Unlike other film festivals around the world that rely on jury prizes for their top awards, one of the things that makes the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) unique is the TIFF People’s Choice Awards. Audience members attending the festival from across the globe are able to voice their opinions by voting for their favorite film. In turn, the lauded recognition has helped launch independent and international films alike into the awards conversation.

One of the most inspirational stories of a film benefitting from this award comes in the form of Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire (2008), originally slated for a straight-to-DVD release. After premiering at TIFF, the film went on to win the overall audience award, leading the film to get an awards-ready theatrical release date. The rest is history.

Ever since 2012, when Silver Linings Playbook won the top award, at least one of the top three films selected each year has gone on to be nominated for Best Picture by the Academy Awards. In 2019, all three films recognized — Jojo Rabbit, Marriage Story, and Parasite — were ultimately nominated in the category. Numerous Best Picture winners got their start by winning the audience award, including 12 Years a Slave (2013), Green Book (2018) and Nomadland (2020).

This year, all eyes were once again on this crucial precursor to see what films may be in contention for awards at the end of the year.

Credit to MGM via Vulture

The first prize award went to Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut, American Fiction, starring Jeffrey Wright, Issa Rae, and Skyler Wright. The satirical film takes a look at what kinds of stories Black storytellers are expected to tell, taking the audience on a thought-provoking and hilarious ride. With the film’s sharp and witty screenplay, it can absolutely contend in multiple categories, notably Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It’ll be exciting to see how this breakthrough hit from the festival plays throughout the season when it releases theatrically on November 3rd.

Alexander Payne’s latest dramedy, The Holdovers, the film that many people expected to take the prize, was the first runner-up. This bodes incredibly well for the film’s awards chances. As one of the festival’s most anticipated and hot ticket items, this recognition shows that it did not disappoint. Paul Giamatti looks solid to land in the Best Actor category as the tough-minded, unexpectedly funny, yet lonely professor who anchors the entire film. However, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay for writer David Hemingson, and Best Supporting Actress for Da’Vine Joy Randolph are likely nominations as well.

Finally, the second runner-up was Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, another one of the festival’s most talked-about titles. The film follows a young boy, Mahito (Soma Santoki), who goes on a magical quest with a mysterious heron after tragically losing his mother to a fire. Many have speculated whether the film can contend in Best Picture and Best Director, in addition to Best Animated Feature. Being included in the top three shows that the film remains in the conversation for multiple categories, even if the title isn’t widely considered one of Miyazaki’s very best.

Other winners from the TIFF awards ceremony include Dicks: The Musical, winning the People’s Choice Midnight Madness award, Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe, winning the People’s Choice Documentary award and We Grown Now, winning the 2023 Changemaker Award.

As the fall festival continues with the New York Film Festival, it’ll be exciting to see how the buzz for these titles grows over the next couple of months.

Article Courtesy of Matt Minton

Feature Image credit to MGM via Variety