As the end of 2024 encroaches, the film industry is in full swing for the buzzy, glitzy and chaotic awards season. Everything from Sundance hits to blockbusters to potential cult classics is in the running. With no clear front-runner in any of the categories, this season is shaping up to be the most unpredictable race in recent memory. 

In this mad dash to glory, each title’s chances of recognition can be tiered as such: clear shoo-ins, strong hopefuls, underdogs and, last but not least, the wide swath of prestige films that will almost certainly go unnoticed by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and audiences alike. Hopefully, the latter can still persuade viewers to find time to venture to their nearest arthouse and experience some of the most exciting, under-the-radar projects of the year.

Gints Zilbalodis’ “Flow” – Friday, Nov. 22 (New York and Los Angeles)/Dec. 6 (Wide)

Hailing from Latvia, this dialogue-free animated odyssey about a black cat that wanders through a human-less environment has racked up acclaim for its unconventional use of partially incomplete rendering, highlighting the beauty and uncertainty of such a strange world. It’s said to be a simple yet awe-inspiring and devastating ode to the unspoken beauty of the natural world. The film purportedly takes inspiration from Studio Ghibli while putting its unique stamp on the ever-growing world of modern animation.

Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada” – December 6 (Limited)

Schrader, who also worked on “First Reformed” and “The Card Counter,” steadily continues his late-stage streak of discreet introspections on the quiet yet destructive torture of human loneliness. Richard Gere and Jacob Elordi play older and younger versions of a dying filmmaker who becomes the unreliable subject of a documentary. Uma Thurman and Michael Imperioli also star in this film, and it appears to be the type of fascinating and emotional character study that only Schrader’s vision can deliver.

Justin Kurzel’s “The Order” – December 6 (Limited)

Following his masterful and disturbing portrait of an Australian mass shooter in “Nitram,” Kurzel shifts his focus to American domestic terrorism in a crime-thriller. In this film, Jude Law is a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent investigating robberies committed by the titular neo-Nazi group. Its cast is further stacked with Nicholas Hoult, Bob Matthews, Tye Sheridan, Jurnee Smollett and Marc Maron, all of whom are praised by critics along with Kurzel’s tense direction and hard-hitting depiction of American violence.

Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The End” – December 6 (Limited)

This apocalyptic musical marks a surprising but intriguing pivot from filmmaker Oppenheimer’s previous works. He previously co-directed the jaw-dropping and innovative documentary “The Act of Killing,” which sees perpetrators in the Indonesian mass killings of 1965 and 1966 reenact their actions through different genres of film, and its spiritual successor “The Look of Silence.” Oppenheimer’s narrative debut, “The End,” features Tilda Swinton, George McKay, Michael Shannon and Moses Ingram. The film positions itself as one of the season’s more offbeat and potentially divisive releases. At the same time, it marks itself as one of the most interesting ones.