As the 75th Venice International Film Festival and the 45th Telluride Film Festival get underway, and with the 43rd Toronto International Film Festival just over the horizon, it's time to offer the first, and necessarily preliminary, survey of the most serious contenders for major Oscars, based on early screenings and sourcing. As the fests unfurl, there will undoubtedly be other contenders joining the list.
GLOSSARY The following abbreviations denote the film festival(s) at which a film has screened and/or will be screening: SUND=Sundance, TRIB=Tribeca, CANN=Cannes, VENI=Venice, TELL=Telluride, TIFF=Toronto, NYFF=New York and LOND=London.
