‘Jay Kelly’ and ‘No Other Choice’ Are the Only Films Playing Three Major Fall Festivals This Year

This could be a case of scheduling conflicts, or studio strategy, 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 — outside of one doc — will be hitting all four major fall fests in 2025.

There are a few titles doing three of the four, but not all four.

I should note that Laura Poitras’ “Cover-Up,” a documentary about legendary investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, is confirmed for Venice, TIFF, and NYFF. It might very well get announced for Telluride as well, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Regardless, it’s the only title this fall that might end up screening at all four major fests.

Now, here’s a list of the films we can expect to screen at three of the fall festivals — not counting Cannes titles. There are only four:

• “Jay Kelly” (Venice/Telluride/NYFF)

• “No Other Choice” (Venice/TIFF/NYFF)

• “Duse” (Venice/TIFF/NYFF)

• “Below the Clouds” (Venice/TIFF/NYFF)

Then there’s the films going to three major fests, but not part of Venice competition:

• “Rose of Nevada” (Venice/TIFF/NYFF)

• “Tierra Nuestra” (Venice/TIFF/NYFF)

As for Paolo Sorrentino’s “La Grazia,” no Main Slate at NYFF, which can be seen by some as a downgrade, but it is going to TIFF and Venice. Its appearance at Telluride is still uncertain, but if it does screen there, it’ll be the only narrative film hitting all four major fests.

It still boggles the mind how Noah Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly,” which looks like a crowd-pleaser, isn’t hitting TIFF. What’s the deal with that? It obviously didn’t get rejected by the Canadian festival, which would never pass up the chance to have George Clooney and Adam Sandler walking the red carpet. This was clearly Netflix’s decision.

Usually, when a film hits four out of four, you can expect it to be met with critical acclaim. Past titles that hit a fall fest home run include “First Reformed” (2017), “ROMA” (2018), “Marriage Story” (2019), “Nomadland” (2020), “The Power of the Dog” (2021), and “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” (2022). Three out of those six films ended up winning the Golden Lion at Venice.

Last year also had no film make all four festivals, but a few did hit three — including Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist,” which screened at Venice, TIFF, and NYFF and ended up garnering critical acclaim.

Is all of this an indicator that the quality of this year’s fall movies will not be up to par? Not necessarily. TIFF seems to have missed out on key titles this year, including Baumbach’s “Jay Kelly,” Kathryn Bigelow’s “A House of Dynamite,” Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Bugonia,” and Luca Guadagnino’s “After the Hunt.”

Meanwhile, as is always the case, buzzy Cannes titles will be hitting TIFF, Telluride, and NYFF, including Jafar Panahi’s “It Was Just an Accident,” Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” and Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “The Secret Agent.”