Source: TIFF
by Alex Billington
The 2011 Toronto Film Festival comes to a close today, and the fest has announced their annual wards, including three Audience Award winners to keep an eye on. TIFF has a few jury awards, but mostly focuses on the Audience Awards winners, with a few FIPRESCI Prizes' thrown in, too. This year's biggest winner is Where Do We Go Now?, directed by Nadine Labaki, which won the Cadillac People's Choice Award, the top prize that has ended up going to Oscar winners past like The King's Speech, Slumdog Millionaire and Precious. But will this year's winner be a Best Picture pick? More info and the full TIFF 2011 awards below!
Here's the full list from top to bottom, thanks to the press release put out via TIFF.net. If you click on any of the TIFF links, the page includes a little blurb about why it's so good, plus photos and info, so you can find these when/if they get released or hit another fest. Here's the Toronto Film Festival 2011 winners in full:
Cadillac People's Choice Award:
Where Do We Go Now? directed by Nadine Labaki [on TIFF]
Set against the backdrop of a war-torn country, Where Do We Go Now? tells the heartwarming tale of a group of women’s determination to protect their isolated, mine-encircled community from the pervasive and divisive outside forces that threaten to destroy it from within.
Runners Up: Asghar Farhadi's A Separation and Ken Scott's Starbuck
Cadillac People's Choice Documentary Award:
The Island President directed by Jon Shenk [on TIFF]
In this whirlwind political documentary, Mohamed Nasheed wins the presidency after a 20-year battle for democracy in the Maldives, only to face an unfathomable challenge: to save his island nation from rising seas. The Island President follows Nasheed as he takes the climate fight to backroom chambers of power in New York, London, Delhi, and finally into the fierce realpolitik of the Copenhagen Climate Conference.
Runners Up: Bess Kargman's First Position and Cameron Crowe's Pearl Jam Twenty
Cadillac People's Choice Midnight Madness Award:
The Raid directed by Gareth Evans [on TIFF]
Starring Indonesian martial arts sensation Iko Uwais, The Raid follows a SWAT team that is trapped in a rundown apartment block in Jakarta filled with heavily armed drug dealers and killers. (See the teaser!)
Runners Up: Adam Wingard's You're Next and Bobcat Goldthwait's God Bless America
City of Toronto Award For Best Canadian Feature:
Monsieur Lazhar directed by Philippe Falardeau [on TIFF]
Skyy Vodka Award For Best Canadian First Feature Film:
Edwin Boyd directed by Nathan Morlando [on TIFF]
FIPRESCI Prize For Special Presentations:
The First Man directed by Gianni Amelio (France, Algeria, Italy) [on TIFF]
FIPRESCI Prize For Discovery Programme:
Avalon directed by Axel Petersén (Sweden) [on TIFF]
Best Canadian Short Film:
Doubles With Slight Pepper directed by Ian Harnarine [on TIFF]
These are solid picks, as always, but I'm honestly surprised by the Audience Award winner. Most were thinking it would end up being Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist or even George Clooney's The Ides of March, or in a very long shot Steve McQueen's Shame, but none of those were even runners up. As for the Midnight Madness winner, I'm happy, The Raid kicked ass and is definitely a crowd pleaser! (Read my review of The Raid.) It's also great to see Bobcat Goldthwait's God Bless America getting up there, even though my personal favorite Midnight Madness truly had to be Sleepless Night (review), I totally love that film. But of course I didn't get to see everything, including Where Do We Go Now? or The Island President.
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