By Jake Coyle, Film Writer
TORONTO (AP) --Martin McDonaugh's "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" took the Toronto International Film Festival's People's Choice Award on Sunday, an early bell-weather for Hollywood's coming awards season.
Piers Handling, chief executive and director of the festival, announced the awards for the 42nd annual Toronto festival.
The People's Choice Award, voted on by festival audiences, went to the British playwright's third feature film, which stars Frances McDormand as a mother who goes to war with police in her town after her daughter's murder.
"As much as we had a lovely time in Canada, and as much it seemed like the audiences had a good time, too, you never really know if a story that's as heartfelt but also as outrageous and funny and unusual as ours has really connected to, you know, real people," said McDonaugh ("In Bruges," ''Seven Psychopaths"), said in a statement. "So it's brilliant to hear that it has."
Not since 2007's "Eastern Promises" has a Toronto People's Choice winner failed to score an Academy Awards best-picture nomination. Many People's Choice winners have also gone on to win the Academy Awards' top honor, including "12 Years a Slave," ''The King's Speech" and "Slumdog Millionaire."
"La La Land" last year took Toronto's big prize but Damien Chazelle's musical ultimately lost to "Moonlight" for best picture.
Fox Searchlight will release "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" on Nov. 10.
This year's runner up went to Craig Gillespie's Tonya Harding tale "I, Tonya," starring Margot Robbie as the former Olympic ice skater. In one of the festival's biggest sales, "I, Tonya" was acquired by Neon and 30West for $5 million.
The second runner up was "Call Me By Your Name," Luca Guadagnino's Italy-set coming-of-age story.
That film, which also drew raves at the Sundance Film Festival earlier in the year, is due for release Nov. 24 from Sony Pictures Classics.
The People’s Choice Documentary Award was bestowed upon Agnès Varda and JR’s "Faces Places." The second runner-up was Morgan Spurlock’s "Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!" The first runner-up was "Long Time Running" directed by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas De Pencier.
The People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award went to Joseph Kahn’s "Bodied." The second runner-up was Craig Zahler’s "Brawl in Cell Block 99." The first runner-up was James Franco’s "The Disaster Artist."
Here’s a rundown of other Toronto International Film Festival winners:
Toronto Platform Prize
This is the third year for Platform, the Festival’s juried program that champions directors’ cinema from around the world.
Winner: Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country.
A special mention was given to Clio Barnard’s Dark River.
NETPAC Award
As selected by a jury from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema for the sixth consecutive year, the NETPAC Award for World or International Asian Film Premiere went to to Huang Hsin-Yao’s The Great Buddha+.
FIPRESCI Prizes
Prize of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) for the Discovery program was awarded to Sadaf Foroughi for Ava.
Prize of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) for Special Presentations was awarded to Manuel Martín Cuenca for The Motive (El Autor).
Best Canadian Feature Film
Best Canadian Feature Film distinction went to Robin Aubert’s Les Affamés.
Scoring honorable mention was Simon Lavoie’s The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches (La petite fille qui aimait trop les allumettes).
Best Canadian First Feature
The City of Toronto Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film went to Wayne Wapeemukwa’s Luk’ Luk’l.
The jury gave honorable mention to Sadaf Foroughi’s Ava.
Best Short Film
Winner: Niki Lindroth von Bahr’s The Burden (Min Börda).
The jury gave honorable mentions to Matthew Rankin’s The Tesla World Light (Tesla: Lumière Mondiale) and Qiu Yang’s Xiao Cheng Er Yue (A Gentle Night).
Best Canadian Short Film
Winner: Marc-Antoine Lemire’s Pre-Drink.
“Heretic” and “Maria” Set As Red Carpet Premieres At AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) has announced that Heretic, the psychological thriller starring Hugh Grant, and Maria, based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas starring Angelina Jolie, will round out the Red Carpet Premieres section at this year’s AFI Fest. The Heretic Gala Screening will take place on Thursday, October 24, and the Maria Gala Screening will be held on Saturday, October 26. The complete Red Carpet Premieres section includes the world premieres of Music By John Williams, Robert Zemeckis’ Here, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl and Clint Eastwood’s Juror #2. All Red Carpet Premieres will take place at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre. The full lineup for AFI Fest 2024 will be unveiled on October 1.
“At the heart of AFI Fest is an unwavering dedication to celebrating the best in global cinema--together,” said Bob Gazzale, AFI president and CEO. “We look forward to uniting artists and audiences once again to be inspired by the art form in a powerful sense of community.”
Heretic follows two young missionaries (Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East) who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (portrayed by Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. The film is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods and produced by Stacey Sher, Beck, Woods, Julia Glausi and Jeanette Volturno. The film will be released nationwide by A24 on November 8.
Directed by Pablo Larraín, Maria presents a tumultuous and beautiful depiction of one of the world’s most renowned artists and reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days in Paris, as Callas (Jolie)... Read More