By Kt Schaefer 

In July of 2017, the Toronto International Film Festival announced its "Share Her Journey" initiative, a 5-year plan to increase opportunities for women in all aspects of the film process, but especially for women directors. While it seemed very timely, 2017 being the year that #MeToo and #TimesUp began, TIFF started out its history in 1976 with a strong dedication to showcasing women’s voices. With the help of a programming track they called ‘Womanscene’ the first TIFF, then called the ‘Festival of Festivals’, managed to have a third of its content produced by women directors which was remarkable for the time. As is the case this year, 1976 saw a variety of genres from the contributions of these women allowing everyone in attendance to see how much they had to contribute to the art form.

However, films by women were not only relegated to the ‘Womanscene’ track as several women opted not to participate for fear of having their work marginalized due to being seen as somehow different from the films that men make. One of those on the outside of that special track was “Harlan County U.S.A.”, documentarian Barbara Kopple’s first film. After she and her crew spent more than a year with the miners and their families they created a film that provided insight into a section of American life that isn’t often given a voice, the labor classes endless struggle against those who would exploit them. The dark story of a group of miners attempting to unionize against desperate odds eventually went on to win that year’s Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Throughout the intervening years, TIFF has offered women great opportunities to have their work seen and appreciated. This year will see one of film's most iconic female directors, Claire Denis, whose first film “Chocolate” was shown to great acclaim in 1988, make her English language debut. In “Chocolate” Denis chose to tell a story of a woman’s return to her childhood home in French-controlled Cameroon. Once there the film delves into her childhood memories, showing the turmoil near the end of the occupation when social rules were in flux and her own household was thrown into conflict by unexpected visitors and the presence of the ‘houseboy’ Protee (Isaach De Bankole). Although very different from her upcoming release, it set a standard for her work that has only improved over the years.

In 2018, TIFF will show over 70 feature films directed by women, not to mention the short films on offer, and the variety on display is staggering. With films from all over the world and almost every conceivable genre, there is something for every cinema fan to enjoy.

​Here are just a few of the films that will be playing over the course of the festival, some from the biggest names in the industry and a couple from those who are just starting down their path as directors.

By Daniel Howat 

​Believe it or not, Oscar season is in full swing already. Venice and Telluride hosted numerous high profile premieres, like “Roma,” “First Man,” “The Favourite,” and many more. The next stop on the Oscar circuit is the Toronto International Film Festival, where plenty more films are premiering, hoping to get their awards buzz rolling.

TIFF has become a statistical force in the Oscar race as of late. Since 2008, all but one winner of TIFF’s People’s Choice Award has gone onto a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars. Three of those won Best Picture (“Slumdog Millionaire,” “The King’s Speech,” and “12 Years A Slave”). Last year, as the film entered the festival, it wasn’t clear if “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” was a serious Oscar contender. And then it won the People’s Choice Award. From that moment on, no one underestimated its power in the race, even when they hated the movie. It’s just about as close as you get to a guaranteed nomination (though the record is bound to break someday soon).

There are plenty of films gunning for the award this year. Let’s dive into the films holding their premiere in Toronto this week that we're most excited for.

By Matt Neglia 

As promised, after our last post recapping the premiere of "The Old Man & The Gun" at the 2018 Telluride Film Festival, we are back to give you a quick rundown of all of the major premieres from the film festival which has been home to a number of Oscar films over the years. This year looks to be no different as some contenders landed strongly, while others did not fare as well. So which films are still in the awards race after this Labor Day weekend?

By Matt Neglia 

Our Patreon podcast series for "Last Best Picture" continues with a new month but this time we are changing things up a bit.

From now on, we will be providing 5 choices of previous nominees/winners for Best Picture to be voted on by you for review on the podcast instead of the previous 10 choices. The choices were all selected based on their relation to an Oscar contender being released this awards season. Those films are "A Star Is Born," "Beautiful Boy," "Suspiria," "First Man" and "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" The winner will be announced on September 30th Episode 110 of the podcast and then reviewed some time in the month of October. Stay tuned for September's winner ("The Social Network") which will go up later this month and you can now listen to August's winner "The Silence Of The Lambs."

Head on over to the polls page to vote and take a look at the new films below.

By Matt Neglia
​
For Episode 106, it is our 2 year anniversary here at Next Best Picture as myself, Will Mavity, Michael Schwartz, Ryan C. Showers, Celia Schlekewey, Danilo Castro & Tom O'Brien give our thoughts on the reactions coming out of the Venice & Telluride Film Festivals for many of the season's Oscar hopefuls including Jason Reitman's "The Front Runner" starring Hugh Jackman which is also our trailer discussion for this week. We also talk about the polls and how all of this impacts the race as we head towards the Toronto Film Festival this week.

Thank you and please feel free to subscribe on either ​SoundCloud, Tunein, GooglePlay, iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, CastBox, Acast, or you can have a listen down below. Please take a moment if you like the show to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts here. Also be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month and you'll receive exclusive podcast content.

By Matt Neglia 

Our review this week on the podcast is the follow up from director Lenny Abrahamson ("Room"), the creepy haunted drama titled "The Little Stranger" starring Domhnall Gleeson, Ruth Wilson, Will Poulter & Charlotte Rampling. Please listen to myself, Celia Schlekewey & Josh Parham review the film to find out our thoughts on Abrahamson's latest with a spoiler section at 24:45.

Thank you and please feel free to subscribe on either ​SoundCloud, Tunein, GooglePlay, iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, CastBox, Acast, or you can have a listen down below. Also be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month and you'll receive exclusive podcast content.