While Venice and TIFF (at least this year) don’t have dedicated film markets for packages, there are still plenty of indies debuting at the festivals that will have theatrical prowess or awards potential for the right buyer. At the start of the fall film festival season, we identified 15 films that we believe could sell and tried to match them to their perfect distributors. See what else sells and how many we got right below, and on the next page, check out a full scorecard of every film acquired so far and those that came into the fests with distributors already in place.
Both the below and the final scorecard on the next page will be updated as sales come in.
“Mile End Kicks”
Distributor: Sumerian Pictures
Director: Chandler Levack
Festival: TIFF Special Presentation
This rock & roll rom-com and coming-of-age story set in the Montreal Mile End indie music scene has appropriately landed with a record label, Sumerian Records, that has recently expanded into film. The record label that has artists like Bad Omens and the Smashing Pumpkins on its roster also recently backed the Sundance sci-fi “Divinity” and the concert film “Turnstile: Never Enough.” The distributor is planning a nationwide theatrical rollout for “Mile End Kicks,” which stars “Euphoria” actress Barbie Ferreira as a music critic in the summer of 2011 who becomes romantically involved with two members of the same indie rock band. IndieWire’s review called it “bright and funny and sexy and sad, the sort of thing that could only be made by someone who lived through so much of what her heroine encounters.”
“The Furious”
Distributor: Lionsgate
Director: Kenji Tanigaki
Festival: TIFF Midnight Madness
A true Hong Kong-style martial arts film revival, “The Furious” is the combined collaboration between “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” producer Bill Kong and the team behind “The Raid,” who aimed to make the definitive martial arts film of the last decade. “The Furious” is the directorial debut of action fight choreographer Kenji Tanigaki, and Lionsgate picked up the film in part because of the director’s upcoming relationship with the studio for their work together on the “John Wick” spinoff “Caine” starring Donnie Yen. Lionsgate will release “The Furious” next year in theaters and picked up worldwide rights, excluding the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, and Macao.
“The Napa Boys”
Distributor: Magnolia
Director: Nick Corirossi
Festival: TIFF Midnight Madness
Billed as a satirical spoof and send-up of “Sideways” and “American Pie,” Nick Corirossi and Armen Weitzman’s “The Napa Boys” was a hit as a Midnight movie earlier this year and got Magnolia to make a splash for an early theatrical release in 2026. The movie lampoons Hollywood studio comedies and franchises, “American Pie” among them, when a group of friends takes a strange journey through wine country. And like Magnolia’s other acquisition of “Maddie’s Secret” out of TIFF, “The Napa Boys” is stacked with alt-comedy figures. The co-writers and co-stars Corirossi and Weitzman even in their announcement had some fun with the storied film history their movie is now a part of, saying they were honored to share the screen with other Magnolia titles like Terrence Malick’s “To the Wonder” and Lars Von Trier’s “Nymphomaniac Part 1 & 2,” and that even John Ford’s vision of Monument Valley had “set the stage” for what would eventually become Napa Valley.
“I Swear”
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Director: Kirk Jones
Festival: TIFF Centrepiece
Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all rights in the United States, Latin America, most of Eastern Europe, Turkey, Southeast Asia, Portugal and South Korea to “I Swear,” written and directed by BAFTA nominee Kirk Jones. Following its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, the film has seen success at the UK box office, debuting at #3 for its opening weekend on October 10 and earning an impressive 100 percent from critics and audiences alike on Rotten Tomatoes.
Based on the inspiring, extraordinary life story of notable Tourette’s Syndrome campaigner John Davidson, MBE, the film stars Robert Aramayo with a supporting cast including three-time BAFTA nominee Maxine Peake, BAFTA winner Shirley Henderson, and Cannes Best Actor Award winner and Golden Lion winner Peter Mullan. No word yet on when SPC will release the film.
“Forastera”
Distributor: Grasshopper Films
Director: Lucía Aleñar Iglesias
Festival: TIFF Discovery
Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize for emerging filmmakers, “Forastera” is described as a meditation on grief and memory and follows a family mourning the loss of their matriarch during a summer in Mallorca, eventually leading the teenage girl of her family to assume the role of their grandmother. The film is playing the festival circuit and will open in theaters in 2026.
