start of the couple’s shared journey. It remains to be seen whether the couple’s story will unfold chronologically or via flashbacks, but we’re optimistic the onscreen chemistry between Garfield and Pugh will propel us through time effortlessly. Crowley struck a distinct balance of beauty and heartbreak with 2015’s Brooklyn, and has since toyed with viewer’s heartstrings on TV episodes for “Modern Love” and “Black Mirror” (yeah, the Aaron Paul/Josh Hartnett one), so come prepared for some light emotional manipulation.

Premiered as a special presentation at TIFF.

You don’t need to have read Robert Harris’ 2016 novel (we hadn’t) or have a fascination with the intricate rituals and secrecy of the Vatican (we do) to appreciate director Edward Berger’s (All Quiet on the Western Front) latest movie, which follows the behind-the-scenes intrigues of a Papal election in the future. One part pageant of Latin, incense, and birettas and another part high-stakes political thriller, this adaptation stars Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, and John Lithgow as prominent Cardinals who endure one another’s ambitions while wrestling with their own shortcomings. Think classic, grandiose workplace drama where the office just happens to be the Sistine Chapel.

Premiered as a special presentation at TIFF.

It’s a return of the king in director Uberto Pasolini’s latest, but this reunion is far from triumphant. Ralph Fiennes stars as Odysseus, who washes up on the shores of Ithaca after waging a 10-year war against Troy and spending as many years lost at sea. This retelling of Homer’s “The Odyssey” starts near the end of the epic tale as the now-unrecognizable king attempts to reunite with his wife Penelope (Juliette Binoche) and son Telemachus (Charlie Plummer). Standing in his way is a horde of power-hungry suitors who hope to marry Penelope and assume the throne. Speaking of reunions, this is the third time Fiennes and Binoche have shared the screen, first in 1992’s Wuthering Heights, and then in The English Patient, which earned Binoche an Oscar for Best Actress and Fiennes a nomination for Best Actor.

Premiered as a gala presentation at TIFF.

Hugh Grant ratchets the creep factor up to eleven as Mr. Reed, a man whose entire life's purpose seems to be trapping missionaries in his MC Escher-like home of deathtraps in order to test their faith. We have so many questions about this one! He's got to be the devil, right? Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East star as the unluckiest missionaries ever in what looks to be a mind-bending, dread-inducing, scare-fest.

Premiered as a special presentation at TIFF.

With Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon writer/director Chris Sanders at the helm, we know this animated epic from Dreamworks is going to be magical and will make us cry. (Can we just let the robot stay on the planet with their animal friends?) Lupita Nyong'o stars as the wild robot Roz with Kit Conner, Pedro Pescal, and Mark Hamil rounding out the star-studded voice cast.

Premiered as a gala presentation at TIFF.

After her one-two punch with Can You Ever Forgive Me? and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Marielle Heller found herself going a little bonks trying to get this script — an adaptation of Rachel Yoder's magical realism novel — ready to shoot. It pretty much boiled down to sleep deprivation from balancing the creative process with parenting her two young children by herself for the first time; her partner, writer/comedian Jorma Taccone, went back to on-set production as Heller was recruited by producer Amy Adams for the project. Her experiences nearly mirror the events of the novel, which sees Adams portray a stay-at-home mom who loses her sense of self so completely she begins to transform into a different kind of animal. We’re talking fur and extra nipples and everything.

Premiered as a special presentation at TIFF.

Director Coralie Fargeat burst onto the festival scene in 2018 with her bold and visceral feminist Neo-exploitation flick, ‘Revenge.’ With comparison’s to French New Extremity films (like ‘Martyrs’ and ‘High Tension’), ‘Revenge’ established the director as a talent to watch. At the time of this writing, plot details for her second film, ‘The Substance,’ were scant. For starters, we don’t know what this “substance” is yet. But we do know Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid are starring, and that Fargeat promises it will “push boundaries with a different kind of violence.”

Premiered in competition at Cannes Film Festival and screened in TIFF's midnight madness program.

Crime-thrillers may not spring to mind when you think of musicals, but writer-director Jacques Audiard’s new film could change that. Inspired by a chapter in Boris Razon's novel ‘Écoute,’ and developed from what was originally envisioned as a four-act opera, ‘Emilia Perez’ traces the journey of a feared Cartel leader (Karla Sofía Gascón) who enlists the help of a lawyer (Zoe Saldana) to escape their criminal life and transition into the woman they have always been inside. Pop artist Camille has penned the film’s original songs, and we’re excited to hear co-star Selena Gomez tackle the French singer’s playful songwriting style in this unique musical comedy.

Premiered in competition at Cannes Film Festival; screened in TIFF's special presentations; and appeared New York Film Festival's spotlight lineup. Expected in theaters November 14, 2024.

