Bending reality and stretching our imagination with fantasy and science fiction, the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has no shortage of strange and far out there stories. Here is a list of sci-fi and fantasy TIFF movies to look out for this festival.
TIFF is back from September 5 – 15, 2024 for its 49th edition. 11 days of Canadian and international cinema, special events, and talks with some of the biggest names in film. TIFF’s Industry Conference is a place to connect with film professionals and explore the art and business of cinema.
Daniela Forever
With a blend of sci-fi and romance, Daniela Forever tells the tale of a bereaved man (Henry Golding) who enrolls in a clinical trial for a drug that allows him to reunite with his lost lover (Beatrice Grannò) through lucid dreams.
U Are The Universe
After the Earth explodes, Ukrainian space trucker Andriy Melnyk becomes the last person in the universe, until one day, he receives a call. Touching the most universal aspects of life — love, loneliness, joy, sadness — U Are The Universe is a genre-bending journey into the soul, infinity… and beyond! Written and filmed during Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Pavlo Ostrikov’s debut feature is a true wonder and a timely reminder of how important it is to connect with someone who understands us, even during the darkest of times.
Escape from the 21st Century
Once upon the year 1999, on a planet very much like our own — only 3,000 light years away — three teenagers find themselves plunging into chemical waste that imbues them with a unique ability: when they sneeze, their consciousness travels 20 years into the future. With their sinuses now propelling them to and fro in time, they are burdened with two precepts: the future sucks, and they have power to change it.
Megalopolis
Pivoting between political drama, philosophical science fiction, and star-crossed romance, legendary writer-director Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project Megalopolis stars Adam Driver as a visionary architect whose utopian ambitions clash with the more earth-bound demands of a modern city.
The Life of Chuck
Mike Flanagan takes a detour from the macabre to explore one of Stephen King’s alternate sensibilities in an adaptation that carries the spirit of his most optimistic work. The world feels like it’s ending, and everybody’s saying goodbye to Chuck. Wherever Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor) goes, he can’t get away from Charles Krantz (Tom Hiddleston). His face is showing up on billboards, window signs — even TV commercials. What’s so special about this seemingly ordinary accountant, and why does he warrant such a sendoff?
The Assessment
The Assessment is a sci-fi TIFF movie starring Alicia Vikander and Elizabeth Olsen set in a future world destroyed by climate change. A couple must pass an assessment before they are allowed to have a child in this sci-fi thriller.
Nightbitch
An overworked stay-at-home mom (Amy Adams) tries to catch a break, any break, while caring for her rambunctious toddler. Also, she might be turning into a dog.
The Substance
Demi Moore portrays a fading Hollywood star feuding with the manifestation of her younger self (Margaret Qualley) in this award-winning body-horror satire from writer-director Coralie Fargeat (Revenge). It is premiering during TIFF’s Midnight Madness.
Mr. K
Crispin Glover brings his best to Tallulah H. Schwab’s delightfully Kafkaesque tale of a travelling magician who finds himself in a hotel full of unusual guests — with no way out.
Can I Get A Witness?
A blend of live-action and animation tells a story set of a mother (Sandra Oh) and daughter (Keira Jang) in the near future when technology and travel are almost completely banned, and nobody is allowed to live past age 50.
For showtimes and even more movies, check out TIFF’s Sci-Fi & Fantasy lineup.
