An existential thriller set in the middle of the Moroccan desert, a whodunit doubling as a crisis of faith, a musical about the founder of the Shaker movement—this year’s Toronto International Film Festival not only screened some of this fall’s biggest movies, but it also offered attendees a rich array of stories to indulge in. My schedule was so full that when Nomadland director Chloé Zhao guided the audience through a breathing exercise before the premiere of her latest film, Hamnet, I noticed how fast my heart was beating—a result of all the caffeine I’d ingested to stay awake. But the upside of long days spent going from screening to screening means a fresh watchlist for the season. Below are 14 of my favorite movies, most of which will arrive in theaters before the end of the year.

The Smashing Machine (in theaters October 3)

If The Smashing Machine had followed the conventional outlines of a sports biopic, it’d look something like this: The protagonist, the wrestler Mark Kerr (played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson), would be shown discovering his passion for fighting. There’d be scenes of Kerr making unlikely comebacks, of his coach delivering big speeches, of an obvious villain becoming his rival. But the film, written and directed by Benny Safdie, is a sensitive, even melancholy look at how an aging athlete comes to accept defeat with the help of those around him. The Smashing Machine traces three years in Kerr’s career, when his talents had begun to wane but his instincts still pushed him to focus on numbing the pain of his wounds. Johnson’s performance is raw and tender; it’s a revelation for the former wrestler, best known for playing near-invincible lawmen, superheroes, and demigods.

Orwell: 2+2=5 (in theaters October 3)

With his previous documentary, I Am Not Your Negro, the filmmaker Raoul Peck dissected James Baldwin’s works, producing a sobering portrait of anti-Black sentiment in America.