20. “Black Klansman”
Director: Spike Lee (“Do The Right Thing”)
Cast: John David Washington, Adam Driver, Corey Hawkins, Laura Harrier, Topher Grace
Synopsis: The true story of Ron Stallworth, a Colorado Springs detective who successfully infiltrated the local branch of the Ku Klux Klan
What You Need To Know: Spike Lee’s been drifting worryingly to the fringes over the last decade or so — his only thing close to a major studio release, “Oldboy,” was a disaster, and even his smaller films like “Chi-raq” didn’t unite the critics with the praise he once got. But Lee’s still one of the greatest American filmmakers, and it feels like he might properly be on the comeback trail: his Netflix series “She’s Gotta Have It” picked up strong reviews, and he returns to major releases in 2018 with Focus’ “Black Klansman,” with the aid of “Get Out” creator Jordan Peele, who’s producing this new movie. It’s a potent, topical subject too, given the grim rise of the far-right again, and it feels like Lee is hungry to get back to his best.
Release Date: None yet, but look for it in the fall.
19. “Sunset”
Director: Laszlo Nemes (“Son Of Saul”)
Cast: Juli Jakab, Vlad Ivanov,
Synopsis: In pre-World War One Budapest, a young orphan discovers she has a brother that she never knew about, leading to dark secrets.
What You Need To Know: Most people make their directorial debut with a project of modest ambitions. Most people are not Laszlo Nemes, the Hungarian Bela Tarr protege whose gut-wrenching, bravura first feature “Son Of Saul” portrayed the Holocaust in a way few had done on screen in before, and picked up the Grand Prix at Cannes and the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar as a result. Three years on, Nemes has wrapped on his follow-up, which again delves into early 20th century history, in this case a Europe on the brink of collapse in the year before the First World War began. Nemes has described the film as “a coming-of-age story, also a thriller,” so it sounds like something of a change of pace for him, but we can’t wait to see what else the helmer can do.
Release Date: A return to Competition at Cannes seems certain.
18. “The Nightingale”
Director: Jennifer Kent (“The Babadook”)
Cast: Aisling Franciosi, Sam Claflin, Baykali Ganambarr, Damon Herriman, Ewen Leslie
Synopsis: In Tasmania in 1825, a young convict teams up with an Aboriginal outcast to take revenge on the soldier who murdered her family.
What You Need To Know: Even before its central monster became an unlikely LGBTQ icon, “The Babadook” was an instant horror classic, and made its first-time director Jennifer Kent one of the most exciting talents around. She was courted for high-profile projects including “Wonder Woman,” but rather than taking one of those or staying in the horror genre, she’s continued to march to the beat of her own drum with this Western-ish revenge tale toplined by Aisling Franciosi (one of the Lyanna Stark from “Game Of Thrones”), and the increasingly impressive Sam Claflin. It might be unlikely to launch any Pride costumes, but we’re just as excited as we were for that.
Release Date: Shot last March, so could be ready for Berlin or Cannes.
17. “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote”
Director: Terry Gilliam (“Brazil”)
Cast: Adam Driver, Jonathan Pryce, Olga Kurylenko, Stellan Skarsgard, Oscar Jaenada
Synopsis: An ad executive is mysteriously transported to 17th century Spain, where he becomes the companion to the would-be-knight Don Quixote.
What You Need To Know: No, we can’t believe it either, but Terry Gilliam’s two-decade passion project is finally set to arrive this year (though knowing the luck with this project, the world will end on the eve of its premiere). Originally shot with Johnny Depp and Jean Rochefort in 2000, only for injuries and acts of nature to cause the shoot to be shut down and the project scrapped, the film’s nearly been remounted multiple times over the last decade, with Robert Duvall, Michael Palin, John Hurt, Ewan McGregor and Jack O’Connell all attached over the years. But it was Adam Driver and Gilliam’s old “Brazil” pal Jonathan Pryce who were finally in front of cameras when they earlier this year, for Gilliam’s first movie since the underrated “Zero Theorem” five years back. Tony Grisoni’s script has apparently been rejigged significantly since the first iteration, so who knows what we have in store, but fingers crossed it’ll be the Gilliam masterpiece we’ve been dreaming of.
Release Date: Cannes is reportedly the target.
16. “Unsane”
Director: Steven Soderbergh (“Logan Lucky”)
Cast: Claire Foy, Juno Temple, Joshua Leonard, Jay Pharoah, Amy Irving
Synopsis: A young woman is committed to a mental institution, only to be tormented by her greatest fear.
What You Need To Know: Heist movie “Logan Lucky” might not have been Soderbergh’s greatest film (or reinvented distribution in the way it was hoped), but it’s nevertheless great to have the master back after his ‘retirement,’ and his experimental app/TV hybrid “Mosaic” is, if you haven’t checked it out already, absolutely terrific. For his second feature for his own Fingerprint Releasing, he’s in a similarly restless territory — taking on the horror genre for the first time, and in a movie that was shot in secret, and reportedly “Tangerine”-style on an iPhone. It doesn’t sound like a “Bubble”-esque art project though — it’ll be getting a wide release, with Emmy-winning “The Crown” star Claire Foy bringing some rising star power to proceedings. Shame about that terrible title, though.
