Grolsch People's Choice Awards
Green Book
Winner: Peter Farrelly's Green Book
First runner-up: Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk
Second runner-up: Alfonso Cuarón’s ROMA
The award offers a $15,000 cash prize and custom award, sponsored by Grolsch.
The Festival presents free screenings of Green Book at TIFF Bell Lightbox tonight. Tickets are now on sale and are available online, by phone, and in person. These screenings are Rush eligible.
The Man Who Feels No Pain
Winner: Vasan Bala's The Man Who Feels No Pain (Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota)
First runner-up: David Gordon Green’s Halloween
Second runner-up: Sam Levinson’s Assassination Nation
Free Solo
Winner: E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin's Free Solo
First runner-up: Tom Donahue’s This Changes Everything
Second runner-up: John Chester’s The Biggest Little Farm
International Jury Awards
Cities of Last Things
Winner: Wi Ding Ho’s Cities of Last Things
- Jury remarks: “This is a deeply moving drama from a director who shows great skill in his ability to weave together multiple genres with social and political critique, while telling a story that remains intimately human at its core. For us, this film has a spirit that always feels beautifully close to real life.”
Honourable Mention: Emir Baigazin’s The River
- Jury remarks: “We were completely absorbed by the singular world this film creates through precise and meticulous craft, breathtaking visuals, and a boldly patient yet engrossing observational style.”
The Toronto Platform Prize offers a custom award and a $25,000 cash prize, made possible by Air France.
The Festival welcomed an international jury comprised of award-winning filmmakers Mira Nair, Béla Tarr, and Lee Chang-dong.
TIFF presents a free screening of Toronto Platform Prize winner Cities of Last Things at TIFF Bell Lightbox, 9:15pm, on September 16. Tickets to this free screening are now on sale and are available online, by phone, and in person. This screening is Rush eligible.
Float Like a Butterfly
Winner – Discovery Programme: Carmel Winters’ Float Like a Butterfly
- Jury remarks: “Float Like a Butterfly is a pastoral and traditional bucolic film, capturing the familiar angst and anxiety a young adult woman undergoes in order to have her say in the scheme of things in a predominately male-driven patriarchal society. Through her spectacular and deft narrative, nuanced understanding of the dilemmas women face, and a pitch-perfect performance by Hazel Doupe, this film is a triumph of free spirit.”
Honourable Mention: Laura Luchetti’s Twin Flower
Skin
Winner – Special Presentations: Guy Nattiv’s Skin
- Jury remarks: “Skin is a gripping study of a group of extremists and the choices available to them. It's raw yet intelligently paced, with stunning performances, especially by a near-unrecognizable Vera Farmiga.”
Honourable Mention: Louis Garrel’s A Faithful Man
The jury was comprised of Jury President Lesley Chow (Australia), Andrés Nazarala (Chile), Astrid Jansen (Belgium), Pierre Pageau (Canada), James Slotek (Canada), and Viswanath Subrahmanyan (India).
The Third Wife
Winner: Ash Mayfair’s The Third Wife
- Jury remarks: “Ash Mayfair's debut feature The Third Wife signalled the emergence of a young female director-writer whose aesthetic sensibilities, cinematic language, and extraordinary ability to illuminate the past for contemporary audiences augur well for the future of Vietnamese and world cinema.”
Honourable Mention: Bai Xue’s The Crossing
- Jury remarks: “Bai Xue's storytelling in her debut film The Crossing shattered cinematic boundaries to create an original visual language that propelled her protagonist's emotional crossing into adulthood as she crossed the physical boundaries of Hong Kong into mainland China.”
The jury, selected from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema, comprised of Vilsoni Hereniko (Fiji), Meng Xie (China), and Gülin Üstün (Turkey).
