The recently concluded 50th Toronto Film Festival has unveiled its prestigious People’s Choice Award, which has been awarded to Chloé Zhao’s film Hamnet. This historical drama, produced by Focus Features, stands out as a major contender in the current awards season. The first runner-up in this competitive selection was Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, followed closely by Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, both of which were produced by Netflix.
In addition to the main award, the festival also introduced the International People’s Choice Award, which was awarded to Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice. The People’s Choice Documentary Award went to Barry Avrich’s The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, highlighting the diverse range of films celebrated at this year’s festival.
Since its inception in 1978, the People’s Choice Award has been an influential precursor to the Best Picture Oscar. Previous winners have often gone on to win prestigious awards, including films like Nomadland, Green Book, and 12 Years a Slave. Additionally, many nominated films such as American Fiction and The Fabelmans have also emerged from this celebrated platform.
Hamnet is co-written, co-edited, and directed by Chloé Zhao, based on the acclaimed novel by Maggie O’Farrell. The film stars Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, and it has already garnered significant attention, premiering at both the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival. Zhao's previous win with Nomadland, which also took home the Best Picture Oscar, adds to the anticipation surrounding this film. Hamnet is scheduled for a limited release on November 27 and will expand to a wider audience starting December 12.
Here is a detailed list of this year’s award winners from the Toronto International Film Festival:
People’s Choice Award: Hamnet, dir. Chloé Zhao First runner-up: Frankenstein, dir. Guillermo del Toro Second runner-up: Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, dir. Rian Johnson International People’s Choice Award: No Other Choice, dir. Park Chan-wook First runner-up: Sentimental Value, dir. Joachim Trier Second runner-up: Homebound, dir. Neeraj Ghaywan People’s Choice Documentary Award: The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, dir. Barry Avrich First runner-up: EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, dir. Baz Luhrmann Second runner-up: You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution…, dir. Nick Davis People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award: Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, dir. Matt Johnson First runner-up: Obsession, dir. Curry Barker Second runner-up: The Furious, dir. Kenji Tanigaki Short Cuts Award for Best International Short Film: Talk Me, dir. Joecar Hanna | Spain/USA Honourable Mention: Agapito, dirs. Arvin Belarmino & Kyla Danelle Romero | Philippines Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film: The Girl Who Cried Pearls, dirs. Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski | Canada Honourable Mention: A Soft Touch, dir. Heather Young Short Cuts Award for Best Animated Short Film: To the Woods, dir. Agnès Patron | France FIPRESCI Prize: Forastera, dir. Lucía Aleñar Iglesias | Spain/Italy/Sweden NETPAC Award: In Search of The Sky (Vimukt), dir. Jitank Singh Gurjar | India Best Canadian Discovery Award: Blue Heron, dir. Sophy Romvari | Canada Honourable Mention: 100 Sunset, dir. Kunsang Kyirong | Canada Best Canadian Feature Film Award: Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband), dir. Zacharias Kunuk | Canada Honourable Mention: There Are No Words, dir. Min Sook Lee | Canada Platform Award: To The Victory!, dir. Valentyn Vasyanovych | Ukraine/LithuaniaThe Toronto International Film Festival continues to be a pivotal event in the film industry, showcasing remarkable talent and often foreshadowing the winners of prestigious awards like the Oscars. With films like Hamnet gaining momentum, it will be exciting to see how the awards race unfolds this season.
