This could be a case of scheduling conflicts, or it could be a hint that the fall festival season might not be up to par in terms of quality, but it looks as though no film will be hitting all four major fall fests in 2024. There are a few titles doing three of the four, but not all four.
I should note that Alfonso Cuaron’s “Disclaimer” is confirmed to hit Venice, Telluride and TIFF. It might very well get announced as a special screening at NYFF, but nothing has been confirmed. Regardless, it’s not a film, but rather a 7-hour Apple TV+ limited series.
Now, here’s a list of the films we can expect to screen at three of the fall festivals — not counting Cannes titles. Five of the six are going to be in Venice competition. Notice, none of them are going to Telluride.
The Room Next Door (Venice/TIFF/NYFF)
The Brutalist (Venice/TIFF/NYFF)
Queer (Venice/NYFF/TIFF)
April (Venice/NYFF/TIFF)
Harvest (Venice/NYFF/TIFF)
Happyend (Venice/NYFF/TIFF)
Usually, when a film hits four out of four then you can expect it to be met with critical acclaim. Past titles that hit a fall fest homerun include 2017’s “First Reformed,” 2018’s “ROMA,” 2019’s “Marriage Story,” 2020’s “Nomadland,” 2021’s “The Power of the Dog” and 2022’s “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed.” Three out of those six films ended up winning the Golden Lion at Venice.
Last year also had no film make all four festivals. Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Poor Things,” which screened at Venice, Telluride and NYFF, was set up for a TIFF screening, but had to bow out after a clumsy scheduling conflict prevented that from happening.
Is all of this an indicator that the quality of this year’s fall movies will not be up to par? Not necessarily. Telluride seems to have missed out on key titles titles this year, including Almodovar, Guadagnino, and Corbet’s films — I can confirm that one of these three was rejected by festival boss Julie Huntsinger.
Speaking of Corbet, of all of the films ready to premiere this fall, “The Brutalist” is the one I keep hearing deafening buzz for. I’ve spoken to two people who have seen Corbet’s 3-hour 35-minute film, and both are saying it’s a “masterpiece.” There’s talk of the film being a major Golden Lion contender. If “The Brutalist” turns out to garner the kind of acclaim from critics that I think it will, then it would represent a major breakout moment for Corbet’s career.