Fig Tree
Winner: Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian's Fig Tree
- Jury remarks: “Fig Tree is a stunning and illuminating debut. Based on her own experiences, Ethiopian-Israeli writer-director Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian takes us on an unsentimental journey and shows us the tragic effects of civil war on ordinary people. Confidently directed with grit and compassion, Fig Tree is a beautifully rendered, big-hearted story about a Jewish teenage girl’s attempt to save those she loves, but it’s also an intimate coming-of-age story of self-discovery and female empowerment.”
Honourable Mention: Camilla Strøm Henriksen’s Phoenix
- Jury remarks: “Phoenix is a courageous debut from Norwegian director Camilla Strøm Henriksen. A visually arresting and emotionally nuanced film, Phoenix focuses on a young teen who assumes an enormous burden of responsibility in the face of her mother’s mental illness and her father’s absence. With a seamless blend of stark realism and cinematic magic realism, Henriksen’s story subtly, yet powerfully, unfolds from the perspective of her mature young protagonist.”
The Audentia Award for Best Female Director, presented by The Festival and the Council of Europe’s Eurimages Fund, carries a €30,000 cash prize.
The jury was comprised of Anne Frank, Reinaldo Marcus Green, and Kerri Craddock.
Short Film Jury Awards
Brotherhood
IWC SHORT CUTS AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN SHORT FILM
Winner: Meryam Joobeur’s Brotherhood
- Jury remarks: “The film was masterfully executed, layered with bold ideas, rich textures, and nuanced character observations played by an unforgettable cast. The film successfully explored complex personal and political themes with compassion for its characters. By employing the intimate prism of a Tunisian family, the film was evidently made with a sense of maturity that points to a bright future from Meryam Joobeur.”
The award offers a $10,000 cash prize, made possible by IWC Schaffhausen.
Honourable Mention: The jury awarded a special mention to Jérémy Comte’s Fauve for its confident visual storytelling and moving performances from the child actors.
The Field
Winner: Sandhya Suri’s The Field
- Jury remarks: “The film is striking for its aesthetic lyricism, tender performances, and powerful emotional impact. It's a unique and refreshing glimpse into female desire set in rural India that demonstrated a scope greater than its short format.”
The award offers a $10,000 cash prize, made possible by IWC Schaffhausen.
Honourable Mentions: Anette Sidor’s Fuck You, for its acutely observed study of teenage sexuality, and to Emma de Swaef and Marc James Roels’s This Magnificent Cake!, for the spectacular level of animation and the surreal humour it uses to explore its complex colonial subject matter.
The jury was comprised of Claire Diao, Molly McGlynn, and Michael Pearce.
Canadian Film Jury Awards
Roads in February (Les routes en février)
Winner: Katherine Jerkovic’s Roads in February (Les routes en février)
- Jury remarks: “For its warm portrayal of a young woman trying to reconnect with her distant heritage after her father’s untimely death, and for the way the film demonstrates how genuine human connections best develop between two individuals when they stand on common ground, the jury gives the City of Toronto Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film to Katherine Jerkovic’s Les routes en février (Roads in February).”
This award carries a cash prize of $15,000, made possible by the City of Toronto.
The Fireflies Are Gone (La disparition des lucioles)
Winner: Sébastien Pilote’s The Fireflies Are Gone (La disparition des lucioles)
- Jury remarks: “For its true-to-life depiction of a young woman’s quest to find meaning and hope in a world that has constantly disappointed her, the jury gives the Canada Goose® Award for Best Canadian Feature Film to Sébastien Pilote’s La disparition des lucioles (The Fireflies Are Gone).”
This award carries a cash prize of $30,000 and a custom award, sponsored by Canada Goose®.
The jury was comprised of Mathieu Denis, Ali Özgentürk, and Michelle Shephard.
