2025-09-16T18:15:23+00:00
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Shafaq News – Toronto
The 50th Toronto International Film Festival concluded
in Canada with Hamnet by Chloé Zhao (United Kingdom) earning the
People’s Choice Award, the festival’s top audience honor.
The closing ceremony, held on September 14, recognized
winners across multiple categories, including the People’s Choice Awards, Short
Cuts, the FIPRESCI Prize, the NETPAC Award, Canadian film awards, and the
Platform Award. Prizes included audience selections, jury decisions, and cash
awards for Canadian filmmakers.
People’s Choice Awards
The international juries and audience voting awarded:
– People’s
Choice Award: Hamnet by Chloé Zhao (United Kingdom).
· First
runner-up: Frankenstein by Guillermo del Toro (USA).
· Second
runner-up: Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery by Rian Johnson (USA).
– International
People’s Choice Award: No Other Choice by Park Chan-wook (South Korea).
· First
runner-up: Sentimental Value by Joachim Trier
(Norway/France/Denmark/Germany/Sweden/UK).
· Second
runner-up: Homebound by Neeraj Ghaywan (India).
– People’s
Choice Documentary Award: The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue by Barry
Avrich (Canada).
· First
runner-up: EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert by Baz Luhrmann (Australia).
· Second
runner-up: You Had to Be There by Nick Davis (USA).
– People’s
Choice Midnight Madness Award: Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie by Matt
Johnson (Canada).
· First
runner-up: Obsession by Curry Barker (USA).
· Second
runner-up: The Furious by Kenji Tanigaki (Hong Kong, China).
Short Cuts
The Short Cuts jury, chaired by Ashley Iris Gill,
Connor Jessup, and Marcel Jean, honored:
– Best
International Short Film: Talk Me by Joecar Hanna (Spain/USA).
– Honourable
Mention: Agapito by Arvin Belarmino & Kyla Danelle Romero (Philippines).
– Best
Canadian Short Film: The Girl Who Cried Pearls by Chris Lavis & Maciek
Szczerbowski (Canada).
– Honourable
Mention: A Soft Touch by Heather Young (Canada).
– Best
Animated Short Film: To the Woods by Agnès Patron (France).
FIPRESCI Prize
The International Critics Prize, awarded by the
FIPRESCI jury chaired by Andy Hazel with Francisco Ferreira, Jean-Philippe
Guerand, Justine Smith, and Katharina Dockhorn, went to:
– Forastera
by Lucía Aleñar Iglesias (Spain/Italy/Sweden).
NETPAC Award
The NETPAC jury, composed of Keoprasith Souvannavong,
Dina Iordanova, and Helen Lee, awarded:
– In
Search of the Sky (Vimukt) by Jitank Singh Gurjar (India).
Canadian Awards
The Canadian Discovery and Feature Film jury,
including Jennifer Baichwal, Sophie Jarvis, and R.T. Thorne, honored:
– Best
Canadian Discovery Award: Blue Heron by Sophy Romvari (Canada).
– Honourable
Mention: 100 Sunset by Kunsang Kyirong (Canada).
– Best
Canadian Feature Film Award: Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband) by Zacharias Kunuk
(Canada).
– Honourable
Mention: There Are No Words by Min Sook Lee (Canada).
Platform Award
The Platform jury, chaired by Carlos Marqués-Marcet
with Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Chloé Robichaud, awarded:
– Platform
Award: To The Victory! by Valentyn Vasyanovych (Ukraine/Lithuania).
– Honourable
Mention: Hen by György Pálfi (Germany/Greece/Hungary).
Festival Overview
The Toronto International Film Festival ran from
September 4 to 14, 2025, showcasing films across Contemporary World Cinema,
Discovery, Midnight Madness, and other programs. TIFF remains one of North
America’s most prestigious film festivals, alongside Sundance, attracting
international filmmakers, critics, and audiences.
For more info: https://tiff.net/press/news/tiff-50-announces-its-2025-award-winners
Credit: Independent journalist and
reporter Mansour Jahani
