The Toronto International Film Festival announced its award winners at the closing ceremony
at TIFF Bell Lightbox today, hosted by Piers Handling, CEO and Director of TIFF, and Cameron Bailey, Artistic
Director of TIFF. The 43rd Festival wraps up this evening.
The short-film awards below were selected by a jury comprised of Claire Diao, Molly McGlynn, and Michael
Pearce.
IWC SHORT CUTS AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN SHORT FILM
The IWC Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film goes to Meryam Joobeur’s Brotherhood . The jury
remarked, “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.
The jury awarded an honourable mention to Jérémy Comte’s Fauve for its confident visual storytelling and
moving performances from the child actors.
IWC SHORT CUTS AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM
The IWC Short Cuts Award for Best Short Film goes to Sandhya Suri’s The Field . The jury noted, “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.
The jury gave honourable mentions to 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 Canadian awards below were selected by a jury comprised of Mathieu Denis, Ali Özgentürk, and Michelle
Shephard.
CITY OF TORONTO AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN FIRST FEATURE FILM
The City of Toronto Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film goes to Katherine Jerkovic’s Roads in
February (Les routes en février ). The jury remarked it was selected, “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.”
This award carries a cash prize of $15,000, made possible by the City of Toronto.
CANADA GOOSE AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN FEATURE FILM
The Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film goes to Sébastien Pilote’s The Fireflies Are Gone
(La disparition des lucioles). The jury said it was chosen, “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.”
This award carries a cash prize of $30,000 and a custom award, sponsored by Canada Goose.
THE PRIZES OF THE INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF FILM CRITICS (FIPRESCI PRIZES)
For the 27th year, the Festival welcomed an international FIPRESCI jury. This year’s jury is comprised of Jury
President Lesley Chow (Australia), Andrés Nazarala (Chile), Astrid Jansen (Belgium), Pierre Pageau (Canada),
James Slotek (Canada), and Viswanath Subrahmanyan (India).
The Prize of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) for the Discovery programme is awarded
to Carmel Winters for Float Like a Butterfly , which the jury called “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 goes to Laura Luchetti’s Twin Flower.
The Prize of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) for Special Presentations is awarded to
Guy Nattiv for Skin , which the jury called “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 goes to Louis Garrel’s A Faithful Man.
NETPAC AWARD
As selected by a jury from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema for the seventh consecutive
year, the NETPAC Award for World or International Asian Film Premiere goes to Ash Mayfair’s The Third Wife .
Jury members include Vilsoni Hereniko (Fiji), Meng Xie (China), and Gülin Üstün (Turkey). The jury remarked,
”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.”
The jury gave honourable mention to Bai Xue’s The Crossing. The jury said, “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.”
EURIMAGES’ AUDENTIA AWARD
The Festival and the Council of Europe’s Eurimages Fund present the third Audentia Award for Best Female
Director, selected by the jury comprised of Anne Frank, Reinaldo Marcus Green, and Kerri Craddock. The
award goes to Aäläm-Wärqe Davidian’s Fig Tree.
“Fig Tree is a stunning and illuminating debut,” the jury remarked. “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.”
This award carries a €30,000 cash prize.
Awarding an honourable mention to Camilla Strøm Henriksen’s Phoenix, the jury said: “ Phoenix is a
courageous debut from Norwegian director Camilla Str ø m 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. ”
TORONTO PLATFORM PRIZE PRESENTED BY AIR FRANCE
This is the fourth year for Platform, the Festival’s juried programme that champions directors’ cinema from
around the world. The Festival welcomed an international jury comprised of award-winning filmmakers Mira
Nair, Béla Tarr, and Lee Chang-dong, who unanimously awarded the Toronto Platform Prize Presented by Air
France to Wi Ding Ho’s Cities of Last Things .
The jury said, “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.”
“Over the course of the Festival, we’ve had the privilege of watching 12 films that left us excited with the
feeling that the future of directors’ cinema is in such capable hands. The great joy of being on the Platform
Jury has been participating in a competition celebrating emerging visions that are bold, daring, innovative, and
sometimes even challenging. The great difficulty, however, has been selecting only one director to win the
Toronto Platform Prize. After much contemplation and thorough discussion, we all agreed together upon one
prize winner and one honourable mention.”
Awarding an honourable mention to Emir Baigazin’s The River , the jury said: “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.
GROLSCH PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS
This year marked the 41st year that Toronto audiences were able to cast a ballot for their favourite Festival
film for the Grolsch People’s Choice Award. This year’s award goes to Peter Farrelly for Green Book.
The award offers a $15,000 cash prize and custom award, sponsored by Grolsch.
The first runner-up is Barry Jenkins’ If Beale Street Could Talk.
The second runner-up is Alfonso Cuarón’s ROMA .
The Grolsch People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award goes to Vasan Bala’s The Man Who Feels No Pain.
The first runner-up is David Gordon Green’s Halloween.
The second runner-up is Sam Levinson’s Assassination Nation.
The Grolsch People’s Choice Documentary Award goes to Free Solo , directed by E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy
Chin.
The first runner-up is Tom Donahue’s This Changes Everything.
The second runner-up is John Chester’s The Biggest Little Farm.
The 44th Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 5 to 15, 2019.