Past Award Winners
- People's Choice Awards
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TitleDirectorCountry of ProductionYearThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, MissouriMartin McDonaghUSA2017La La LandDamien ChazelleUSA2016RoomLenny AbrahamsonIreland / Canada2015The Imitation GameMorten TyldumUSA / United Kingdom201412 Years a SlaveSteve McQueenUSA2013Silver Linings PlaybookDavid O. RussellUSA2012Where Do We Go Now?Nadine LabakiFrance / Lebanon / Italy / Egypt2011The King’s SpeechTom HooperUnited Kingdom / Australia2010Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by SapphireLee DanielsUSA2009Slumdog MillionaireDanny BoyleUnited Kingdom2008Eastern PromisesDavid CronenbergCanada / UK2007BellaAlejandro Gómez MonteverdeUSA2006TsotsiGavin HoodUnited Kingdom / South Africa2005Hotel RwandaTerry GeorgeUnited Kingdom / South Africa / Italy2004ZatoichiTakeshi KitanoJapan2003Whale RiderNiki CaroNew Zealand / Germany2002AmélieJean-Pierre JeunetFrance2001Crouching Tiger, Hidden DragonAng LeeTaiwan2000American BeautySam MendesUSA1999Life is BeautifulRoberto BenigniItaly1998The Hanging GardenThom FitzgeraldCanada1997ShineScott HicksAustralia / United Kingdom1996Antonia's LineMarleen GorrisNetherlands / Belgium / United Kingdom1995PriestAntonia BirdUnited Kingdom1994The SnapperStephen FrearsUnited Kingdom1993Strictly BallroomBaz LuhrmannAustralia1992The Fisher KingTerry GilliamUSA1991Cyrano de BergeracJean-Paul RappeneauFrance1990Roger & MeMichael MooreUSA1989Women on the Verge of a Nervous BreakdownPedro AlmodóvarSpain1988The Princess BrideRob ReinerUSA1987Le Déclin de l'empire américainDenys ArcandCanada1986The Official StoryLuis PuenzoArgentina1985Places in the HeartRobert BentonUSA1984The Big ChillLawrence KasdanUSA1983TempestPaul MazurskyUSA1982Chariots of FireHugh HudsonyUnited Kingdom1981Bad TimingNicolas RoegUnited Kingdom1980Best BoyIra WohlUSA1979GirlfriendsClaudia WeillUSA1978
- People's Choice Midnight Madness Award
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TitleDirectorCountry of ProductionYearBodiedJoseph KahnUSA2017Free FireBen WheatleyUnited Kingdom2016HardcoreIlya NaishullerRussia/USA2015What We Do in The ShadowsTaika Waititi, Jemaine ClementUSA/New Zealand2014Why Don't You Play In Hell?Sion SonoJapan2013Seven PsychopathsMartin McDonaghUSA/United Kingdom2012The RaidGareth EvansIndonesia2011Stake LandJim MickleUSA2010The Loved OnesSean ByrneAustralia2009
- People’s Choice Documentary Award
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TitleDirectorCountry of ProductionYearFaces PlacesAgnès Varda and JRFrance2017I Am Not Your NegroRaoul PeckUSA2016Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for FreedomEvgeny AfineevskyUkraine/USA/United Kingdom2015Beats of the AntonovHajooj KukaSudan/South Africa2014The SquareJehane NoujaimEgypt/USA2013ArtifactBartholomew CubbinsUSA2012The Island PresidentJon ShenkUSA2011Force of Nature: The David Suzuki MovieSturla GunnarssonCanada2010The Topp TwinsLeanne PooleyNew Zealand2009
- Best Canadian First Feature Film
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TitleDirectorCountry of ProductionYearLuk' Luk'lWayne WapeemukwaCanada2017Old Stone (Lao shi)Johnny MaCanada / China2016Sleeping GiantAndrew CividinoCanada2015Bang Bang BabyJeffrey St. JulesCanada2014Asphalt WatchesShayne Ehman, Seth ScriverCanada2013Antiviral
