by Mansour Jahani
The winners of the 50th Toronto International Film Festival were announced, and the film “Hamnet” directed by Chloé Zhao, won the top audience award at this prestigious festival.
According to the report of Mansour Jahani, an independent and international cinema journalist, The 50th Toronto International Film Festival was held in the “Contemporary World Cinema”, “Discovery”, “Midnight Madness”, etc. on September 4-14, 2025 in Toronto, Canada, and the winners of various competition, including; The People’s Choice Award, The Short Cuts Awards, The FIPRESCI Prize, The NETPAC Award, The Best Canadian Discovery Award and The Platform Award were announced.
The People’s Choice Awards
The Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Awards, presented by Rogers, presents the audience’s top titles at the festival as voted by the viewing public. All feature films and Primetime series in TIFF’s Official Selection are eligible.
The People’s Choice Award
The People’s Choice Award, to: “Hamnet” by Chloé Zhao (United Kingdom)
First runner-up, to: “Frankenstein” by Guillermo del Toro (United States of America)
Second runner-up, to: “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” by Rian Johnson (USA)
The International People’s Choice Award
The International People’s Choice Award, to: “No Other Choice” by Park Chan-wook (South Korea)
First runner-up: Sentimental Value, by Joachim Trier (Norway, France, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom)
Second runner-up, to: “Homebound” by Neeraj Ghaywan (India)
The People’s Choice Documentary Award
The People’s Choice Documentary Award, to: “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue” by Barry Avrich (Canada)
First runner-up, to: “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” by Baz Luhrmann (Australia)
Second runner-up, to: “You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution…” by Nick Davis (United States of America)
The People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award
The People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award, to: “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie”, by Matt Johnson (Canada)
First runner-up, to: “Obsession” by Curry Barker (United States of America)
Second runner-up, to: “The Furious” by Kenji Tanigaki (Hong Kong, China)
The Short Cuts awards
The Short Cuts Awards are presented to the Best International Short Film, Best Canadian Short Film, and Best Animated Short Film, as awarded by the Short Cuts jury. Each of the three winning films will receive a bursary of $10,000 CAD.
The Short Cuts Jury Members
The The Short Cuts Jury members for the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, including; Ashley Iris Gill; Canadian Cinematographer, Connor Jessup; Canadian actor, writer, and Marcel Jean; Artistic Director of the Annecy International Animation Film Festival director, announced their opinions as follows:
Best International Short Film
The Short Cuts Award for Best International Short Film, to: “Talk Me” by Joecar Hanna (Spain/USA)
Honourable Mention
Honourable Mention, to: “Agapito” by Arvin Belarmino & Kyla Danelle Romero (Philippines)
Best Canadian Short Film
Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film, to: “The Girl Who Cried Pearls” by Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski (Canada)
Honourable Mention
Honourable Mention, to: “A Soft Touch” by Heather Young (Canada)
Best Animated Short Film
Short Cuts Award for Best Animated Short Film, to: “To the Woods” by Agnès Patron (France)
The FIPRESCI Prize
The FIPRESCI jury is awarding the International Critics Prize, dedicated to emerging filmmakers, to a debut feature film having its World Premiere in TIFF’s Discovery or Centrepiece programmes.
The 2025 FIPRESCI Jury Members
The 2025 FIPRESCI jury members are: Andy Hazel; Film Journalist (Australia), Francisco Ferreira; Journalist and Film Critic (Portugal), Jean-Philippe Guerand; Journalist and Film Critic (France), Justine Smith; Editor and Programmer (Canada) and Katharina Dockhorn; Freelance Journalist (Germany), announced their opinions as follows:
The FIPRESCI Prize
The FIPRESCI Prize, to: “Forastera” by Lucía Aleñar Iglesias (Spain/Italy/Sweden)
The NETPAC Award
Presented by the Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema, the NETPAC Award recognizes films specifically from the Asian and Pacific regions. The jury consists of three international community members selected by TIFF and NETPAC, who award the prize to the best Asian film by a first or second-time feature director.
The 2025 NETPAC Jury Members
The 2025 NETPAC jury members are Keoprasith Souvannavong; French journalist, Dina Iordanova; professor of global cinema, an expert in transnational film festivals and Helen Lee; Seoul-born, Toronto-based filmmaker, announced their opinions as follows:
The NETPAC Award:
The NETPAC Award, to: “In Search of The Sky” (Vimukt) by Jitank Singh Gurjar (India)
The Best Canadian Discovery Award
The Best Canadian Discovery Award celebrates works of emerging filmmakers who contribute to enriching the Canadian film landscape. All Canadian first or second feature films in Official Selection are eligible for this award. The winner will receive a cash prize of $10,000 CAD.
The Canadian Discovery Award Jury Members
Jury members presiding over both the Best Canadian Discovery Award and Best Canadian Feature Film Award are: Jennifer Baichwal; Canadian filmmaker, Sophie Jarvis; Canadian Film director and production designer, and R.T. Thorne; Canadian film producer and director, announced their opinions as follows:
Best Canadian Discovery Award:
The Best Canadian Discovery Award, to: “Blue Heron” by Sophy Romvari (Canada)
Honourable Mention
Honourable Mention, to: “100 Sunset” by Kunsang Kyirong (Canada)
The Best Canadian Feature Film Award
The Best Canadian Feature Film Award honours the unique craft and storytelling in Canadian cinema. All Canadian feature films in Official Selection – excluding first or second features – are considered for the award. The winning filmmaker will receive a $10,000 CAD cash prize.
Best Canadian Feature Film Award:
The Best Canadian Feature Film Award, to: “Uiksaringitara” (Wrong Husband) by Zacharias Kunuk (Canada)
Honourable Mention:
Honourable Mention, to: “There Are No Words” by Min Sook Lee (Canada)
Platform Award
Marking the tenth anniversary of the Festival’s competitive section, Platform champions bold directorial vision and distinctive storytelling on the world stage. The Platform Award is a prize of $20,000 CAD given to the best film in the programme, selected.
The Platform Award Jury Members
The Platform Award members international jury, including; Carlos Marqués-Marcet; Spanish film director and screenwriter (Jury Chair), Marianne Jean-Baptiste; English Actress and Chloé Robichaud; Canadian director, announced their opinions as follows:
Platform Award
Platform Award, to: “To The Victory!” by Valentyn Vasyanovych (Ukraine/Lithuania)
Honourable Mention
Honourable Mention, to: “Hen” by György Pálfi (Germany/Greece/Hungary)
TIFF the most prestigious film festival in North America
The Toronto International Film Festival, along with the Sundance Film Festival, is the most prestigious film festival in North America. Its 50th edition was held in the “Contemporary World Cinema”, “Discovery”, “Midnight Madness”, etc. on September 4-14, 2025 in Toronto, Canada.
For more details:
https://tiff.net/press/news/tiff-50-announces-its-2025-award-winners
Image courtesy of Toronto International Film Festival
