10 Queer Titles We're Looking Forward to at TIFF 2024
Now in its 49th edition, the Toronto International Film Festival will once again take place this September in Canada as one of the biggest film-related events of the year. Initially launched as a "festival of festivals" in 1976, TIFF offered audiences a collection of over 100 films from prestigious film festivals around the world. Today, the core elements from that first edition remain: A focus on the public, and a showcase of films from Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, Venice, and other international fests that might otherwise not get shown in North America. Of course, many things have changed since the '70s, including more of an emphasis on world premieres and a larger quantity of films shown (at least 278 for this year).
That inclusive approach to programming means anyone can go over the festival schedule and find enough films to cater to whatever their interests may be. Here at EDGE, as in prior years, we've gone through and compiled ten films with queer content and/or queer talent that we're excited to watch. It's an eclectic mix of high profile films with A-list stars, legendary queer filmmakers, hits from the film festival circuit, and a few potential hidden gems.
"Emilia Pérez"
French filmmaker Jacques Audiard came to this year's Cannes Film Festival with a feature that sounded absolutely wild: Set in Mexico, the film is a musical about a lawyer (Zoe Saldaña) who helps a transgender cartel leader (Karla Sofía Gascón) fake their death to escape the criminal world and begin the transition process. Some time later, the cartel leader reappears as Emilia Pérez, and recruits the same lawyer to help connect her with her wife (Selena Gomez) and children. It's a premise that sounds like it could easily go wrong, but so far "Emilia Pérez" has been a success, earning two prizes at Cannes (including a joint Best Actress prize for Gascón, Saldaña, Gomez, and Adriana Paz) and plenty of Oscar buzz.
"Emilia Pérez" will receive a limited theatrical release later this year before streaming on Netflix on November 13.
"Misericordia"
If you aren't aware of Alain Guiraudie's films, you should fix that issue as soon as possible. The French filmmaker and novelist has been making strange, wonderful, and unabashedly queer films for years, including the terrific gay murder mystery "Stranger by the Lake." For his latest film, Guiraudie tells the story of a young man's return to his rural hometown, where sexual repression, queer desire, and film noir influences come together to provide another queer tale as only Guiraudie can tell it.
"Misericordia" will be released in theaters in 2025?
"My Sunshine"
Tucked away in this year's Un Certain Regard sidebar at Cannes was "My Sunshine" by Hiroshi Okuyama, a seemingly modest film set on the island of Hokkaido in Japan. A young boy playing hockey finds himself more interested in one of the girls he sees figure skating. He eventually gets the attention of the girl's coach, who convinces him to swap hockey for skating so the coach can train the two as a duo for a skating competition. "My Sunshine" received praise out of Cannes, although most of that praise came with descriptions of the film being light and sweet, meaning it could easily slip under the radar.
"My Sunshine" will receive a limited release at a later date.
"On Swift Horses"
Adapted from Shannon Pufahl's 2019 novel, "On Swift Horses" appeared as a late addition to the TIFF lineup and quickly became one of the festival's buzziest acquisition titles. Set in the 1950s, the film focuses on young couple Muriel (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Lee (Will Poulter), along with Lee's brother Julius (Jacob Elordi). As the times change and all three find themselves moving, taking on new jobs, and meeting new people, Muriel and Julius discover new aspects of themselves through transgressive actions; Muriel begins to bet on racehorses and wins, while Julius starts a romance with his co-worker, Henry (Diego Calva). One might get excited at the film's young, starry cast or the involvement of director Daniel Minahan (who worked on shows including "Game of Thrones" and "Fellow Travelers"), but I'm sure the prospect of Jacob Elordi's gay plot line will get people's attention, especially after Calva teased that his scenes with Elordi get "pretty hot."
"On Swift Horses" is currently seeking distribution.
