Films to See at Festivals
We present our annual list of U.S. and international films we anticipate will be released soon. With an accuracy rate exceeding 80% for our 2024 predictions, this year’s list includes several films that we still hope to see showcased at a festival in the near future. Similar to our previous prediction lists, we have highlighted titles that have either begun filming or are in post-production and have not yet been announced for any festivals.
“Eleanor The Great”
Scarlett Johansson, known for her work with Marvel, is making her debut as a feature film director with this uplifting story about a 90-year-old woman returning to New York after many years in Florida. In this new chapter of her life, she forms an unexpected friendship with a 19-year-old student. The cast is led by June Squibb, who is experiencing a resurgence in her career due to her role in the breakout film Thelma at Sundance 2024, alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jessica Hecht, and Erin Kellyman.
“Orphan”
There is a lot of excitement surrounding Hungarian director László Nemes’s third film, especially after the success of his Oscar-winning Holocaust drama, Son of Saul, in 2015, and his 2018 film, Sunset. His latest release, Orphan, marks his first project in six years and tells the story of a boy who uncovers a disturbing truth about his origins against the backdrop of the 1956 uprising in Hungary against the communist regime. The 12-year-old lead character, played by newcomer Bojtorján Barabas, experiences a significant change in his life when a man from his mother’s World War II past reappears.
“Sentimental Value”
Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier collaborates once again with Renate Reinsve, the lead actress from his Oscar-nominated film The Worst Person In The World, in this family drama that revolves around two sisters who must confront their estranged father after their mother passes away. Trier co-wrote the screenplay alongside his long-time partner, Eskil Vogt, who also worked with him on The Worst Person In The World, as well as on Reprise and Oslo, August 31st.
“Yellow Letters”
Filmed quietly in Hamburg during early summer 2024, German director Ilker Çatak draws on his Turkish heritage for a story about a married actress and a drama professor at a university in Ankara. Their lives are disrupted when they both lose their jobs because of “state arbitrariness.” Çatak’s previous film, The Teachers Lounge, received modest attention when it premiered in the Berlinale’s Panorama section in 2023 and was later nominated for Best International Feature Film. It’s expected that this new project will garner more attention as it makes its way through the festival circuit.
“Alpha”
Four years after captivating Cannes with her Palme d’Or-winning body horror film, Titane, Julia Ducournau’s third feature is highly anticipated. Apart from the main cast, which includes Tahar Rahim and Golshifteh Farahani, details about the storyline remain sparse, similar to the initial information available for Titane. Reports from the French media suggest that the drama takes place in the northern French port city of Le Havre during the 1980s and focuses on a girl who becomes an outcast among her peers due to rumors about a peculiar new illness she allegedly has. Sales agents Filmnation and Charades have referred to the film as “Julia’s most personal and profound work yet.”
“The Smashing Machine”
Dwayne Johnson takes on the role of the iconic MMA fighter Mark Kerr, while Emily Blunt portrays his enduring partner in Benny Safdie’s biopic, which explores the ups and downs of the champion’s tumultuous life. Excitement is building around Johnson’s performance, with Blunt recently describing him as “extraordinary” in the part. The Safdie brothers began their filmmaking journey at Cannes in 2007 with the groundbreaking indie film The Pleasure of Being Robbed, and returned in 2017 with their film Good Time, which premiered in competition. This project is one of A24’s largest budget productions to date.
“The Secret Agent”
Brazilian filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho returns to his cherished coastal hometown of Recife for this political thriller featuring Wagner Moura as a fugitive amidst the military dictatorship of 1970s Brazil. While attempting to reunite with his son, he finds himself increasingly trapped, all set against the vibrant backdrop of carnival week.
“Happy Birthday”
After collaborating for years with life and creative partner Mohamed Diab on projects like Clash and the Marvel series Moon Knight, Egyptian American writer and producer Sarah Goher is now taking her first step as a director. Her debut film delves into class issues in modern Egypt, telling the story of an eight-year-old maid who is close friends with the daughter of the affluent family she serves in Cairo.
“Chronology Of Water”
Kristen Stewart’s long-awaited feature film debut, featuring Imogen Poots, is based on Lidia Yuknavitch’s popular memoir from 2011, which shares the same title. The story, which involves transforming trauma into creativity, traces the life of the female lead, Lidia, from her childhood in the Pacific Northwest to her adult life, where she deals with significant challenges, regrets, unfulfilled motherhood, damaging relationships, and artistic inspirations.
“De Gaulle” Part 1 & 2
French director Antonin Baudry’s two-part biographical film is among the largest budget feature projects in France, with each installment costing $38 million. Simon Abkarian (Notre Dame, Restless) plays President Charles De Gaulle, joined by a stellar cast featuring Mathieu Kassovitz, Anamaria Vartolomei, Niels Schneider, and Simon Russell Beale as Winston Churchill. Cannes has a history of presenting higher-budget mainstream French films in its second week, making this project a suitable candidate.
“Mission: Impossible – The Ultimate Judgment”
In 2022, Tom Cruise was treated to a flyover by the French Air Force’s aerobatic team, Patrouille de France, during his visit to Cannes for Top Gun: Maverick. There’s speculation about whether he might rappel down the Palais des Festivals in a similar fashion to his stunt at the Paris Olympics during the 2025 festival. While there are currently no plans for this to happen, it would certainly be exciting to see a big event for Paramount’s upcoming installment in the franchise, especially with its U.S. theatrical release set for May 2025. Hopefully, everything will come together for it to occur.
“Dracula: A Love Tale”
Luc Besson joins forces again with Caleb Landry Jones, the lead from his recent film Dogman, in this romantic reinterpretation of the Bram Stoker classic. The story is set in Belle Epoque Paris instead of its original UK locations of Whitby and London, along with Dracula’s castle nestled in the Transylvanian Mountains of Romania.
“Rental Family”
In one of his initial roles following his Oscar-winning turn in The Whale, Brendan Fraser plays a struggling American expatriate living in Tokyo who finds work at an agency that rents out family members. This film is the second feature from Japanese American director Hikari, whose debut film 37 Seconds premiered in the Panorama section of the Berlinale in 2019, where it won the Audience Award. In the meantime, she has directed episodes of Tokyo Vice and Beef. At a discussion event during the Red Sea Film Festival in December, Fraser revealed that the film is set to be released in 2025.