13 Sep Atlantic Film Festival 2016 top ten picks

Here, briefly, are the 10 films I’m most eager to see at this year’s AFF, September 17-24:

• Victoria (AFF | TIFF) — Greg Cruse, TOfilmfest.ca developer and editor, says: “With more than 150 extras across 22 locations, this 12-page script required six assistant directors to capture the story in one genuine uninterrupted shot for 134 minutes. An astonishing cinematic feat.”
• One Floor Below (AFF | TIFF) — Jay Weissberg at Cannes: “A moral quandary melds with a skilled construction of three-dimensional bourgeois life in Radu Muntean’s lean, absorbing anti-thriller.”
• Room (AFF | TIFF) — Incredibly well received at Telluride at its premiere a week ago; I’m generally leery of novel adaptations but this looks like a fascinating story.
• Cemetery of Splendour (AFF | TIFF) — Apichatpong Weerasethakul is back with his first feature-length film since winning the Palme D’Or for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.
• The Lobster (AFF | TIFF) — Cannes Jury Prize + Rachel Weisz + Lea Seydoux + John C. Reilly = take my money now so I can see this please.
• Rams (AFF | TIFF) — Top prize in the Un Certain Regard at Cannes this year, and Iceland, and feuding sheep farmers.
• The Daughter (AFF | TIFF) — A very specific choice for me—I’m a fan of a couple of Ibsen plays, and this is a very promising-looking adaptation of The Wild Duck, which I’ve never seen performed.
• Dheepan (AFF | TIFF) — I haven’t seen A Prophet (I know, right? how is that possible) and yet I’m still interested in seeing the latest from Jacques Audiard.  A Palme D’Or winner about refugees from a civil war? It’s bound to be topical if not masterful (Globe headline: “Critics be damned, TIFF thinks Dheepan is worthy of your attention“).
• Son of Saul (AFF | TIFF) — I thought I never wanted to see another Holocaust film and then I read this review.
• James White (AFF | TIFF) — “Audiences seeking spiritual uplift are strongly advised to look elsewhere” — call me crazy but I want to see this.