BlackbirdBrandon Cronenberg
Jason BuxtonCanada2012Edwin Boyd: Citizen GangsterNathan MorlandoCanada2011The High Cost of LivingDeborah ChowCanada2010The Wild HuntAlexandre FranchiCanada2009Before TomorrowMarie-Hélène Cousineau, Madeline Piujuq IvaluCanada2008Continental, un film sans fusilStéphane LafleurCanada2007Sur la trace d'Igor RizziNöel MitraniCanada2006The Life and Hard Times of Guy TerrificoLouise Archambault, Michael MabbottCanada2005La Peau blancheDaniel RobyCanada2004Love, Sex and Eating the BonesSudz SutherlandCanada2003Marion BridgeWiebke von CarolsfeldCanada2002InertiaSean GarrityCanada2001La moitié gauche du frigoPhilippe FalardeauCanada2000Just Watch Me: Trudeau and the ‘70s GenerationCatherine AnnauCanada1999Last NightDon McKellarCanada1998CubeVincenzo NataliCanada1997 - Best Canadian Feature Film
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TitleDirectorCountry of ProductionYearLes AffamésRobin AubertCanada2017Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n'ont fait que se creuser un tombeauMathieu Denis, Simon LavoieCanada2016Closet MonsterStephen DunnCanada2015Félix et MeiraMaxime GirouxCanada2014When Jews Were FunnyAlan ZweigCanada2013Laurence AnywaysXavier DolanCanada / France2012Monsieur LazharPhilippe FalardeauCanada2011Cairo TimeRuba NaddaCanada2009Lost SongRodrigue JeanCanada2008My WinnipegGuy MaddinCanada2007Manufactured LandscapesJennifer BaichwalCanada2006C.R.A.Z.Y.Jean-Marc ValléeCanada2005It's All Gone Pete TongMichael DowseCanada2004Les Invasions barbaresDenys ArcandCanada2003SpiderDavid CronenbergCanada2002Atanarjuat: The Fast RunnerZacharias KunukCanada2001WaydowntownGary BurnsCanada2000The Five SensesJeremy PodeswaCanada1999NôRobert LepageCanada1998The Hanging Garden The Sweet HereafterThom Fitzgerald, Atom EgoyanCanada1997Long Day’s Journey Into The NightDavid WellingtonCanada1996Live BaitBruce SweeneyCanada1995ExoticaAtom EgoyanCanada1994Kanehsatake: 270 Years of ResistanceAlanis ObomsawinCanada1993Requiem pour un beau sans-coeurRobert MorinCanada1992The AdjusterAtom EgoyanCanada1991
- Excellence in Canadian Production
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TitleDirectorCountry of ProductionYearHDarrell WasykCanada1990RoadkillBruce McDonaldCanada1989The Outside Chance Of Maximilian GlickAllan GoldsteinCanada1988Family ViewingAtom EgoyanCanada1987Le Déclin de l'empire américainDenys ArcandCanada1986Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. BanksDonald BrittainCanada1985La Femme de l'hôtelLéa PoolCanada1984
- Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Film
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TitleDirectorCountry of ProductionYearPre-DrinkMarc-Antoine LemireCanada2017MutantsAlexandre DostieCanada2016OverpassPatrice LalibertéCanada2015The Weatherman and The ShadowboxerRandall OkitaCanada2014NoahWalter Woodman, Patrick CederbergCanada2013Keep a Modest HeadDeco DawsonCanada2012Doubles With Slight PepperIan HarnarineCanada2011Les Fleurs de l'âgeVincent BironCanada2010Danse MacabrePedro PiresCanada2009Block BChris Chong Chan FuiMalaysia/Canada2008PoolChris Chong Chan FuiCanada2007Les JoursMaxime GirouxCanada2006Big GirlRenuka JeyapalanCanada2005Man Feel PainDylan Akio SmithCanada2004AspirationConstant MentzasCanada2003Blue SkiesAnn Marie FlemingCanada2002Film(dzama)Deco DawsonCanada2001Le ChapeauMichèle CournoyerCanada2000DéchargePatrick DemersCanada1999When Ponds Freeze OverMary LewisCanada1998Cotton CandyRoshell BissettCanada1997Letters From HomeMike HoolboomCanada1996ReconstructionLaurence GreenCanada1995Frank's CockMike HoolboomCanada1994Save My Lost Nigga' SoulClement VirgoCanada1993Les Sauf-conduitsManon BriandCanada1992The Making of "Monsters"John GreysonCanada1991ShaggieJanis ColeCanada1990Stealing ImagesAlan ZweigCanada1989
