Eagle Era

AHS excitement for new films featured at the TIFF/Venice Film Festivals

By Jonathan Wang

A film festival is an event centered around film screenings, allowing filmmakers to showcase their work, network with industry professionals, and sometimes feature awards. With most Fall Film Festivals concluding, many films shown, such as Frankenstein and The Smashing Machine, will begin releasing to the public. 

At the Toronto International Film Festival, Academy Award-winning director Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, a historical fiction film about William Shakespeare and his wife, Agnes, after their son dies—based on the book by the same name—won the People’s Choice Award, according to TIFF.

Dong-you Yeh (12), former AP Lang student and a big reader, said, “Hamnet seems interesting since I am interested in literature, and since Shakespeare is such a titan of literature.”

Known for directing Oldboy, South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook’s new film, No Other Choice, a comedy thriller about a man going to desperate lengths after losing his job, won the International People’s Choice Award.

Ashvik Ghosh (12), who loves Korean shows like Alice In Borderland and Squid Game, said, “The film I am most excited about is No Other Choice. From what I’ve heard, the plot sounds very similar to Parasite, but knowing Park Chan-wook, I am sure it will be wonderfully original and will have me on the edge of my seat.”

Meanwhile, at Venice, the Golden Lion for Best Film went to Father Mother Sister Brother, a film about estranged siblings who reunite, according to Vogue.

The Silver Lion for Best Director went to Benny Safdie for his work in The Smashing Machine, which stars The Rock. Yeh said, “I don’t really like The Rock’s movies. I feel like they’re too focused on him since he is The Rock, so the rest of the story becomes lackluster.”

Another movie that has received critical acclaim is Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein. Ghosh said, “Guillermo Del Toro is one of my favorite directors of all time. His movies have a dark, gothic aesthetic and feel like those original, sinister versions of fairytales before they were Disneyfied, so I think he is the perfect director for a story like Frankenstein.”

The film festivals also allowed for political expression. The Voice of Hind Rajab, a docudrama which follows attempts to save a 6-year-old Palestinian girl killed by the Israeli Defense Forces, premiered at Venice. The film was produced by Hollywood figures like Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, and Alfonso Cuarón. Ghosh said, “I think artists promoting causes they believe in through their work is the best way for them to. It’s important for public figures to exercise their right to free speech so that there is a free exchange of opinions and ideas.”

Another film, The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, depicts an Israeli, Noam Tibon, rescuing his family from Hamas on October 7th, 2025, and premiered at Toronto. At first, TIFF disinvited the film, but after backlash and a letter from over 1000 industry professionals, it was re-added to the lineup. “No movies should be banned unless they’re inciting violence or something extreme. It feels like they’re infringing upon our free speech rights,” said Ghosh.