Jesse Eisenberg is back behind the camera (and in front of it) with A Real Pain, a buddy comedy of sorts “set against the backdrop of the history and trauma of Eastern Europe.” In the film, two cousins, played by Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin, travel through Poland to see their ancestral home in the wake of the death of their grandmother. Portions of the narrative are based on Eisenberg’s family history, including a scene filmed in an apartment his family was forced to leave behind in 1938. With supporting performances from Jennifer Grey and Will Sharpe, and Emma Stone acting as a producer, A Real Pain is poised to become a must-watch film of the festival season.

Screened as part of the New York Film Festival spotlight series.

Writer-director Steve McQueen is closing out the New York Film Festival with a historical drama set during the British Capitol bombing of World War II. Starring Saoirse Ronan, Harris Dickinson, Stephen Graham, and introducing Elliott Heffernan, the period piece follows Herrernan’s George as he attempts to travel from the safety of the English countryside to London in search of his mother. The premiere will be a coming home of sorts for McQueen, who has had several of his films screen at NYFF, including Hunger, Shame, 12 Years a Slave, and Occupied City.

Premiered as the closing night film at the New York Film Festival.

We're here for Oscar-nominated director Dianne Houston's tribute to trailblazing small-business owner Melony Armstrong. Houston's experience as a writer on Empire and When We Rise should be a natural fit for the story, and it's a promising role for Simona Brown, perhaps most recognizable from Netflix's Behind Her Eyes.

Screened as part of the Narrative Feature competition at American Black Film Festival.

Directors Billy Miossi and Soraya Sélène get to the bottom of that very question, turning a spotlight on Regina Jones, the creative powerhouse and groundbreaking newspaper publisher who ran the iconic SOUL Newspaper between 1966 to 1982 and featured R&B icons from The O'Jays and James Brown to Etta James and The Supremes.

Screened as part of the Documentary Feature competition at the American Black Film Festival.

Writer-director Christine Swanson is bringing viewers a road movie that, in the filmmaker’s own words, “is an unapologetic, ironic presentation of Black joy, Black resilience, and Black humanity.” Renée Elise Goldsberry stars as Celeste, a big city ad exec who is forced into a road trip with her ex’s mother, Paula (Lynn Whitfield), in order to arrive at a career-defining meeting on time. Swanson is no stranger to telling emotional family stories (check out ‘The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel,’ for example), and we suspect Celeste and Paula’s journey will take them places they could have never imagined. Produced by the director’s Faith Filmworks production company, which she co-owns with husband and producer Michael Swanson.

Screened as part of the Narrative Feature competition at American Black Film Festival.

Jamie Foxx, Nile Rodgers, Mariah Carey and Dionne Warwick are just a few of the stars who share their personal stories about Luther Vandross in Dawn Porter's tenth feature documentary, a deep dive into the life and career of the late R&B legend. 'Luther: Never Too Much' debuted this year at the Sundance Film Festival.

Screened as part of the Documentary Feature competition at the American Black Film Festival.

Vivica A. Fox stars as a woman who learns her estranged son has died, leaving behind a daughter and a husband she never knew about. Jussie Smollett makes his return to acting as the grieving son-in-law, but also plays a key roles behind the scenes, as director and co-writer.

Screened as part of the Narrative Feature competition at the American Black Film Festival.

Did you know Yorgos Lanthimos was filming this project while in post-production on 'Poor Things' and planning his fifth project with Emma Stone (a remake of the comedy 'Save the Green Planet')? Of course there's all sorts of anticipation for this anthology film, which Lanthimos co-wrote with his longtime creative partner Efthimis Filippou, and will premiere at Cannes but pretty much skip the festival circuit, opting for a worldwide rollout starting in June. Lanthimos has shared it's a three-part fable, and the cast, which includes 'Poor Things' players Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley, as well as Jesse Plemons, Hong Chau, and Hunter Schafer in a small role, will play different characters in each of the segments. As for the stories themselves: one's about a man without choice who tries to wrest control over his life, the centerpiece about a woman who returns from being missing at sea, and the finale is about the search for a person destined to become a spiritual leader.

Premiered in competition at Cannes Film Festival. In theaters June 21.

Francis Ford Coppola's self-funded sci-fi drama premieres in competition at Cannes, adding to the list of decades-in-the-making passion projects screening at the festival. Coppola contributed $120 million to finish 'Megalopolis,' which tells the story of the rebuilding of a futuristic Roman-inspired metropolis after a devastating disaster. Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, and Shia LaBeouf star.

Premiered in competition at Cannes Film Festival; screens in TIFF's galas lineup; and is expected in theaters September 2024.