10 Buzziest Movies for Sale in Toronto, From Idris Elba’s ‘Concrete Cowboy’ to Mark Wahlberg’s ‘Good Joe Bell’ (Photos)

What the Cannes virtual marketplace proved earlier this year is that even without the in-person meetings, the red carpet galas and all the press hype, there’s still room for a lucrative sales market surrounding these virtual events. While that’s true of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, the hybrid physical and virtual fest is operating on a slimmed down lineup of movies. And with Oscar eligibility requirements pushed back to 2021, there isn’t the same need for all of these movies to make a splash. That said, we are looking forward to quite a bit at this year’s TIFF, and so are buyers.

“Bruised”

Halle Berry takes a beating as a washed-up MMA fighter looking to make her redemption fight in “Bruised,” which is also Berry’s directorial debut. The film is set in New Jersey and explores her fight to get back into shape and win back her child. It also stars Adan Canto and Sheila Atim.

“Good Joe Bell”

Mark Wahlberg is getting early hype for his performance based on a true story of a father who takes a cross-country trip to honor his son and educate people about the dangers of bullying. The movie flashes back to show Wahlberg’s conflicted and grudging relationship with his son’s homosexuality and how he grows, even as it becomes too late. “Monsters and Men” director Reinaldo Marcus Green directs the film from the writers of “Brokeback Mountain.”

“The Water Man”

Another actor making their directorial debut, David Oyelowo’s “The Water Man” is a mythical family film with an homage to the family movies of the 1980s. It’s the story of a man who looks for a mystical creature with the secret to everlasting life in an effort to rescue his ailing mother. Oprah Winfrey executive produces the film that stars Oyelowo alongside Rosario Dawson, Lonnie Chavis, Amiah Miller, Alfred Molina and Maria Bello.

“MLK/FBI”

This documentary from Oscar nominee Sam Pollard is based on recently unclassified FBI documents and examines the surveillance and harassment the FBI used against Martin Luther King Jr. over years and how J. Edgar Hoover hoped to discredit him and break his spirit. Pollard grapples with the idea The film includes a discussion of how filmmaking and historians should use the actual material that the FBI recorded.

“Concrete Cowboy”

Idris Elba and “Stranger Things'” Caleb McLaughlin play father and son in this family drama from Ricky Staub that draws on the history of Black cowboys in its adaptation of a novel by Greg Neri. McLaughlin is a troubled teen who is sent to live with his quiet, absentee father and is taught to work at his father’s stables. Jharrel Jerome, Byron Bowers, Lorraine Toussaint and Clifford “Method Man” Smith also co-star.

“I Care A Lot”

Rosamund Pike, Eiza González, Dianne West and Peter Dinklage star in this thriller about two women who use loopholes in the legal system to defraud elderly retirees of their family fortunes, only for them to end up angering a crime lord with their latest mark. J Blakeson wrote and directed the film.

“Pieces of a Woman”

Hungarian filmmaker Kornél Mundruczó directs Shia LaBeouf and Vanessa Kirby in this film inspired by ’70s character dramas about a couple expecting a child who winds up grieving over a tragedy in two different ways. TIFF co-artistic director Cameron Bailey wrote in his intro to the film that casting Ellen Burstyn as Kirby’s mother was a “masterstroke.”

“Shadow in the Cloud”

As part of the Midnight Madness section, Chloe Grace Moretz in “Shadow in the Cloud” is like “Alien” on a WWII bomber. Moretz is a fighter pilot on a mission to carry a piece of classified information and is sequestered from her sexist male counterparts but soon discovers a mysterious presence that threatens the safety of everyone aboard. Roseanne Liang directs.

“Penguin Bloom”

Naomi Watts is said to give a stellar performance in this true story based on the life of Sam Bloom, a woman who suffered a traumatic accident who finds an inspiring road to recovery after befriending a magpie bird as her companion. Glendyn Ivin directs the film that also stars Andrew Lincoln, Jacki Weaver and Rachel House.

There are still some other movies playing as part of the festival that already have homes, including Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland” at Searchlight, Regina King’s “One Night in Miami” at Amazon, “Ammonite” with Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan at Neon, and the documentary “The Way I See It” from Dawn Porter at Focus Features. Amazon Studios also recently acquired “The Boy From Medellin” about musician J Balvin and director Matthew Heineman.

Read original story 10 Buzziest Movies for Sale in Toronto, From Idris Elba’s ‘Concrete Cowboy’ to Mark Wahlberg’s ‘Good Joe Bell’ (Photos) At TheWrap