'12 Years A Slave' Wins Toronto International Film Festival
Credit: Fox Searchlight
In a huge boost for its awards season chances, director Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave has just nabbed the People’s Choice Audience Award at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.
The film, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt, just to name a few, is based on the 1853 autobiography of Solomon Northup, a free black man kidnapped and sold into slavery. The film follows such eventual Best Picture Oscar winners as The King’s Speech, Slumdog Millionaire, American Beauty, and Chariots Of Fire in claiming the People's Choice Audience Award. In addition, several Best Picture nominees have taken the coveted honor in recent years, including Silver Linings Playbook and Precious.
Fox Searchlight will release 12 Years A Slave on October 18. Runners-up for the People’s Choice Audience Award were Philomena (starring Judi Dench, and directed by Oscar nominee Stephen Frears) and Prisoners (starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal).
Check out the full list of winners below via Deadline:
Blackberry People’s Choice Award
12 Years a Slave, Steve McQueen
Runner up: Philomena, Stephen Frears
Second runner up: Prisoners, Denise Villeneuve
YouTube Award for Best Canadian Short Film
Noah, Walter Woodman and Patrick Cederberg
Honourable mentions: Kevan Funke’s Yellowhead and Fraser Munden and Neil Rathbone’s The Chaperone 3D
City of Toronto + Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film
When Jews Were Funny, Alan Zweig
Special jury citation: Jennifer Podemski, Cara Gee and Shay Eyre
Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film
Asphalt Watches, Shayne Ehman and Seth Scriver
Honourable mention: Afflicted
Prize of the International Critics (FIPRESCI) for Special Presentations
Ida, Pawel Pawlikowski
Prize of the International Critics (FIPRESCI) for the Discovery programme
The Amazing Catfish, Claudia Sainte-Luce
BlackBerry People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award
Why Don’t You Play in Hell? (Jigoku de Naze Warui), Sion Sono
Runner Up: Oculus, Mike Flanagan
Second runner up: Witching & Bitching, Alex de la Iglesias
BlackBerry People’s Choice Documentary Award
The Square, Jehane Noujaim
Runner Up: Hi-Ho Mistahey!, Alanis Obomsawin
Second runner-up: Beyond the Edge, Leanne Pooley
NETPAC Award for World or International Asian Film Premiere
Qissa, Anup Singh
Grolsch Film Works Discovery Award
All the Wrong Reasons, Gia Milani
RBC Emerging Filmmakers Competition
Requiem for a Robot, Christoph Rainer
Honourable mention: Tales of Santa Fe by Dan Popa and Destroyer by Kevan Funk