In the home stretch of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which ends next Sunday, the films with the best chances of reaching the Oscars are already beginning to emerge, like “Lee,” and those that haven’t met expectations, like Taika Waititi’s “Next Goal Wins.”

This Wednesday, the programming of the Canadian Exhibition Gala, considered one of the largest in the world and traditionally the preferred launching platform for Oscar nominations, features “Fair Play” and “Smugglers”.

“Fair Play”, directed by American Chloé Domont with Phoebe Dynevor, Alden Ehrenreich and Eddie Marsan, has been described as “a ‘Wall Street’ in the era of the #metoo movement”.

Dynevor and Ehrenreich play a couple who keep their romantic relationship a secret so as not to break the rules of the company they work for, a major Wall Street investment fund.

For its part, “Smugglers” is a South Korean film directed by Ryoo Seung-wandirector of films such as “Veteran” (2015) and “Escape from Mogadishu” (2021).

The film focuses on a group of women who make a living collecting seashells but must resort to smuggling to survive in South Korea 50 years ago.

“Fair Play” is not the first film centered on the world of Wall Street to be screened this year at TIFF, which opened on September 7 and will end on the 17th of this month.

Last Friday saw the world premiere of “Dumb Money”, the film by Australian Craig Gillespie about the 2021 trading scandal of the company GameStop, whose shares soared thanks to millions of small investors who challenged the deep sea.

“Dumb Money” contains many of the ingredients that have convinced members of the Hollywood Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to nominate films for Oscars in the past.

Critics praised Paul Dano’s performance and called the film a “winning film”, fun, irreverent and satisfying to all audiences.

Another performance that at TIFF is highlighted as deserving of a statuette is that of Kate Winslet in “Lee”, a film about American World War II photographer Lee Miller (1907-1977) directed by Ellen Kuras.

“Variety” highlighted that Winslet is giving “everything” in her portrayal of the photographer for a possible Oscar nomination, an award the British actress previously won in 2008 for “The Reader” and for which she was nominated a total of seven times.

Another film received with approval in Toronto is “American fiction”, Cord Jefferson’s first film with Jeffrey Wright.

This adaptation of Percival Everett’s book “Erasure” is a satire on artistic integrity and has become a leading contender for TIFF’s coveted People’s Choice Award, an award decided by popular vote.

On many occasions, the film that won the Audience Award has become one of the Oscar winners, such as in 1988 with “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”, in 1999 with “American Beauty”, in 2000 with “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” or more recently in 2020 with “Nomadland”.

But perhaps the one that has garnered the most approval so far is the new release of “Stop Making Sense,” which documents the 1984 tour of “Talking Heads,” the legendary band fronted by David Byrne.

The new version of this cult film has been restored, its quality increased to 4K and projected at TIFF on an IMAX screen in front of an audience who during its premiere on Monday could not resist the urge to get up and dance.

Its premiere also served for the first time since 2002 for all members of the group (David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Cris Frantz and Jerry Harrison) gathered to attend the screening.

And if “Stop Making Sense” was a success with the public and critics, the same cannot be said of “Next Goal Wins”, the latest film from New Zealand director Taika Waititi. Oscar winner in 2020 with “Jojo Rabbit”.

The premiere of the film, starring Elisabeth Moss, Michael Fassbender and Oscar Kightley among others and about the American Samoa soccer team’s attempt to reach the World Cup, was met with mixed opinions.

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For some specialized presses, Waititi’s comedy, filmed with real Samoan actors, including a transgender athlete, is anything but funny, while others have highlighted the ovation the audience gave it at its premiere in Toronto.