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