12 Years a Slave wins TIFF People's Choice Award

After 11 days of premieres and non-stop entertainment, the TIFF awards ceremony took place on the final day, awarding top prizes to films that resonated with audiences. Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave, based on an 1853 memoir of Solomon Northup, won the Blackberry People's Choice Award. The film stars A-list actors, including Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Paul Giamatti, Alfre Woodard and Benedict Cumberbatch. The first runner up was Stephen Frears’ Philomena while the second runner up was Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners. The Square by Jehane Noujaim nabbed the top documentary award. The best Canadian feature film was awarded to Alan Zweig’s documentary When Jews Were Funny. The best Canadian first feature film, with a prize of $15,000, went to Shayne Ehman and Seth Scriver for the animated film Asphalt Watches. Here is the list of the main prize winners:

Overall: Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave

First runner-up: Stephen Frears’ Philomena

Second runner-up: Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners

Documentary: Jehane Noujaim’s The Square

First runner-up: Alanis Obomsawin’s Hi-Ho Mistahey!

Second runner-up: Leanne Pooley’s Beyond the Edge

Midnight Madness: Sion Sono’s Why Don’t You Play in Hell?

First runner-up: Mike Flanagan’s Oculus

Second runner-up: Alex de la Iglesia’s Witching & Bitching

Prize of the International Critics (Fipresci Prize)

Pawel Pawlikowski’s Ida in the Special Presentations category

Claudia Sainte-Luce’s The Amazing Catfish in the Discovery Program, which spotlights feature films by new and emerging directors

City of Toronto and Canada Goose award for Best Canadian Feature Film

Alan Zweig’s When Jews were Funny

Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film

Shayne Ehman and Seth Scriver’s Asphalt Watches

YouTube Award for Best Canadian Short Film

Walter Woodman and Patrick Cederberg’s Noah

Netpac Award for World or International Asian Film

Anup Singh’s Qissa