The Toronto International Film Festival has now announced its final award recipients. This year TIFF decided to reveal its annual slate of awards and winners via all social media channels rather than its annual awards luncheon which had many media people up in arms and questioning the state of the festival. Ultimately it was for the best and appeared to create bigger buzz around the award-winning films. The 2019 44th edition of TIFF wraps up this evening.
“TIFF 2019 was a stellar year,” said Cameron Bailey, TIFF Co-Head and Artistic Director and Joana Vicente, TIFF Co-Head and Executive Director. “The films and talent featured in this year’s Festival have left us inspired, awestruck, and excited for the future of cinema.”
Having seen 40+ films at TIFF this year myself, I would have to agree. It is my belief we will look back at 2019 as the strongest year for cinema of the decade. I saw very few films that disappointed.
The Toronto International Film Festival Announces Full Slate of TIFF 2019 Awards Share on X
The Full List of TIFF 2019 Film Awards
TIFF 2019 Short Film Awards
The short film awards below were selected by a jury comprised of Chelsea McMullan, Léo Soesanto, and Andrea Roa.
IWC SHORT CUTS AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN SHORT FILM
The IWC Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film goes to Chloé Robichaud for Delphine. The jury remarked, “By presenting its main character’s unique point of view through another character’s perspective, Robichaud’s Delphine boldly utilizes an original narrative device to offer a refreshing twist on the coming-of-age genre.
This evocative, mysterious, yet sensitive short film brings up powerful feelings of nostalgia and memory, leaving an impact that lingers with the viewer long after its all-too-short run time comes to a close.” The award offers a $10,000 cash prize, made possible by IWC Schaffhausen. The jury awarded an honourable mention to Theodore Ushev’s The Physics of Sorrow for its impressive filmmaking and detailed craftsmanship.
IWC SHORT CUTS AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM
The IWC Short Cuts Award for Best Short Film goes to Lasse Linder for All Cats Are Grey in the Dark. The jury noted, “Blurring the line between narrative and documentary, Linder’s All Cats Are Grey in the Dark simultaneously observes its main character — and its topic — with both empathy and absurdity. This unexpectedly touching, exceptionally composed, and tender tale of a man’s love for his cats (along with the best employed use of Alexa) surprised the jury with its observational filmmaking and memorable feline performances.” The award offers a $10,000 cash prize, made possible by IWC Schaffhausen.
The jury gave honourable mention to Federico Luis Tachella’s The Nap for its brave exploration of age and sexuality.
TIFF 2019 Canadian Film Awards
The Canadian awards below were selected by a jury comprised of Magali Simard, Devyani Saltzman, and Alicia Elliott.
CITY OF TORONTO AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN FIRST FEATURE FILM
The City of Toronto Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film goes to Matthew Rankin’s The Twentieth Century. The jury remarked, “Rankin’s debut feature is superb in its imaginative wildness, taking an otherwise staid historical Canadian figure and propelling him into the heart of one of the most creative, visual, and
compelling experiences of the Festival.” 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 Sophie Deraspe’s Antigone. The jury said that “Antigone stands out on its own as an electrifying piece of cinema. Tackling with vigour contemporary realities of immigration in Canada through the framework of Greek tragedy, Deraspe created magnificent onscreen humanism. It is imperative to point out Nahéma Ricci’s performance, reminiscent of Renée Falconetti’s Jeanne d’Arc.” This award carries a cash prize of $30,000 and a custom award, sponsored by Canada Goose. The jury gave honourable mention to Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers and Kathleen Hepburn’s The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open.
TIFF 2019 International Film Awards
2019 TORONTO PLATFORM PRIZE
Chosen by the jury, comprised of award-winning filmmaker Athina Rachel Tsangari, Berlinale Artistic Director Carlo Chatrian, and international film critic Jessica Kiang the Toronto International Film Festival announced the winner of the 2019 Toronto Platform Prize, Pietro Marcello’s Martin Eden was chosen as the winner of the $20,000 CAD prize. Additionally, the jury awarded two honourable mentions, the first being Kazik Radwanski’s Anne at 13,000 ft and the other honourable mention was awarded to Alice Winocour’s Proxima.
NETPAC AWARD
Selected by a jury from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema (NETPAC), the NETPAC Award goes to Oualid Mouaness’ 1982. Jury members included Chairperson Beckie Stocchetti, Kanako Hayashi, and Albert Shin. The jury remarked that this film was selected “for its adventurous, imaginative style and subtle, confident filmmaking, bravely juxtaposing and framing the universal innocence and charm of youth within harrowing historical context.”
TIFF 2019 DISCOVERY PROGRAMME FIPRESCI PRIZE
The FIPRESCI Prize for the Discovery programme is awarded to Heather Young for Murmur, which the jury selected “for its impressive, minimalist, and precise storytelling — both in its structure and its use of static camerawork and framing — and for its empathetic and powerful simplicity in deconstructing the effects of an
addictive personality.”
TIFF 2019 SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS PROGRAMME FIPRESCI PRIZE
The FIPRESCI Prize for the Special Presentations programme is awarded to Coky Giedroyc for How to Build a Girl. “Led by a performance by Beanie Feldstein, our winning film is a witty and heartfelt story of an irrepressible teenage girl who breaks into the snooty boys’ club of English rock criticism, loses her soul, and then gains it back again. Congratulations to How to Build a Girl,” said the jury. The FIPRESCI jury, now in its 28th year at the Festival, was comprised of Jury President Rita di Santo (UK), Frédéric Jaeger (Germany), Liam Lacey (Canada), Ruben Peralta Rigaud (Dominican Republic), Müge Turan (Turkey), and Claire Valade (Canada).
TIFF 2019 Grolsch People’s Choice Film Awards
GROLSCH PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD
This year marked the 42nd 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 Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit. The award offers a $15,000 cash prize and a custom award, sponsored by Grolsch. The first runner-up is Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story. The second runner-up is Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite. The Festival presents free screenings of Jojo Rabbit at TIFF Bell Lightbox tonight.
GROLSCH PEOPLE’S CHOICE MIDNIGHT MADNESS AWARD
The Grolsch People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award goes to Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s The Platform. The first runner-up is Andrew Patterson’s The Vast of Night. The second runner-up is Jeff Barnaby’s Blood Quantum.
GROLSCH PEOPLE’S CHOICE DOCUMENTARY AWARD
The Grolsch People’s Choice Documentary Award goes to The Cave, directed by Feras Fayyad. The first runner-up is Garin Hovannisian’s I Am Not Alone. The second runner-up is Bryce Dallas Howard’s Dads.
Jojo Rabbit Trailer- TIFF 2019 People’s Choice Award Winner
TIFF will announce which titles featured in this year’s festival will be playing at TIFF Bell Lightbox later this month. The 45th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 10–20, 2020. We hope to see you there next year.
Did you see any of these films at TIFF 2019? I’d love to know which films were your favourites at the festival this year in the comments below.