“Blue Heron”
Distributor: Janus Films
Director: Sophy Romvari
Festival: Locarno Competition, TIFF Centrepiece
Sophy Romvari’s luminous debut “Blue Heron” won hearts and minds at Locarno before heading to TIFF, winning awards at both. The coming-of-age drama “follows Sasha (EylulGuven), the eight-year-old daughter of a Hungarian immigrant family that relocates to Vancouver Island during the late 1990s. As the family starts to get settled in their new environment, their oldest son, Jeremy (Edik Beddoes) begins to show increasingly antisocial and dangerous behavioral issues in their new home.” The film is set for a 2026 release.
“Carolina Caroline”
Distributor: Magnolia
Director: Adam Carter Rehmeier
Festival: TIFF Centrepiece
We specifically named Magnolia as a potential, realistic landing spot for “Carolina Caroline,” Adam Carter Rehmeier’s crime thriller starring Samara Weaving. The film, which is Magnolia’s third purchase out of TIFF, stars Weaving as Caroline Daniels, whose desire to leave her small Texas town brings her into the orbit of a charismatic con man (Kyle Gallner), with whom she weaves a path of crime and passion across the American Southeast. The film also stars Kyra Sedgwick and has a standout country music soundtrack. It’s also the second film writer Tom Dean had at TIFF, the other being “Charlie Harper,” which also sold. Magnolia is planning a theatrical release for next year.
“The Christophers”
Distributor: Neon
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Festival: TIFF Special Presentation
Out of TIFF, we called “The Christophers” Ian McKellen’s best on-screen performance since he played Gandalf in the “Lord of the Rings” films, and Neon surely agreed. The distributor picked up Steven Soderbergh’s latest thriller, which follows a one-time art star who teams up with an art forger (Michaela Coel) to steal his unfinished work, complete them, and then have them be discovered in cold storage after his death in order to make them appear more valuable. Neon is planning a release theatrically for the film in 2026 and is also repping international sales rights. Jessica Gunning and James Corden also star in the film, and “The Christophers” is Soderbergh’s latest collaboration with screenwriter Ed Solomon after also working on “No Sudden Move” and the limited series “Mosaic.”
“Obsession”
Distributor: Focus Features
Director: Curry Barker
Festival: TIFF Midnight Madness
After a report from several weeks ago that Focus Features had acquired Curry Barker’s “Obsession,” the deal has finally closed and the distributor is planning to release the TIFF horror breakout at some point in 2026. Deadline initially reported that the deal was for $15 million, making it one of the bigger sales out of the fall festivals. It also came as a surprise that Focus would pick up this film, an indie breakout from a YouTuber turned filmmaker, as it very easily could’ve gone the more niche horror route. Barker’s film is a simple “be careful what you wish for” premise executed wonderfully and what we called one of the best horror films of the year following its TIFF premiere. The film is about a hopeless romantic who manages to break a spell in order to win his crush’s heart, only for it to lead to sinister consequences. The film stars Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter.
“H Is for Hawk”
Distributor: Roadside Attractions
Director: Philippa Lowthorpe
Festival: Telluride
Perhaps a deep sleeper Oscar contender, Claire Foy stars in this drama based on a memoir about a woman who takes up falconry to distract from the grief of losing her father, played by Brendan Gleeson. Foy would be the best play, as Roadside is looking to give “H Is for Hawk” an awards-qualifying run this December before opening it wider in the early part of 2026. The film is based on a best-selling 2014 memoir of the same name by Hannah Macdonald.
“Maddie’s Secret”
Distributor: Magnolia
Director: John Early
Festival: TIFF Discovery
This is one we love to see find a home. IndieWire declared John Early’s directorial debut “Maddie’s Secret” one of the “boldest American movies seen in years,” and ahead of an interview with him where we said that the most interesting thing is hardly that Early is portraying a woman, we declared that this film makes Early’s transformation from alt-comedy icon to full-blown filmmaker and movie star complete. In “Maddie’s Secret,” Magnolia is getting a film inspired by everything from “Showgirls” to Douglas Sirk melodramas to foodie influencers on Instagram. The distributor plans to release the film in 2026.
“EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert”
Distributor: Neon and Universal Pictures Content Group
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Festival: TIFF Special Presentation
After Baz Luhrmann re-staged Elvis Presley’s many concerts and Vegas residency with Austin Butler for his 2022 film “Elvis,” he uncovered long lost footage of the King performing that he restored and turned into “EPiC,” a concert doc that rocked TIFF and is aiming to be a theatrical event. The film specifically includes footage from his 1970s Vegas shows woven together with 16mm footage from “Elvis on Tour” and 8mm from the Graceland archive, as well as recordings of Elvis telling “his side of the story. Neon is releasing the movie domestically in 2026, and Universal Pictures International will handle the release abroad.
“Rose of Nevada”
Distributor: 1-2 Special
Director: Mark Jenkin
Festival: Venice Orrizonti
With two Venice acquisitions in less than a week, 1-2 Special has not slowed down. The company’s latest purchase “Rose of Nevada” is a ghost story and time travel fantasy about a fishing boat that went missing 30 years earlier and now transports two modern day fishermen back in time to before the boat first went missing, with local villagers greeting them as though they are members of the original crew. The film stars Callum Turner and George MacKay, and 1-2 Special is releasing it theatrically next year. The film got runs at TIFF and at the NYFF Main Slate after its Venice bow.
“Silent Friend”
Distributor: 1-2 Special
Director: Ildikó Enyedi
Festival: Venice Competition
Upstart distributor 1-2 Special’s second festival purchase, “Silent Friend” is the eighth film from Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi and is an anthology film centered quite literally around a ginkgo tree in a botanical garden in Germany, which silently bares witness to stories across a century and features a cast that includes Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Léa Seydoux. IndieWire was a fan, calling it poetic and meditative while admiring the use of different film stocks for each of the different sections of the film. 1-2 Special is planning a theatrical release for next year after it won six prizes at Venice, including the FIPRESCI Critics Prize and Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best New Talent Award for newcomer Luna Wedler.
“The Testament of Ann Lee”
Distributor: Searchlight Pictures
Director: Mona Fastvold
Festival: Venice Competition
We wondered who would jump for a movie about the founder of the radical Shaker religious movement with a film that combines musical elements and a period setting. But the ambition of director Mona Fastvold, along with her co-writer and partner Brady Corbet, to make “Ann Lee” on just a $10 million budget, not to mention a stellar performance by Amanda Seyfried, made it hard to ignore. Searchlight is planning to release the film later this year in the thick of awards season. It also stars Thomasin McKenzie, Lewis Pullman, Tim Blake Nelson, Christopher Abbott, and Stacy Martin.
“Tuner”
Distributor: Black Bear
Director: Daniel Roher
Festival: Telluride
With Black Bear launching its own distribution arm and promptly picking up one of its own movies with “Christy,” we speculated that could be the same case with another title that received stellar reviews out of Telluride, Daniel Roher’s “Tuner.” Leo Woodall stars in the thriller film about a piano tuner turned safe cracker, and it also stars Dustin Hoffman, Havana Rose Liu, Lior Raz, Tovah Feldshuh, and Jean Reno. Black Bear is planning a theatrical release for 2026.
“Adulthood”
Distributor: Paramount+
Director: Alex Winter
Festival: TIFF Gala Presentation
Paramount’s specialized arm Republic Pictures was behind this black comedy, and the company quietly acquired it and already released it for streaming on Paramount+ on September 23 following its premiere at TIFF. Josh Gad, Kaya Scodelario, Billie Lourd, Anthony Carrigan, and director Alex Winter all star in the film.
“Poetic License”
Distributor: Row K Entertainment
Director: Maude Apatow
Festival: TIFF Special Presentation
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, nor does it appear to fall past Row K. Maude Apatow’s directorial debut shares many of the hallmarks of her father Judd Apatow’s best comedies, and it’s a coming-of-age story that IndieWire out of its TIFF debut called “utterly delightful” and featuring show-stealing performances from Cooper Hoffman and Andrew Barth Feldman, all alongside Apatow’s mom Leslie Mann. The film follows a soon-to-be empty nester whose family relocates to an unfamiliar new town and where she becomes the obsession of two college seniors and best friends each vying for her attention. Row K reportedly bought the film in a competitive situation in the mid 7-figures range. While it’s the third festival premiere that Row K picked up, making them the breakout new distributor on the market, it also recently bought “Cliffhanger,” the splashy action remake starring Pierce Brosnan and Lily James that screened as a market title at TIFF. Row K is planning a release on May 15, 2026.
