As the cinematic landscape begins to take shape with the upcoming editions of Sundance, Berlin, and Rotterdam, here are 100 titles of note to look forward to in 2018. While we can expect some of these announced projects to stall or be abandoned, we’re hoping many of these eventually see the light of day. If we don’t hear from him in 2017, we’re wondering if 2018 might be the next surprise title from Jafar Panahi, considering it will already have been three years since his Golden Bear winning Taxi. Likewise, we’re hoping to hear some sort of positive update on Lee Changdong, who was about to go into production on a film called Burning this past November, only to call off the project at the last minute (which isn’t the first time the South Korean auteur has halted an announced production).
But there are plenty of promising tidbits for 2018. Both Colombian director Ciro Guerra and Hungarian auteur Kornel Mundruczo will be unveiling projects from their native countries (hopefully in 2017) and moving into English language territory with high profile items like The Detainee and Deeper, respectively. Several newcomers we wish to highlight are Poland’s Adrian Panek, whose sophomore project Werewolf, about a group of children liberated from a concentration camp only to be terrorized in an orphanage by a group of killer dogs, sounds disturbing. Likewise for the debut of French actor Ludovic Bergery, whose debut The Embrace, a psychological drama about a woman spiraling into an emotional and sexually promiscuous tailspin sometime after the loss of her husband sounds like a grueling affair. The French-German production was initially announced in 2013 and set to star Golden Globe winner Isabelle Huppert. Since filming has been delayed until 2017, it’s no longer clear if Huppert is attached, while her international success for the equally risqué Elle might assist in re-casting. But speaking of Huppert and French-German co-productions, hope is still alive for her appearance in Christophe Hochhausler’s I’ve Seen You Smile, a WWII drama we hope gets off the ground in the coming year.
We’re also hoping to see one of Park Chan-wook’s many announced projects unveiled, while auteurs like Terence Davies and Terrence Malick could potentially have theatrical releases in back-to-back calendar years. Meanwhile, we hope to see new items from Sarah Polley, Ashim Ahulwalia, Brian De Palma, and Karim Ainouz, who would potentially arrive with new projects after a notable period of absence, although one of the most exciting comebacks has to be Gerard Corbiau with The Beach of Ostende, his first film in seventeen years.
Meanwhile, plenty of very busy, very prolific auteurs will continue with busy schedules, like Agnieszka Holland with The Kind Worth Killing, Yorgos Lanthimos with The Favorite (although a recent announcement on a television project set to star Kirsten Dunst for AMC could delay it), while Bruno Dumont prepares a sequel to Li’l Quinquin, and Marco Bellocchio may have his proposed project on Tommaso Buscetta ready to go. The creative control Paul Schrader was able to finally receive on Dog Eat Dog paid off, as First Reformed will be his next feature. And then Belgian auteur Fabrice Du Welz could potentially have his third chapter of his Ardennes trilogy completed, Adoration.
2018 also promises new titles from plenty of international masters, such as Andrey Konchalovsky, James Gray, Asghar Farhadi, and what will likely be the last film from Jan Svankmajer, The Insects. And then, excitingly, Terry Gilliam and Olivier Assayas should have film projects ready that have been famously derailed—and then maybe Daniel Espinosa may have his long gestating remake of Jan Troell’s The Emigrants ready.
This is our Through the Looking-Glass… countdown of Most Anticipated Films of 2018. Below are picks 100 to 11. Stay tuned for the unveiling of pics 10 to 1.
