This year’s fest promises to be bigger, better and bolder than ever before, with a whole slew of films looking at the young adult experience and beyond. Standout performances have already created considerable buzz, and we’ve gotten together the most exciting titles in one helpful guide to help you pick the entries to look out for. Keep an eye out and enjoy!
Beneath the Harvest Sky
The Sensitive, Brooding Entry.
Emory Cohen (having appeared in The Place Beyond the Pines with Ryan Gosling) stars in this quiet but intense story of friendship and coming of age during the fall potato harvest in a sleepy Maine town. When Casper (Cohen) and his friend Dominic (Callan McAuliffe, The Great Gatsby) hatch a plan to get out, things of course fall apart quick when one of the boys gets involved in the family business—smuggling drugs over the border to Canada.
Broken Hill Blues
The Understated, Foreign Entry.
Lina Leandersson of Let the Right One In stars in this portrait of a small town on its last legs, literally: the northern town of Kiruna, Sweden, is about to crumble to dust, precariously built over an iron ore mine. The town’s inhabitants will have to move soon, and the teens of the soon-to-be-displaced families bring to light the general longing and fragility felt by everyone.
Every Secret Thing
The Creepy Mystery Entry.
Starring gifted actresses Dakota Fanning, Diane Lane and Elizabeth Banks, this fascinating film explores the case of a missing baby in a New York suburb and the two young (Fanning and Danielle Macdonald) girls responsible. After 7 years in prison, the girls find themselves back in a town that still holds them accountable, and soon another child goes missing. As a detective (Banks) delves further into the mystery, she begins to uncover secret after shocking secret. Directed by a celebrated documentary filmmaker in her fiction feature film debut.
Gabriel
The Haunting Psychological Entry.
Starring the uber talented Rory Culkin, Gabriel is a portrait of obsession, psychosis and vulnerability. While battling an increasingly serious mental disorder, Gabriel decides that his troubles will end if he is only able to reunite with his first love. And he will stop at nothing, as impossible as it may seem.
Life Partners
The Adorable, Buddy Comedy Entry.
Gossip Girl Leighton Meester sheds some of her urbane upper-crustiness here, in a new take on the best friend comedy. Sasha (Meester) and Paige (Gillian Jacobs, of Community) have been friends forever, depending on each other for closeness and protecting each other from the perceived dangers of dating. But when one of the girls ends up meeting someone, the dynamics begin to shift and change, but not everyone is on board. An interesting and relatable look at what it takes to stay friends, even when you start growing up.
Night Moves
The Dark Political Message Entry.
In the tradition of last year’s gripping thriller The East, this drama centers on a ragtag group of extreme environmentalists bent on blowing up Oregon’s Green Peter Dam in an effort to send a brazen message. When things go wrong, danger lurks at every turn. Featuring amazing performances by Dakota Fanning, Peter Sarsgaard and Jesse Eisenberg.
Palo Alto
The Searing Teen Drama Entry.
Since fiction tends to follow truth, this original high school drama follows the exploits of goody-goody April (Emma Roberts) who begins an illicit liaison with her gym teacher (James Franco, recently embroiled in an online scandal involving an underage teen). Written and directed by a family member of film royalty, Palo Alto marks the feature debut for Gia Coppola, who adapted the script from a story by renaissance man James Franco himself.
Something Must Break
The Moody, European entry.
A romance very much of the times (but also, of course, completely timeless), Something Must Break follows the path of gender-bending Sebastian, who is navigating a transition towards becoming Ellie, and Andreas, who identifies as straight and feels troubled by his feelings for the other boy. At once intimate and slightly foreboding, this film recounts the beginnings of an intense relationship and all its ramifications.
Starred Up
The Violent, Family Drama Entry.
Starring Jack O’Connell, set to appear in Angelina Jolie’s upcoming directorial debut Unbroken, this film follows troubled youth Eric (O’Connell) as he is transferred to an adult prison where his father is being held as well. Eric’s more than volatile behavior earns him enemies on both sides of the law, and pushes his relationship with his father past the breaking point. Written by an actual prison therapist, the story explores Eric’s involvement with an in-prison anger management group. The results are explosive, uncompromising and extraordinary.
Zombeavers
The Ridiculous Gorefest Entry!
Forget Piranha – it’s all about Beavers next. In yet another iteration of the ever-popular zombie genre (the horror trend du moment), this film follows a bunch of horny teenagers away in the woods for the weekend (of course), and the…zombie beavers who terrorize them. Yes, you read that right. Let’s just hope this one is at least as fun as it is ridiculous.