Courtesy of Netflix
The Spanish historical epic/melodrama “La Bola Negra“, starring Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, has earned the People’s Choice Award’s top accolade at this year’s Toronto Film Festival. Furthermore, “Being Heumann” by Sian Heder and “I Play Rocky” by Peter Farrelly were awarded runner-up positions.
The film’s narrative covers 1932, 1937, and 2017, delving into the lives of three men whose intersecting fates are colored by desires, sexuality, unyielding pain, and the profound influence of their multifaceted histories.
[tf-tv]
The People’s Choice Award is now regarded as a strong contender for the annual Oscar race, with at least two of the three laureates/runners-up every year since 2021 securing Best Picture nominations. Last year, “Hamnet,” directed by Chloe Zhao, topped the list, with “Frankenstein,” by Guillermo del Toro, and “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery,” directed by Rian Johnson, coming in second and third, respectively. Park Chan-wok’s “No Other Choice” was awarded the International People’s Choice.
This year also saw the Documentary People’s Choice winner as “Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been“, alongside The Midnight Madness People’s Choice winner being “Ladies And Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney“.
On October 16th, Netflix released “La Bola Negra” to cinemas, with a December 4th premiere on its platform.
Here’s the winner’s list.
People’s Choice Award: “La Bola Negra,” Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi; first runner-up “I Play Rocky,” Peter Farrelly; second runner-up “Being Heumann,” Sian Heder
People’s Choice Documentary Award: “Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been,” Barry Avrich; first runner-up “Black Sunflowers,” James Marcus Haney; second runner-up “The Ultra Runner,” Mila Aung-Thwin
People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award: “Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney,” Matthew Rankin; first runner-up “The Spiral,” Paolo Strippoli; second runner-up “Arrested Memory,” SABU
International People’s Choice Award: “Elsinore,” Simon Stone; first runner-up “Possible Love,” Lee Chang-dong; second runner-up “The Assassins,” Hur Jin-ho
Platform Prize: “Angh,” Theja Rio; honorable mention “Brace Your Heart,” Amanda Kernell
Best Canadian Feature Film: “Sunburn,” Serville Pobletel; honorable mention “Man in Motion: The Rick Hansen Story,” Adrian Buitenhuis
Best Canadian Discovery Award: “Smudge the Blades,” Cody Lightning; honorable mention “The Black Box Is Orange,” Yuula Benivolski
Short Cuts Award for Best International Short Film: “Mammalia,” Elia Kalogianni; honorable mention “The Spectacular Death of Prisca,” Kaelo Iyizoba
Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film: “Fight Kid,” Michael Del Monte; honorable mention “Almost Pink,” Justine Prince
Short Cuts Award for Best Animated Film: “Into the Betaverse,” Varun Raman and Tom Hancock; honorable mention “The Terminal,” Alexandre Siqueira
NETPAC: “Thirteen in Gaza,” Hosam Abu Dan
International Critics’ Prize (FIPRESCI Prize) Dedicated to Emerging Filmmaker: “Ancestors,” David Turpin