100. The Evening Hour – Braden King
99. The Story of My Wife – Ildiko Enyedi
98. JT LeRoy – Justin Kelly
97. Afronauts – Frances Bodomo
96. Blonde – Andrew Dominik
95. Zavod – Yuriy Bykov
94. Which Does Not Kill Us – Sandra Nettlebeck
93. Mother Tongue Reader – Jody Lee Lipes
92. The Hanged – Fernando Coimbra
91. Garden Store – Jan Hrebejk
90. The Emigrants – Daniel Espinosa
89. Peter Pan – David Lowery
88. The Last Words – Jonathan Nossiter
87. The Postcard Killings – Janusz Kaminski
86. Funambule – Cedric Kahn
85. Can You Ever Forgive Me? – Marielle Heller
84. Hard Boiled – Ben Wheatley
83. The First Omen – Antonio Campos
82. X. – Karoly Ujj Meszaros
81. Bluebeard – Lucia Puenzo
80. The Souvenir – Joanna Hogg
79. The Truth and Other Lies – Brian De Palma
78. Noblesse Oblige – Javier Fuentes-Leon
77. Neon River – Karim Ainouz
76. The Bell Jar – Kirsten Dunst
75. Beauty Salon – Andrea Pallaoro
74. Thrilla in Manila – Ang Lee
73. Mother of Sorrows – Terrence Davies
72. Uncut Gems – Safdie Bros.
71. Apostle – Gareth Evans
70. Beasts of Burden – Jesper Ganslandt
69. Una Periodista – Alejandro Fernández Almendras
68. The Man Who Killed Don Quixote – Terry Gilliam
67. The Last Days of Night – Morten Tyldum
66. Temblores – Jayro Bustamente
65. San Ma Lo 270, Macau – Joao Pedro Rodrigues & João Rui Guerra da Mata
64. The Son – Denis Villeneuve
63. Idol’s Eye – Olivier Assayas
62. Isle of Dogs – Wes Anderson
61. The Death and Life of John F. Donovan – Xavier Dolan
60. My Saga – Alexander Payne
59. Sweet Life – Alexander Zeldovich
58. Magic City – Eva Ionesco
57. Inner City – Dan Gilroy
56. The Embrace – Ludovic Bergery
55. Widows – Steve McQueen
54. Roseanna – Tomas Alfredson
53. Alice+Freda Forever – Jennifer Kent
52. I Think We’re Alone Now – Reed Morano
51. The Detainee – Ciro Guerra
50. Troisemes Noces – David Lambert
49. The Irishman – Martin Scorsese
48. Cold War – Pawel Pawlikowski
47. Journey to the West – Jia Zhangke
46. The Insects – Jan Svankmajer
45. The Sleeping Shepherd – Frank Hudec
44. Who is God? – Kim Ki Duk
43. Traitor (Tommaso Buscetta Project) – Marco Bellocchio
42. The Kind Worth Killing – Agnieszka Holland
41. White Knuckles – Athina Rachel Tsangari
40. As Astra – James Gray
39. Deeper – Kornel Mundruzco
38. I’ve Seen You Smile – Christoph Hocchausler
37. Genocidal Organ – Park Chanwook
36. Undeniable – Sebastian Schipper
35. The Boyfriend – Ashim Ahulwalia
34. Mother of Sorrows – Terence Davies
33. The Modern Ocean – Shane Carruth
32. The Family – Mary Harron
31. & sons – Sarah Polley
30. Untitled Asghar Farhadi Spanish Project
29. Werewolf – Adrian Paneck
28. The Sisters Brothers – Jacques Audiard
27. Pays Perdu – Alain Guiraudie
26. Pinocchio – Matteo Garrone
25. Hold the Dark – Jeremy Saulnier
24. Coin Coin les z’inhumains – Bruno Dumont
23. Untitled Bolivia/Brazil Project – Lisandro Alonso
22. The Beach of Ostende – Gerard Corbiau
21. The Favorite – Yorgos Lanthimos
20. Lyon 43 – Paul Verhoeven
19. Django Lives! – John Sayles
18. Maya – Mia Hansen-Love
17. The Avenging Silence – Nicolas Winding Refn
16. Loro – Paulo Sorrentino
15. The Fortress – Veronica Franz & Severin Fiala
14. Radegund – Terrence Malick
13. Peterloo – Mike Leigh
12. The Human Face – Andrey Konchalovsky
11. Adoration – Fabrice du Welz
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