Like every year, the Toronto International Film Festival is packed with outstanding movies, and 2018 is no different. Yes, the festival is a launching pad for Oscar hopefuls, but that doesn’t mean there’s a lack of genuinely good movies that are looking for more than just awards. In some ways, it’s a level playing ground where prestige dramas can compete with indies and A-list actors stand alongside up-and-coming talent. While it rarely has the surprise factor of a festival like Sundance, TIFF always delivers and it usually forces difficult choices when it comes to making a schedule.

Although there are far more than ten must-see movies at this year’s TIFF, I’ve decided to whittle down my list (in no particular order) to the ones I absolutely can’t miss at the festival. I’ll be seeing far more than these ten during my week in Toronto, but I’m making sure I catch these promising pictures.

First Man

Director: Damien Chazelle

Writer: Josh Singer

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Pablo Schreiber, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Shea Whigham, and Lukas Haas

Damien Chazelle has already been an Oscar player with his first two movies, Whiplash and La La Land, and it’s likely he will be again with First Man. The subject matter—following Neil Armstrong’s preparation and mission to the Moon—is inherently dramatic, but judging from the trailers, the unique spin here is that Chazelle is eschewing jingoistic patriotism and stodgy history for something far more intense and visceral. He really seems to want to put viewers in the moment of the moon mission and the many risks that were inherent for such a journey. It makes First Man look like anything but your typical NASA movie, and I can’t wait to see how it all turns out.

A Star Is Born

Director: Bradley Cooper

Writers: Eric Roth and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters

Cast: Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Sam Elliott, and Dave Chappelle

Bradley Cooper makes his directorial debut on A Star Is Born, the latest remake of the 1937 film, but one that promises to have a fresh vision on the material. The overarching story is the same—a singer on the decline (Cooper) falls for a young artist (Lady Gaga), and their relationship unfolds as his fame diminishes and hers explodes—but there’s not even the faintest sense of “been there, done that” with this version even though this is the third remake. Reviews out of Venice have been possible, and I’m eager to see what Cooper can do behind the camera, and for what Gaga will do with her biggest role to date.

Beautiful Boy

Director: Felix Van Groeningen

Writers: Luke Davies and Felix Van Groeningen

Cast: Steve Carell, Timothee Chalamet, Maura Tierney, Kaitlyn Dever, and Amy Ryan

Yeah, this one will probably rip my heart out just like Van Groeningen’s 2012 movie, The Broken Circle Breakdown. The story, based on the memoirs of father and son David and Nic Sheff, follows the tumultuous relationship between David (Steve Carell) and Nic (Timothee Chalamet) as Nic descends further into drug addiction. I don’t expect Van Groening to pull any punches, but I do expect some terrific performances from Carell and Chalamet in what looks to be a pretty gut-wrenching but necessary movie.

22 July

Writer/Director: Paul Greengrass

Cast: Anders Danielsen Lie, Jonas Strand Gravli, Jon Øigarden, Isak Bakli Aglen, Seda Witt, Maria Bock, Thorbjørn Harr, and Ola G. Furuseth

And yet as brutal Beautiful Boy looks, the movie I’m truly dreading from an emotional perspective is Paul Greengrass’ 22 July. The movie is based on the twin terror attacks in 2011 in Norway—a bomb blast at a government building in Oslo and a massacre at a youth camp in Utøya. Greengrass is always unflinching in his filmmaking, especially when he takes on real events like in Bloody Sunday, United 93, and Captain Phillips. What’s fascinating here is that Norway has a very different approach to violence and punishment than the U.S., and it should be interesting to see the political undertones of the story even though it likely means witnessing some deeply disturbing imagery.

Widows

Director: Steve McQueen

Writers: Gillian Flynn & Steve McQueen

Cast: Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Rodriguez, Cynthia Erivo, Liam Neeson, Jon Bernthal, Colin Farrell, Brian Tyree Henry, Daniel Kaluuya, and Robert Duvall

It’s been five long years since Steve McQueen’s last film, the Best Picture-winning 12 Years a Slave, but now he’s back with a far cry from his previous movies. Widows looks far more action-oriented than McQueen’s last efforts, but no less electrifying. Working from a script by Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn, the story follows four women who must put together a heist after their husbands die in debt to some very bad people. There’s a murderers row of acting talent on this film, and I’m eager to see how McQueen utilizes his outstanding cast for his latest picture.

If Beale Street Could Talk

Writer/Director: Barry Jenkins

Cast: KiKi Layne, Stephan James, Regina King, Colman Domingo, Reyonah Parris, Michael Beach, Aunjanue Ellis, and Ebony Obsidian

Barry Jenkins’ follow-up to Moonlight demands to be seen if for no other reason than it’s the follow-up to Moonlight. But as we saw from the first trailer, Jenkins has lost none of his verve or powerful framing in his adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel. The story is a tragic romance of sorts as two young lovers are at odds with their families but matters become even more serious when a corrupt cop frames the man for rape. Even though Baldwin’s novel came out decades ago, If Beale Street Could Talk seems very much a movie of the moment, and I can’t wait to see what Jenkins does with it.

The Old Man & the Gun

Writer/Director: David Lowery

Cast: Robert Redford, Casey Affleck, Danny Glover, Tom Waits, Tika Sumpter, and Sissy Spacek

This would be worth seeing even if it wasn’t Robert Redford’s final performance before he retires from acting. The cinematography for The Old Man & the Gun is gorgeous, and the plot sounds like a lot of fun. Lowery looks like he’s crafted a throwback of sorts that’s in the middle between a heist movie and a love story, and both aspects look like they’re going to work wonderfully, especially when you’ve got a great supporting cast that includes Sissy Spacek and Tom Waits.

ROMA

Writer/Director: Alfonso Cuaron

Cast: Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira

It’s a new Alfonso Cuaron movie, y’all! Five years after taking the world by storm with Gravity, the Oscar-winning director is back with a far more different movie, and yet still with the same level of expert craftsmanship. The movie is largely autobiographical and draws from Cuaron’s childhood, although the story for ROMA takes place in Mexico City in the 1970s and follows the maid for a middle-class family. Cuaron shot the film in black and white, but with a 65mm digital camera, which would make for some unique visuals that will accompany the unique sound mix, presented in Dolby Atmos. While the movie will be available on Netflix by the end of the year, I can’t wait to see it in a theater.

The Sisters Brothers

Director: Jacques Audiard

Writers: Jacques Audiard and Thomas Bidegain

Cast: John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Riz Ahmed

I’m a sucker for a good western, and I’m already a fan of director Jacques Audiard, who previously helmed the outstanding A Prophet and The Beat That My Heart Skipped. Audiard’s adaptation of The Sisters Brothers follows the titular characters, unsavory hitmen wrestling with their place on the frontier, as they’re called in to hunt down a prospector. Early reviews out of Venice have already praised the movie and its melancholy tone, so I can’t wait to see what Audiard has done with the material.

Hold the Dark

Director: Jeremy Saulnier

Writer: Macon Blair

Cast: Jeffrey Wright, Alexander Skarsgard, Riley Keough, and James Badge Dale

If you’re not familiar with the work of director Jeremy Saulnier, go see Blue Ruin and Green Room, be horrified and astounded, and then come back. Saulnier is one of the most exciting directors working today, and his latest, Hold the Dark, written by frequent collaborator Macon Blair, looks like it will pull no punches. I’m trying to stay in the dark on this one, but I’m fully bracing myself for what promises to be a shocking and powerful movie in the vein of Saulnier’s previous efforts.