“Dicks The Musical”
Aaron Jackson and Josh Sharp are adapting their two-man show “Fucking Identical Twins” for A24. In the studios’ first musical, the story follows two self-obsessed businessmen who discover, “Parent Trap”-style, that they are long-lost identical twins. Directed by “Borat” filmmaker Larry Charles, Jackson and Sharp write and star alongside Megan Mullally, Nathan Lane, Megan Thee Stallion, and Bowen Yang.
“The Boy and the Heron”
Japanese filmmaker and animation legend Hayao Miyazaki was supposed to have retired, but he’s broken out of that retreat for one last final film (he promises this time), his first in ten years. Already heralded as a masterpiece in Japan, the film, TIFF’s opening night movie, makes its international premiere outside the country. Miyazaki’s new film begins as a simple story of loss and love and is produced by Studio Ghibli, of course.
“Together 99”
Reuniting members of a 1970s commune decades later reveals their lives are messy, proving that the passage of time has not been kind to the community they once loved but also renews old romances. A follow-up to Lukas Moodysson‘s “Together,” this belated sequel sees the return of Gustaf Hammarsten, Shanti Roney, Anja Lundqvist, Lisa Lindgren, Olle Sarri, Cecilia Frode, Lars Frode, Henrik Lundstrom, Sten Ljunggren, and Jessica Liedberg.
“The Convert”
“The Convert” follows a preacher at a British Settlement in the 1830s whose violent past is soon questioned and his faith tested as he finds himself in the middle of a war. Directed by Lee Tamahori, the drama stars Guy Pearce, Tioreore, Ngatai-Melbourne, Antonio Te Maioha, Jacqueline McKenzie, and Lawrence Makoare.
“Wildcat”
“Wildcat” is a biographical drama about American novelist Flannery O’Connor struggling to publish her first novel, Wise Blood. The film is written and directed by Ethan Hawke, who directs his daughter Maya Hawke as stars as O’Connor. The cast also includes Laura Linny, Philip Ettinger, Rafael Casal, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Cooper Hoffman.
“Daddio”
Sean Penn plays a man who drives a cab in New York City and considers himself an armchair philosopher. When a woman, played by Dakota Johnson, gets in his cab at the airport, she just wants to get home, but as the cab driver engages her in conversation, the small talk turns deeper and riskier along the ride. The film is directed by Christy Hall and also sees Marcos Gonzalez make an appearance.
Honorable Mention:
“Nyad” with Annette Bening and Jodie Foster, “Boy Kills World” with Bill Skarsgaard, Elliott Page in “Close To You,” Ryûsuke Hamaguchi‘s “Evil Does Not Exist,” “Ezra” starring Robert DeNiro, Bobby Cannavale and Rose Byrne, Alex Gibney’s new doc, “Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon,” “Mother, Couch” with Taylor Russell, Ewan McGregor, Ellen Burstyn, and Rhys Ifans, “One Life” with Anthony Hopkins, “Sing Sing” with Colman Domingo, Gemma Arterton and Ian McKellen in “The Critic,” Lulu Wang’s “Expats” series with Nicole Kidman, Lone Scherfig’s “The Movie Teller” with Bérénice Bejo, andthe 40th anniversary of Jonathan Demme’s classic Talking Heads concert doc, “Stop Making Sense”