The process of deciding which Toronto Film Festival films are essential to see has begun. I’m starting with a list of 44, out of which I’ll have to lose at least 10 if not 12 or 13. (My festival average is 3.5 films per day x 9 days = 31 films.) Here’s the complete list, courtesy of Indiewire. The goal isn’t to deliberately bypass special films, but to absolutely not miss those familiar elements (recognizable names, likely award-season contender status) that will translate into various levels of heat in the weeks and months to come:

Special Presentations (21): 127 Hours (d: Danny Boyle); AMIGO (d: John Sayles); Another Year (d: Mike Leigh — if only I’d seen it in Cannes!); Brighton Rock (d: Rowan Joffe); Conviction (d: Tony Goldwyn), Cirkus Columbia (d: Danis Tanovic); Everything Must Go (d: Dan Rush); Henry’s Crime (d: Malcolm Venville); Hereafter (d: Clint Eastwood); I’m Still Here (d: Casey Affleck); In A Better World (d: Susanne Bier); Let Me In (d: Matt Reeves); Love Crime (d: Alain Corneau); Miral (d: Julian Schnabel); Never Let Me Go (d: Mark Romanek); Outside the Law (d: Rachid Bouchareb); Rabbit Hole (d: John Cameron Mitchell; Stone (d: John Curran); Submarine (d: Richard Ayoade); What’s Wrong With Virginia (d: Dustin Lance Black); The Whistleblower (d: Larysa Kondracki).

Galas (16): Barney’s Version (d: Richard J. Lewis); Black Swan (d: Darren Aronofsky), Casino Jack (d: George Hickenlooper — have to see the freshened-up version); The Conspirator (d: Robert Redford); The Debt (d: John Madden); The King’s Speech (d: Tom Hooper); Last Night (d: Massy Tadjedin); Little White Lies (d: Guillaume Canet); The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town (d: Thom Zimny); The Town (d: Ben Affleck); Erotic Man (d: Jorgen Leth); Essential Killing (d: Jerzy Skolimowski); Nostalgia for the Light (d: Patricio Guzman); The Sleeping Beauty (d: Catheirne Breillat); Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (d: Apichatpong Weerasethakul — satirical Cannes comment opportunity); The Ward (d: John Carpenter).

Real to Reel (7): Armadillo (d: Janus Metz); Cave of Forgotten Dreams (d: Werner Herzog); Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (d: Alex Gibney — dying to see it again); Cool It (d: Ondi Timoner); Inside Job (d: Charles Ferguson — seen it twice already, bit it’s showing the first night); Mother of Rock: Lillian Roxon (d: Paul Clarke); Tabloid (d: Errol Morris).