Whether you’re searching for a feminist Iranian coming-of-age film shot in Tehran (Sadaf Fouraghi’s Ava, recipient of the FIPRESCI Discovery prize at TIFF ’17), a winning mother-son comedy starring beloved character actor Judy Greer (Kyle Rideout’s Adventures in Public School), or a poetic exploration of artistic identity from the vantage point of an adolescent girl living in a Toronto Community Housing project (Charles Officer’s NFB documentary Unarmed Verses, the Top Ten lineup showcases formidable debuts from new voices.

Five out of the 10 features at this year’s festival are from first- or second-time filmmakers with a strong presence from female and Indigenous artists. Kathleen Hepburn’s feature debut, Never Steady, Never Still, boasts a standout performance from acclaimed Scottish actor Shirley Henderson, as well as luminous turns from 2017 TIFF Rising Stars Théodore Pellerin and Mary Galloway. Wayne Wapeemukwa’s Luk’Luk’l won the Best Canadian First Feature Film Award at TIFF ’17 for its humane portrait of 24 hours in the lives of five disenfranchised Vancouverites living on the city’s Downtown Eastside.

There is plenty more to discover: Simon Lavoie’s arresting black-and-white gothic drama The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches; Robin Aubert’s Québécois zombie thriller Les Affamés (winner of the Best Canadian Feature Film award at TIFF ’17); the female-driven psychological thriller Allure — which premiered at the Festival as A Worthy Companion — directed by Montreal duo Carlos and Jason Sanchez and starring Evan Rachel Wood and TIFF Rising Stars alumna Julia Sarah Stone; and Catherine Bainbridge’s crowd-pleasing doc RUMBLE: The Indians Who Rocked the World, which chronicles historic contributions to rock, blues, and folk music from North American Indigenous artists, among them legends Buffy Sainte-Marie, Robbie Robertson, and Link Wray.