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Deadlines don鈥檛 always sync with screening times, so my list of 10 favourites from TIFF is necessarily more a series of snapshots from a very good fest, the best since 2019.

I limited my picks to mostly discoveries made in 色色啦 鈥� I鈥檝e already raved about Cannes faves 鈥淎nora,鈥� 鈥淭he Substance,鈥� 鈥淭he Shrouds,鈥� 鈥淓milia P茅rez鈥� and others 鈥� but I did include one film I missed at Cannes, Mohammad Rasoulof鈥檚 potent thriller, 鈥淭he Seed of the Sacred Fig.鈥�

And since TIFF coincides with the official start of awards season, I鈥檝e also included my predictions on how these films (and one TV series) will fare:

Conclave

Ralph Fiennes commands attention as a Vatican dean of cardinals forced to play detective in Edward Berger鈥檚 masterful political thriller, set during a papal election. Berger (“All Quiet on the Western Front鈥�) expertly adapts to the screen the novel by Robert Harris, who specializes in backstage intrigue. Fiennes鈥� Cardinal Lawrence, fighting doubts about his church but not his faith, combines humility with Colombo-style intuition as he navigates warring progressive and conservative forces seeking to succeed a pope who died suddenly and suspiciously. Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini and Lucian Msamati help round out a divine cast.

Possible Oscars聽best picture, director, actor (Fiennes), supporting actor (Tucci), supporting actress (Rossellini) and adapted screenplay.

The Wild Robot

A lost robot, an orphaned gosling and a canny fox join forces in Chris Sanders鈥� ode to love and teamwork in a screen adaptation of Peter Brown鈥檚 children鈥檚 story of the same name. Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong鈥檕 voices the title character, a robot named Roz designed to aid humans, who finds herself stranded on a remote island surrounded by wild animals. Roz recalls the Tin Man of “The Wizard of Oz” with her empathetic voicing of a machine learning what a heart is for. The animation is painterly and gorgeous. The fantastic voice cast also includes Pedro Pascal, Catherine O鈥橦ara, Mark Hamill, Bill Nighy and Ving Rhames. It鈥檚 simply the best animated film I鈥檝e seen all year.

Possible Oscars聽best animated feature and best adapted screenplay.

Nightbitch

Since Rachel Yoder鈥檚 wild mom-to-mongrel novel 鈥淣ightbitch鈥� was published in 2021, readers have speculated about how it would fare as a film. Now we know, happily: tilts toward dark family comedy and away from Yoder鈥檚 often horrific imagery. This makes the film more human and relatable, with Amy Adams giving her all as a stressed-out suburban mom who believes she鈥檚 turning into a dog 鈥� complete with fur, fangs and a craving for raw meat. Adams鈥� off-leash energy seizes the frame, but Scoot McNairy provides excellent support as the clueless absentee dad who can鈥檛 process what鈥檚 going on with his wife or his life.

Possible Oscars best picture, director, actress (Adams), supporting actor (McNairy) and adapted screenplay.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

The screenwriter鈥檚 maxim of Chekhov鈥檚 gun 鈥� a firearm glimpsed early must become part of the plot 鈥� has never been more explosive than it is in this furtive family saga by Iran鈥檚 Mohammad Rasoulof. He made this psychological thriller in secret and was later forced to flee his country to escape imprisonment by its repressive regime. It鈥檚 the story of Iman (Missagh Zareh), a lawyer in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran who thinks his life has taken a turn for the better when he鈥檚 promoted to the role of senior investigator. So does his wife (Soheila Golestani), who dreams the promotion will mean better housing for the family. Their two young-adult daughters (Mahsa Rostami, Setareh Maleki) are less impressed; their dad is working for a government inflamed by scandal and public protests. Hence the gun, which Iman has been given for personal protection but which becomes a tragic symbol of corruption.

Possible Oscars best international feature, best original screenplay.

