Way back in 1976 the Toronto International Film Festival launched as the "Festival of Festivals", a showcase of the the best from earlier events in the year (Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, etc.).

That tradition still continues, and many of the must-sees that are part of TIFF's massive slate of films are these gems that have already had a chance to shine but are now getting their local debut.

The following are some of the best Festival Films that are making their Toronto debut at TIFF 2024.

Anora

It may seem counterintuitive, but Sean Baker taking home the top prize at Cannes for this romantic, violent, and downright delightful tale of gangsters and young lovers may cause the cynical viewer to not give into its obvious charms. Go in blind and you'll be in for one of the best of the year.

Emilia Pérez

Speaking of going in blind, the sheer joy of truly discovering the twists and turns that take place with film at the Cannes premiere was an absolute delight, so take it on faith that the latest from Jacques Audiard (winner of an ensemble acting award), another gangster tale, is brave, bonkers and brilliant.

Megalopolis

I wrote thousands of words trying to express the feeling of experiencing this "magical, meandering, maddening epic", and Francis Ford Copolla's self-financed sci-fi fever dream hasn't left my mind much since then.

While the Gala audiences at Roy Thompson Hall will surely be left aghast, the smarter cinephiles will strive to see it in all its IMAX glory later in the schedule.

Universal Language

I so love this movie, and this award winning film out of Cannes is my top Canadian film of the year. Matthew Rankin's latest absurdity mixes the whimsy of Wes Anderson with the bleakness of Tarkovski, making for another wonderfully weird Winnipeg epic, this one a wile ride where Farsi and French mix, turkeys roam, and earmuffs abound.

Flow

Latvia's Gints Zilbalodis's and a small team tell this astonishingly accomplished animated story of a cat escaping a flood. We see as the clever feline must reluctantly joining up with some companions, the crew making their way to safety together. It's a beautiful story, echoing likes of last year's equally delightful, Oscar-winning Robot Dreams.

All We Imagine as Light

Documentarian Payal Kapadia's first foray into fiction, and her tale of two woman who leave their claustrophobic urban enviroment to find another life at a seaside village garnered the Mumbai-based filmmaker a Grand Prix prize at this year's Cannes festival.

The Substance

Like with Julia Ducournau's previous Palme winner Titane, Coralie Fargeat unappologetically leans into her inner Cronenberg with this brash, bonkers look at the travails of aging and the vagaries of beauty standards. Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley rock in this latest from the filmmaker behind 2017 Midnight Madness hit Revenge.

No Other Land

Local audiences have been hungry for this Berlinale jury and audience award winner, where Basel Adra, a Palestinian, and Yuval Abraham, an Israeli, join forces in this timely documentary to illustrate the complexity of resistance and to illuminate the spark of hope that creative partnership can foster in the face of injustice.

Dahomey

TIFF audiences warmy embraced Matti Diop's Atlantiques, and with her latest taking top prize at the Berlinale there's plenty craving to see her latest, a non-fiction look at the complicated tale of art repatriation, tracing treasures as they return to Africa from Museums in France.

Will and Harper

Debuting out of competition at last January's Sundance, Josh Greenbaum's much talked about doc sees former SNL staffers Will Farrell and Harper Steelle.

The latter undergoes transitioning, heading 0ut on a road trip in order to deepen their friendship and find just how much American society is changing its attitude regarding changes in gender.