“Cover-Up”
Distributor: Netflix
Director: Laura Poitros and Mark Obenhaus
Festival: Venice Out of Competition
IndieWire’s Anne Thompson exclusively broke the news that Netflix made a splash for the searing and “unflinching” portrait of a Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh and his history of investigative reporting. Netflix is intending to release the acclaimed documentary later this year as a major player in the Best Documentary Feature awards chase.
“Normal”
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Director: Ben Wheatley
Festival: TIFF Midnight Madness
Bob Odenkirk’s latest action outing will be released by Magnolia Pictures, which is eyeing a 2026 theatrical berth for the Ben Wheatley-directed film. Fresh off “Nobody 2,” the film sees Odenkirk starring as “an unassuming substitute sheriff with a troubled past who, after moving to a small, sleepy town, responds to a bank robbery and unknowingly uncovers something far more explosive.” Henry Winkler and Lena Headey also star.
“The Tale of Silyan”
Distributor: National Geographic Documentary Films
Director: Tamara Kotevska
Festival: Venice Out of Competition, TIFF Docs
Winner of the “Best Film” Cinema and Arts Award at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, “The Tale of Silyan” is a poignant and visually arresting story set in the heart of rural North Macedonia. It follows Nikola, a farmer grappling with the harsh realities of new government policies, who unexpectedly encounters an injured white stork he names Silyan. As he nurses the bird back to health, an unlikely bond forms between man and animal. The film comes from “Honeyland” director Tamara Kotevska and has been selected to represent North Macedonia in International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards. National Geographic Documentary Films will roll out “The Tale of Silyan” at festivals around the world before releasing it in theaters ahead of its global streaming debut on Disney+.
“Erupcja”
Distributor: 1-2 Special
Director: Pete Ohs
Festival: TIFF Centrepiece
Look at those upstart distributors buying all the buzzy titles! We figured this film, despite its ultra-indie look done guerilla-style through Poland, would be a hot one because it’s the first lead role for pop sensation Charli XCX. 1-2 Special announced it acquired North American rights and will release the film next year. Charli XCX stars alongside playwright Jeremy O. Harris, Will Madden, and newcomer Lena Góra, and it’s a love triangle romance and existential journey brought about after a volcano erupts in Warsaw. The entire cast also contributed to the screenplay, and it also features a musical score by Charles Watson of the band Slow Club, and Isabella Summers of Florence + the Machine.
“Charlie Harper”
Distributor: Row K Entertainment
Director: Tom Dean and Mac Eldridge
Festival: TIFF Special Presentation
Brand-new distributor Row K Entertainment is immediately staking its claim by now buying not just one but two films that landed among our hot sales titles. For “Charlie Harper,” this too will be released theatrically in the U.S. on September 25, 2026 after we predicted it could have a strong home at a streamer and appeal to a teen audience. The romance film, the directorial debut of screenwriter Tom Dean, stars Emilia Jones and Nick Robinson as two young adults in a relationship spread out over roughly a decade. It sees them start as a passionate fling before trying to make it in New Orleans and navigate Robinson’s character’s lack of ambition and struggle with substance abuse. Our critic in his review said the sincerity of the direction and the performances helped it win out over some of the cliches.
“The Stranger”
Distributor: Music Box Films
Director: François Ozon
Festival: Venice Competition
The French director of films like “In the House” and “Young & Beautiful” for his latest feature adapted a novel by Albert Camus, telling a story set in 1938 Algiers and following a man who after his mother dies begins a casual affair with a work colleague, only to have his new daily routine disrupted by a neighbor who draws him back into some shady dealings. The beautifully lensed black and white film stars Benjamin Voisin alongside Rebecca Marder Pierre Lotin, Denis Lavant, and Swann Arlaud. The Chicago-based Music Box Films has now distributed seven of Ozon’s films over the years, and while Music Box hasn’t yet set a release date, Gaumont is handling the French release on October 29.