Release Date: March 23rd, 2018.
15. “Annihilation”
Director: Alex Garland (“Ex Machina”)
Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson, Gina Rodriguez, Oscar Isaac
Synopsis: A biologist heads into an environmental disaster zone with three other scientists in search of her husband, who went missing on a similar expedition.
What You Need To Know: After a successful screenwriting career that saw him reinvent the zombie film and the space movie with “28 Days Later” and “Sunshine,” Alex Garland made one of the most confident and interesting directorial debuts of recent years with “Ex Machina.” For his follow-up, he’s sticking with ambitious sci-fi, albeit with a bigger scope and budget, with this adaptation of a book by Jeff VanderMeer. He’s assembled a superb cast, led by Natalie Portman, and has some atmospheric and fascinating source material to play with, something more reminiscent of Tarkovsky’s “Stalker” than most sci-fi movies. The trailer had some haunting imagery: hopefully the full film delivers on that promise.
Release Date: February 23rd, 2018
14. “Suspiria”
Director: Luca Guadagnino (“Call Me By Your Name”)
Cast: Dakota Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Mia Goth, Tilda Swinton, Jessica Harper
Synopsis: A young woman enrols in a prestigious European dance academy, only to find sinister goings-on.
What You Need To Know: Even before he knew that “Call Me By Your Name” would be the greatest critical and commercial hit of his career, Luca Guadagnino was filming a movie that seemingly couldn’t be more different from it, or anything he’s done before: a long-discussed remake of Dario Argento’s classic giallo horror “Suspiria.” It’s a big task to take on, given the original’s seminal nature, but while it’s definitely something new for the director, he’s got more than a few tricks up his sleeve, including regular collaborator Tilda Swinton, and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke stepping in for Goblin to compose the score. It could turn out to be a disaster, it could turn out to be brilliant, but we’re fascinated to see the results either way.
Release Date: Wrapped early in 2017 — Berlin might be a good bet?
13. “Maya”
Director: Mia Hansen-Løve (“Goodbye First Love,” “Eden,” “Things To Come”)
Cast: Suzan Anbeh, Roman Kolinka, Judith Chemia, Alex Descas
Synopsis: A 30 year-old French war photographer journeys to India after being held captive in Syria for months.
What You Need To Know: French director Mia Hansen-Løve simply hasn’t put a foot wrong recently, though unfairly she’s never quite received the transatlantic name recognition accorded her husband, Olivier Assayas. We’re such undying fans of her last two films — movies that on paper sound like they should be twee, but turn out to be such sensitive and human explorations of time, memory and lifestage, that they become beautifully universal — anything new from her feels major. This drama is no exception, touching on tough, topical issues, and starring regular collaborator Kolinka, who also appeared in “Things to Come” and “Eden.” Also, be warned, this will be your last chance to get in on the ground floor with Hansen-Løve before she makes her English-language debut “Bergman Island” with Greta Gerwig, Mia Wasikowska and John Turturro, and everyone finds out about her.
Release Date: “Things to Come” illuminated Berlin two years ago, perhaps this could do the same?
12. “Everybody Knows”
Director: Asghar Farhadi (“The Salesman”)
Cast: Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Ricardo Darin, Barbara Lennie, Inma Cuesta
Synopsis: A woman travels home to Spain for a celebration, only for the trip to disrupted by life-changing events.
What You Need To Know: Asghar Farhadi made history early this year when he became the first filmmaker since Ingmar Bergman to win two Best Foreign Language Oscars (and while banned from the country by our idiot president too). But even before that, Farhadi was planning to shoot outside his native Iran for the first time, and production got underway in the summer on this, described as a “psychological thriller,” which will be Spanish-language. It’s also his first project with big star names, with A-list couple Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz toplining (and almost as excitingly, ace Argentinean actor Ricardo Darin of “The Secret In Their Eyes” and “Wild Tales” also involved). Pedro Almodovar was once set to produce the project: that’s no longer the case, but Farhadi’s borrowing some of his team, including DP José Luis Alcaine and composer Alberto Iglesias.
Release Date: Cannes for sure.
11. “The Sisters Brothers”
Director: Jacques Audiard (“A Prophet”)
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly, Riz Ahmed, Jake Gyllenhaal, Rutger Hauer
Synopsis: In 1850s Oregon, two outlaw brothers are hired to kill a prospector.
What You Need To Know: Between “Westworld” and “Godless,” there’s something of a Western revival happening on the small screen, but the closest we’ve seen to a movie entry in the genre that really took off recently was “Bone Tomahawk,” which wasn’t seen by all that many people. But we’re beyond excited about “The Sisters Brothers,” an adaptation of Patrick DeWitt’s bestseller that marks the English-language directorial debut of Palme D’Or winner Jacques Audiard, of “Rust & Bone,” “The Beat That My Heart Skipped” and “Dheepan” fame. Expect something a little more comic than his usual work, if the excellent book (which was optioned by Reilly, who’s a producer) is anything to go by, but with this cast, we’d be there opening night even if it was a misery-guts melodrama.
Release Date: Annapurna have it but haven’t set a date: expect it at Cannes, though.