- Short Cuts Award for Best Short Film
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TitleDirectorCountry of ProductionYearThe Burden (Min Börda)Niki Lindroth von BahrSweden2017ImagoRaymund Ribay GutierrezPhilippines2016Maman(s)Maïmouna DoucouréFrance2015A Single BodySotiris DounoukosAustralia/France2014
- International Critics’ Prize (FIPRESCI Prize) - Special Presentations
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TitleDirectorCountry of ProductionYearThe Motive (El Autor)Manuel Martín CuencaSpain2017I Am Not Madame BovaryFeng XiaogangChina2016DesiertoJonás CuarónMexico/France2015Time Out of MindOren MovermanUSA2014The First ManGianni AmelioFrance/Algeria/Italy2011L'amour fouPierre ThorettonFrance2010IdaPawel PawlikowskiPoland2013Dans la maisonFrançois OzonFrance2012DisgraceSteve JacobsAustralia2008HadewijchBruno DumontFrance2009
- International Critics’ Prize (FIPRESCI Prize) - Discovery
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TitleDirectorCountry of ProductionYearAvaSadaf ForoughiIran/Canada/Qatar2017Kati KatiMbithi MasyaKenya/Germany2016Eva NováMarko SkopSlovakia2015May Allah Bless France!Abd Al MalikFrance2014The Amazing CatfishClaudia Sainte-LuceMexico2013All The Wrong ReasonsGia MilaniCanada2013Call GirlMikael MarcimainSweden/Ireland/Norway/Finland2012Detroit UnleadedRola NashefUSA2012AvalonAxel PetersénSweden2011Beautiful BoyShawn KuUSA2010The Man Beyond The BridgeLaxmikant ShetgaonkarIndia2009LymelifeDerick MartiniUSA2008HungerSteve McQueenUnited Kingdom2008La ZonaRodrigo PláSpain/Mexico2007CochochiIsrael Càrdenas, Laura Amelia GuzmànMexico/United Kingdom/Canada2007Death of a PresidentGabriel RangeUnited Kingdom2006RepriseJoachim TrierNorway2006Look Both WaysSarah WattAustralia2005OmaghPete TravisIreland/United Kingdom2004Rhinoceros EyesAaron WoodleyUSA2003The Magdalene SistersPeter MullanUnited Kingdom / ireland2002Chicken Rice WarCheeKSingapore2001George Washington 101 ReykjavãkDavid Gordon Green, Baltasar KormákurUSA/Iceland/Norway/ Denmark/France2000Goat On Fire And Smiling FishKevin JordanUSA1999
- NETPAC
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TitleDirectorCountry of ProductionYearThe Great Buddha+Huang Hsin-YaoTaiwan2017In BetweenMaysaloun HamoudIsrael/France2016The Whispering StarSion SonoJapan2015Margarita, with a StrawShonali BoseIndia2014QissaAnup SinghGermany/India/Netherlands/France2013The Land of HopeSion SonoJapan2012
- Artistic Innovation
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TitleDirectorCountry of ProductionYearEncarnaciónAnahí BerneriArgentina2007
- Toronto Platform Prize
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TitleDirectorCountry of ProductionYearSweet CountryWarwick ThorntonAustralia2017JackiePablo LarraínUnited Kingdom2016HurtAlan ZweigCanada2015
- Cultural Innovation
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TitleDirectorCountry of ProductionYearTakva: A Man's Fear of GodÖzer KiziltanTurkey/Germany2006