“Dead Man’s Wire”
Distributor: Row K Entertainment
Director: Gus Van Sant
Festival: Venice Out of Competition
Gus Van Sant’s best chance at a return to awards season in a long time was picked up by a brand new distributor with something to prove. Row K Entertainment, which is a theatrical distribution company founded in August, acquired U.S. and Canadian rights to the period thriller from Pressman Film that earned comparisons to “Dog Day Afternoon.” It will be released for an awards qualifying run on December 12, then open in limited release on January 9, 2026 and expand January 16. Bill Skarsgård, Dacre Montgomery, Cary Elwes, Myha’la, Colman Domingo, and Al Pacino star in the film that’s based on the true story of a man who in 1977 kidnapped a loan officer and held him hostage with a shotgun, turning him into an outlaw folk hero. Row K is a branch of Media Capital Technologies, which has been around since 2019 and since 2023 has had a deal co-financing movies with Lionsgate. Like Black Bear, it’s a financier-turned-distributor that senses a need in the market.
“Christy”
Distributor: Black Bear
Director: David Michôd
Festival: TIFF Special Presentation
When you have a movie as big as “Christy,” with Sydney Sweeney starring as a boxer in a potentially transformational role, and you also happen to be launching your own theatrical distribution wing, why not release it yourself? Black Bear, which produced and financed “Christy,” will also theatrically distribute it as the company’s inaugural feature under a newly launched division, exactly as we predicted could be a possibility. Black Bear has even set a prime release date for the fall awards season of November 7, 2025.
“Christy” is directed by Michôd, who co-wrote the screenplay with filmmaker Mirrah Foulkes from a story by Katherine Fugate. The film is the true story of boxer Christy Martin, who came from humble roots and held the female super welterweight title. The film also stars Ben Foster, Merritt Wever, and Katy O’Brien.
“Ghost Elephants”
Distributor: Nat Geo
Director: Werner Herzog
Festival: Venice Out of Competition
The latest introspective doc from the German master Werner Herzog is about elephants in the “mist-covered highlands of Angola.” Specifically Herzog is fascinated with the elusive “ghost elephants of Lisima,” potential living descendants of the largest land mammal ever recorded, whom Nat Geo’s own Steve Boyes is determined to prove actually exist.
The film netted Herzog a lifetime achievement award from Venice this year for the film that he directed, wrote, and narrated, and Nat Geo is planning a theatrical release for “Ghost Elephants” prior to it launching on Disney+ and Hulu in 2026.
“Man on the Run”
Distributor: Amazon MGM
Director: Morgan Neville
Festival: Telluride
Though there’s no shortage of Beatles documentaries, this one about Paul McCartney follows Macca after he broke up from The Beatles and how he reinvented himself into the world’s biggest pop star yet again. Any Beatles-head like yours truly will tell you that it didn’t always go well early on and McCartney was arguably in third place behind John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band and George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” triple album full of under-appreciated bangers.
The film will be released theatrically before landing on Prime Video on February 25, and the documentary’s release will coincide with a new book by McCartney, “Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run,” releasing November 4, as well as with McCartney’s Got Back tour dates across North America.
“Palestine 36”
Distributor: Watermelon Pictures
Director: Annemarie Jacir
Festival: TIFF Gala Presentations
Director Annemarie Jacir’s period historical drama about the occupation of Mandatory Palestine by the British is the filmmaker’s fourth film that will be submitted to the Best International Feature race at the Oscars by Palestine, and it’s also the first Arab film to land in the Gala section at TIFF.
“Scarlet”
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Festival: Venice Out of Competition
The anime feature from the director of “Mirai” is described as a time-bending adventure about a medieval warrior princess fighting to avenge the death of her father. SPC is releasing it for an awards-qualifying run at the end of 2025 followed by a wider release in early 2026.
Continue Reading: Sales Out of the 2025 Fall Festivals: Rock & Roll Rom-Com ‘Mile End Kicks’ with Barbie Ferreira Lands at Record Label Sumerian’s Film Banner
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