50 Films We Hope To See At The 2016 Fall Festivals

“Planetarium”
Young French filmmaker Rebecca Zlotowski hasn’t had a home-run yet, but her work’s been very interesting, particularly the distinctive romance “Grand Central,” her second film which starred Lea Seydoux and Tahar Rahim. Her muse Seydoux was unavailable this time, but she’s more than made up for it with star power, as Natalie Portman and Lily-Rose Depp star as two sisters in 1930s France who believe they can commune with the dead. It’s a premise that will either be great or awful, but we’re excited to find out which. Widely expected at Cannes, this should be a Venice bow barring a real surprise.

“The Promise”
Even if “X-Men: Apocalypse” proved that he was capable of giving a bad performance, we will still watch everything that Oscar Isaac does, and this fall’s option could be “The Promise.” A love triangle set against the Armenian genocide around the time of the First World War, and directed by “Hotel Rwanda” helmer Terry George, it sees Isaac star with Christian Bale and Charlotte Le Bon. Word’s been very quiet on this, but we’d wager we’ll see it at TIFF for the star power alone.

“Queen Of Katwe”
Her last two films “The Force Awakens” and “The Jungle Book” made roughly forty kazillion dollars between them, but we haven’t seen Lupita Nyong’o’s face in a movie since she won the Oscar. That changes with Mira Nair’s “Queen Of Katwe,” an inspirational chess drama also starring David Oyelowo. Disney will release the film in September, so it’s almost certain that TIFF will be a launching pad first (though with Nair a favorite at Venice, it might well turn up there as well).

“Rules Don’t Apply”
It’s been eighteen years since Warren Beatty directed a movie, and almost as many since we saw him on screen, but the 79-year-old legend will be making a comeback both in front of and behind camera with his long-planned Howard Hughes movie “Rules Don’t Apply.” It’s no biopic, though, instead apparently being a comedy of sorts, centered on a romance between Hughes employees (Lily Collins and Alden Ehrenreich). Any festival would love to have Beatty’s return: “Bulworth” screened at Venice, but we suspect that NYFF might be more likely.

“The Secret Scripture”
Rooney Mara was initially attached to “Brooklyn” before dropping out, but she’ll get to scratch an Irish itch with this adaptation of Sebastian Barry’s novel “The Secret Scripture,” about the tragic romantic past of a woman who’s been in a mental hospital for half a century. Vanessa Redgrave plays the older version of Mara’s character, with Eric Bana, Theo James and Jack Reynor also involved, and “In America” director Jim Sheridan’s in charge. Problems with Relativity, who intiially bought the film, have seemingly delayed it, but we’d be very surprised if this didn’t turn up at TIFF.

“Silence”
It’s only a new movie by bloody Martin Scorsese, isn’t it? Marty’s mostly skipped the festival circuit, bar a surprise NYFF screening of “Hugo,” in recent years, but with his new film revolving around Portuguese missionaries (Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson) being persecuted for their faith in 17th century Japan, it’s possible that it might need a little bit more of a push than “The Wolf Of Wall Street” did, PR-wise. There were rumors that it might have the opening Venice slot, but as that doesn’t seem to be true, a big NYFF premiere seems the most likely.

“Snowden”
Apparently an actual movie and not an SNL sketch like its trailer suggests, this sees arch-provocateur telling the story of one of America’s most talked-about traitors/heroes, who remains in exile in Moscow. Joseph Gordon-Levitt heads a starry cast including Shailene Woodley and Nicolas Cage (!!!), and rumors had suggested it would be at Cannes, but while festival boss Thierry Fremaux says he liked the film, apparently producers wanted a premiere date that was better for the Oscars. As such, it’s heavily rumored, as “Spotlight” was last year, for an out-of-competition slot at Venice.

“Sully”
We’d be lying if we said that we loved or even liked most of Clint Eastwood’s last few films — from “Changeling” to surprise mega-hit “American Sniper,” they’ve mostly proved to be stodgy disappointments in the last decade. But the world’s most prolific 86-year-old filmmaker surely has more greatness in him, and “Sully,” about the pilot who landed his stricken plane on the Hudson River with no casualties, looks like an intriguing look at hero worship, especially with Tom Hanks in the lead. It opens on September 9th, the second day of TIFF, so a Venice or Telluride screening is the best bet for this festival-wise.

“Stronger”
The second of this year’s two Boston Marathon movies, “Stronger” tells a more intimate story than Peter Berg’s “Patriot’s Day,” with Jake Gyllenhaal playing Jeff Bauman, who lost his legs in in the attack and had to learn to walk again. David Gordon Green directs here, with Tatiana Maslany, Miranda Richardson and Clancy Brown supporting, and though filming just began in April, Gordon Green works fast. That said, it’s possible that they’ll want some distance from “Patriot’s Day,” but if it’s done in time, TIFF would definitely be a good home.

“Tschick”
After the misstep of his turgid 2014 historical drama “The Cut,” the great German-Turkish filmmaker Fatih Akin changes pace in a big way again  with “Tschick,” which appears to be a frenetic teen coming-of-age comedy somewhere between “Y Tu Mama Tambien” and “Ferris Bueller.” We admire his range. It’s set for release in September in Germany, so expect a Venice premiere (and likely TIFF soon after).