The latest from Mr Steve McQueen and what else we’re looking forward to at the film festival.

After a scorching summer, the crisp autumn of film festival season resumes. Toronto (which kicks off today) and Venice (already up and running) are early barometers of the cinema most likely to define the year ahead: Mr Damien Chazelle’s First Man (starring Mr Ryan Gosling as Mr Neil Armstrong) and Mr Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born are confirmed for both. Toronto also offers new films from indie royalty Ms Nicole Holofcener, Mr Pawel Pawlikowski, Mr Alfonso Cuarón, Mr Jacques Audiard, Mr Hirokazu Kore-eda (the Palme d’Or-winning Shoplifters) and Mr Asghar Farhadi (psychological thriller Everybody Knows, starring Ms Penélope Cruz and Mr Javier Bardem). Among the films to premiere at Toronto, however, here are five of the finest.

Directed by Mr Felix Van Groeningen

In this adaptation of Mr Nic Sheff’s memoir, Mr Steve Carell plays a father helpless to prevent the meth addiction of his son (Mr Timothée Chalamet). It’s always a treat to see Mr Carell in a more serious key (his performance in Foxcatcher was a masterclass in tortured understatement), but even more so when reunited with his The Office co-star Ms Amy Ryan and paired with the hottest young actor in Hollywood. The trailer promises tears, Boyhood-worthy ambition and sharp father-son reflections.

Directed by Mr Steve McQueen

Based on a 1980s British TV series, Mr Steve McQueen’s first film since 2013’s 12 Years A Slave is co-written by Gone Girl author Ms Gillian Flynn. When four armed robbers (headed by Mr Liam Neeson) are killed in a failed heist, their widows (including Ms Viola Davis and Ms Michelle Rodriguez) take it upon themselves to finish the job. Mr Colin Farrell, Atlanta’s Mr Brian Tyree Henry, Get Out’s Mr Daniel Kaluuya, Ms Carrie Coon and Mr Robert Duvall complete an irresistible cast. Expect operatic long takes, elegant frame composition and rich performances.

Directed by Ms Claire Denis

Starring Mr Robert Pattinson and Ms Juliette Binoche, high priestess of French arthouse Ms Claire Denis’ first film in English sounds characteristically bold. To the mournful score of Tindersticks’ Mr Stuart Staples, a group of criminals are tricked into believing they will be freed if they participate in a spaceship mission to find an energy source in a black hole, while secretly being the subjects of sexual experimentation on board.

Directed by Mr Barry Jenkins

Adapted from Mr James Baldwin’s novel, Mr Barry Jenkins’ follow-up to Oscar-winning marvel Moonlight is a love story set in 1970s Harlem. Newcomer Ms Kiki Layne and Mr Stephan James (sprinter Mr Jesse Owens in 2016’s Race) play Tish and Fonny, a young couple imperilled by a false rape accusation. Ms Regina King, Mr Brian Tyree Henry, Mr Dave Franco, Mr Diego Luna and Mr Pedro Pascal provide eye-catching support in an artful, timely take on racial and sexual politics.

Directed by Ms Mia Hansen-Løve

Still only 37, Ms Hansen-Løve is one of the wisest directors in world cinema and an expert on professional crisis. A Flaubertian fable of two DJs on the Paris club scene, her 2014 film Eden gorgeously skewered the souring of creative frustration to the beat of vanishing youth and Daft Punk. In her latest film, regular collaborator Mr Roman Kolinka plays a French war reporter who tries to hide abroad after escaping captivity in Syria. A cerebral, understated thriller for today.