"Queer"
It's been a great year for Luca Guadagnino, after his film "Challengers" became a surprise hit and an obsession with its young and extremely online fanbase. Now, not even six months later, Guadagnino is back with "Challengers" screenwriter Justin Kuritzkes to tackle William S. Burroughs' novel of the same name. Daniel Craig plays Lee, who spends his days wandering around Mexico City in the early 1950s when he meets and falls for the young Allerton ("Outer Banks" star Drew Starkey), who he wants to bring along on a trip into the Amazon. Not much else is known about this adaptation at this time, although program notes from TIFF and Venice suggest Guadagnino will, unsurprisingly, put his own spin on the source material.
"Queer" will receive a limited theatrical release at a later date
"Really Happy Someday"
Set in Toronto, "Really Happy Someday" follows Z (Breton Lalama), an up and coming actor who has to face the fact that his transition and testosterone injections has altered his singing voice. After he bombs a big audition for Broadway, he takes up vocal lessons to retrain his voice, and his journey to regain his singing abilities sees his life changing in unexpected ways. First-time feature director J Stevens co-wrote the screenplay with Lalama, and the loose, improvisatory approach to the writing and direction, combined with the subject matter's specificity, should make for a compelling look at Z growing into and embracing his identity.
"Really Happy Someday" is currently seeking distribution.
"The Room Next Door"
If "Queer" isn't the gay cinephile event of 2024, then it has to be Pedro Almodóvar's latest feature, his first in English and starring queer icons Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore. Moore plays Ingrid, a successful novelist who learns that her old friend Martha (Swinton) has recently fallen ill. Ingrid visits Martha, and the reunion reignites their friendship despite the less than ideal circumstances. Since this is an Almodóvar film starring what could possibly be the two best actresses possible for his English language debut, the excitement levels for "The Room Next Door" are through the roof.
"The Room Next Door" will get a limited theatrical release in December followed by a nationwide release in January 2025.
"Sad Jokes"
Fabian Stumm's sophomore feature premiered earlier this year at the Munich International Film Festival, where it picked up several awards, including the FIPRESCI Prize for Best Film, and now makes its way to Toronto for its International Premiere. Stumm writes, directs, produces, and stars as the lead character in "Sad Jokes," where he plays Joseph, a gay filmmaker who's dealing with a variety of issues. This includes raising the child he co-parents while the mother gets treated for depression, difficulties writing the screenplay for his next feature, getting over his ex-boyfriend, and (to top it all off) a broken finger. "Sad Jokes" takes inspiration from Stumm's own life, including the casting of his own son as his character's child, and structures itself as a series of tragicomic vignettes that forms a promising work from a new filmmaker.
"Sad Jokes" is currently seeking distribution.
"Viet and Nam"
Before it premiered earlier this year at Cannes, controversy brewed around Trương Minh Quý's "Viet and Nam" in its home country. A psychological drama about gay lovers who work and make love in an underground mine, the film was banned from release in Vietnam. Surprisingly, the ban supposedly had nothing to do with the homosexual content in the film; Vietnam's Cinema Department criticized the film's "gloomy, deadlocked, and negative view" of the country as the main reason for its ban. Despite this hurdle, "Viet and Nam" received high praise from critics at Cannes, and after its North American premiere at TIFF it will screen at the prestigious New York Film Festival.
"Viet and Nam" will receive a limited theatrical release at a later date.
"Will & Harper"
Back in January, Josh Greenbaum's "Will & Harper" premiered at Sundance to multiple standing ovations and audience members in tears, which is about as perfect as a Sundance screening could be. It didn't take long for buyers to come knocking, with Netflix ending up victorious after a supposed eight-figure offer. It's a large amount, but it makes sense given how the film seems geared to be a crowd pleaser. Greenbaum documents a 16 day road trip from New York to Los Angeles between Will Ferrell and his longtime friend Harper Steele, a former "SNL" writer who recently came out as transgender. After Steele comes out as trans to her friends, Ferrell suggests the trip as a way of helping the two of them navigate their friendship now that Ferrell is technically getting to know Harper for the first time. Sure to be a hit with audiences at TIFF as it was at Sundance, it wouldn't be a surprise if "Will & Harper" ends up in the running for the festival's People's Choice Award.
"Will & Harper" will receive a limited theatrical release in the future before streaming on Netflix.