Autumn Festival Films Already Sold: “Ibrahim’s Daughters” by Hanael Youssefi Ahead of Its Strand Release

The first film about Muslim and Jewish friends navigating their traditional families has won the Audience Award at the Francophone Film Festival of Angoulême in France.

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We use vendors who may also process your information to help provide our services. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and Google's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

What will shoppers buy at fall festivals? Given that this year's Toronto International Film Festival announced a large number of premieres for films that originally premiered at Cannes or Sundance, there are fewer global sales titles that haven't already made it to distributors. Still, the festival (with its first market), plus Telluride, Venice, and New York are full of options, and there's always the potential for another historic event like last year's "Obsession."

We'll track all sales as they come in here, so check back often.

Distributor: Strand Director: Hanaël El Yousfi Festival: TIFF Discovery Buzz: This directorial debut follows two friends, one Muslim and one Jewish, who spend a carefree summer in Marseille, only to see the expectations and tensions between their traditional families begin to block their friendship and lead them to their own destiny. El Yousefi has both written and directed this film and wrote it in collaboration with Raphael Schevenment and Mia Grace Brown. It had its international premiere at TIFF, but actually had a small bow at a French festival called the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award and a Special Award for its cast. "Abraham's Daughters" premieres in France on December 30. Culver City-based distributor Emma Strand, which is behind recent releases like "On the Road," "In a Whisper" from Mexico at the Oscars, and the 4K remake of Greg Araki's "Mysterious Skin," will "first" release it in North America. Netflix's gay saga leads Oscars, must survive its directors' meltdown Bleecker Street, acquired by Outerlight Entertainment, formerly First Look

Distributor: Black Bear Director: Nahnatchka Khan Festival: TIFF Market Buzz: This Market title is a rom-com starring Greta Lee, Rebecca Ferguson, and Carrie Coon, and wrapped production in September. Read more about the movie here.

Distributor: 1-2 Special Director: Jacqueline Lenzo Festival: Venice Orizzonti Buzz: This coming-of-age Greek tale earned filmmaker Jacqueline Lenzo Best Director in the Horizon section of the Venice Film Festival, but 1-2 Special won it after its North American premiere at the London International Film Festival, the BFI International Film Festival and the BFI North American Film Festival. Busan International Film Festival Blending what the release describes as "cosmic and mundane," the film follows a 15-year-old girl who meets a new classmate named Phaedra, but also notices signs and symptoms of a dream world appearing around her, ultimately leading her to an ethereal transformation. This is Lentzu's second film after "The Moon, 66 Questions" in 2021. 1-2 Special is slated for a 2027 theatrical release.

Distributor: Sony Pictures Director: Roshan Sethi Festival: TIFF Centerpiece Buzz: This action thriller starring Michelle Yeoh as a surgeon who is kidnapped and forced to operate on a mysterious patient is a bit of a change for Sethi. Sethi's previous film was the romcom thriller 'A Good Indian Boy' and he is also the co-creator of the medical drama 'Sakan'. But reviews have been good for the film, and it's not uncommon for festival titles to buy big, but Sony has already announced it for an April 2, 2027 release.

Distributor: Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Atomic Monster Director: Joshua Giuliano Festival: TIFF Midnight Madness Buzz: IndieWire first reported on the film, which was originally pitched at an independent film company, and Shudder is being co-produced by Universal and Blumhouse Atomic Monster for a deal that could outbid the companies by as much as $1 million. Read more about last year here.

Distributor: HBO Documentary Films Director: Rebecca Hunt Festival: TIFF Docs Buzz: "Rapinoe," about US women's national soccer star Megan Rapinoe, was TIFF's opening night documentary. Rapinoe was at the premiere of director Rebecca Hunt's ("Biba") film, which she grapples with most. Rapinoe's progressive politics, such as her kneeling in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, and her coming-out story, compared to her soccer career stories of how she led the U.S. women's team to two World Cup titles, an Olympic gold and the Ballon d'Or. HBO Documentary Films holds the television and film distribution rights in North America. THR first reported the news.

Distributor: Roadside and Vertical Attractions Director: Lauren Miller Rogen Festival: TIFF Gala Buzz: Lauren Miller Rogen directs her husband Seth Rogen alongside Anna Kendrick and Kate Berlant in this comedy about parenthood and future parenting. It follows a childless couple who debate the merits of having children when their divorced friend and her child move in with them. The cast includes Issa Rae, Dan Stevens, Zach Cherry, Ed Holmes, Ashley Park, Sharon Stone and David Strathairn in supporting roles.

"Kids" is described as a powerful year for Seth Rogen, heartfelt and moving. Sales of the film at TIFF began nearly a year before the Roy Thomson Hall screening. Distributors are planning an early 2027 launch.

Distributor: FOCUS Feature Director: Simon Stone Festival: Telluride and TIFF Buzz: Andrew Scott is said to be fantastic in this performance based on the true story of "Chariots of Fire" and "Gandhi" star and thespian Ian Charlson, who died of AIDS at age 40 but went on to raise awareness of the epidemic after his death. Focus has already set the film's release date for late November, the same time it gave "Hemant" last year.

Distributor: Netflix Director: Danny Boyle Festival: Venice Competition Buzz: The opening night film for this year's Biennale, "Ink" is the story of the birth of the Sun newspaper in the 60s and the collaboration between Larry Lamb (Jack O'Connell) and Rupert Peartious itardo it is not public. Today, Netflix did not acquire the worldwide rights to the film, so it could easily be something that sees it as both a commercial play and an awards show.