Saturday Night

The barely controlled mayhem of Jason Reitman鈥檚 latest comic feature tells the strange and mostly true tale of the wild Oct. 11, 1975 launch of groundbreaking TV comedy show 鈥淪aturday Night Live.鈥� Montreal-born Reitman (鈥淛uno鈥�) focuses on the perspective of 色色啦-born Lorne Michaels, the show鈥檚 creator and still its guiding force. Michaels is played by Canadian Gabriel LaBelle, who stood in for a young Steven Spielberg in 鈥淢eet the Fabelmans.鈥� It helps a lot if you鈥檙e a longtime “SNL” viewer, to better understand the many inside jokes and recognize behind-the-camera players. But you can鈥檛 miss the funny with a cast that also includes Cory Michael Smith, Finn Wolfhard, Willem Dafoe, Ella Hunt, Rachel Sennott, Lamorne Morris and J.K. Simmons.

Possible Oscars best picture, director and supporting actor (Smith).

Babygirl

There was a lot of pre-TIFF talk about the sex and nudity in this erotic drama from Halina Reijn (鈥淏odies Bodies Bodies鈥�), but the fearless Nicole Kidman has shown more skin in the past. What she bares most here, in almost breathtaking fashion, is naked emotion. She鈥檚 simply astounding as Romy, a married top-level executive who foolishly falls into an intense sexual and role-playing relationship with an intern (Harris Dickinson of 鈥淭riangle of Sadness鈥�). This provocative flip of the usual C-suite gender dynamics juggles corporate power politics and #MeToo reckoning like sticks of lit dynamite.

Possible Oscars best actress (Kidman), best supporting actor (Dickinson), best original screenplay.

Disclaimer

You need to see all seven chapters of this psychological thriller from five-time Oscar winner Alfonso Cuar贸n (鈥淩oma鈥�) to really understand the point he鈥檚 making about assuming the worst in uncertain circumstances. Based on the eponymous bestselling novel by Ren茅e Knight, this TV miniseries, shown in TIFF’s Primetime program, stars Cate Blanchett as a crusading journalist whose own life is upended when a book by a mystery author reveals her dark secrets. The ace ensemble cast also includes Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen and Lesley Manville. The series will keep you doubting your eyes until the credits roll.

Possible Emmys best limited or anthology series, best lead actress (Blanchett), best lead actor (Kline), best casting for a limited series.

Bring Them Down

The Hatfields and McCoys have nothing on the bloody feud between the rural neighbours of Christophers Andrews鈥� slow-burning feature debut, set in a disarmingly tranquil part of Ireland. Disagreements over land access and livestock combine with past tragedy and current misery, yoking together two families in sorrow, shame and violence. Barry Keoghan (鈥淪altburn鈥�), Christopher Abbott (鈥淪anctuary鈥�) and Nora-Jane Noone (鈥淏rooklyn鈥�) lead an outstanding cast that illustrates the high cost of failing to heal old wounds. One of the most powerful films I saw at TIFF.

Possible Oscars best international feature, best supporting actor (Keoghan).

Unstoppable

Veteran film editor William Goldenberg鈥檚 solid feature directing debut is a real-life Cinderella story about a young wrestler fighting physical and social limitations. It鈥檚 an actor鈥檚 showcase for rising star Jharrel Jerome (鈥淢oonlight鈥� and TV鈥檚 鈥淲hen They See Us”). Jerome plays Anthony Robles, an American wrestler born with one leg who fought to win despite the odds stacked against him. This inspirational saga is greatly enhanced by the supporting cast, including Don Cheadle and Michael Pe帽a as demanding coaches, Jennifer Lopez as Anthony鈥檚 supportive mom and Bobby Cannavale as a combustible member of the household. Goldenberg鈥檚 sharp eye as an editor enhances the fight scenes, where the real Robles doubles for Jerome.

Possible awards TIFF audience prize, Oscar for best actor (Jerome).

Piece by Piece

Pharrell Williams 鈥� unmistakable beats are represented as Lego sculptures in this animated 鈥� and highly original 鈥� approach to the life and music of the hip-hop/R&B star and producer. It鈥檚 an idea he suggested to Oscar-winning documentarian Morgan Neville (鈥�20 Feet from Stardom鈥�) to avoid the same-old of celebrity docs. Fellow travellers Gwen Stefani, Busta Rhymes, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg and Jay-Z are also depicted in Lego bricks, as is the ghost of astronomer Carl Sagan. An act of brilliant creativity, boldly and amusingly rendered.

Possible Oscars best animated feature, best original song (鈥淧iece by Piece鈥�).