A handful of movies went up the mountain to Telluride and came down anointed Oscar contenders.
Another few navigated the canals in Venice and were celebrated Italian style.
But now it’s time for the Big One.
The Toronto International Film Festival, which kicks off on Thursday night with a gala screening of Bill Condon‘s WikiLeaks movie “The Fifth Estate” (plus 20 other public screenings and 59 press and industry screenings that day alone), is the behemoth of the fall festivals, the one that shows almost everything over 11 days in Canada.
See photos: 20 Questions About 20 Big Toronto Movies
By the end of that week and a half, we’ll have a better idea of whether it was the thin air or the unflinching artistry that made everyone rave about Steve McQueen‘s “12 Years a Slave.”