The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) closed yesterday its 50th edition, after two weeks of intense activity for the global film industry. Although with a profile more audience-oriented than festivals such as Venice or Telluride, Toronto’s awards remain a key barometer both for awards season and for the international marketplace. The Platform Prize went to Ukrainian filmmaker Valentyn Vasyanovych for To the Victory!, an innovative self-portrait that imagines the future of his country and its cultural industry after the war. The jury, composed of Carlos Marqués-Marcet, actress Marianne Jean-Baptiste and filmmaker Chloé Robichaud, praised “the masterful precision of his staging, the boldness of his vision, and the use of comedy to address a complex situation in a profoundly beautiful work that brings viewers back to the very essence of cinema.”

The People’s Choice Award, which from this edition onwards is divided into international categories, went to Chloé Zhao for Hamnet, her distinctive take on the origins of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The film features Paul Mescal in a daring turn as the playwright, alongside Jessie Buckley, lauded for her portrayal of Agnes Shakespeare, the author’s wife and a grieving mother mourning the death of her son — an event that would obliquely inspire the famous tragedy. This award, voted for by TIFF’s loyal audiences, is regarded as a crucial indicator of Hollywood’s awards season, further consolidating Zhao’s standing as one of today’s most influential directors.

The international audience also recognized South Korean director Park Chan-wook with the International People’s Choice Award for No Other Choice, a reminder of the passion he inspires among young cinephiles after being overlooked in Venice. Finally, the Best Canadian Discovery Award went to Blue Heron, by Sophy Romvari, a Canadian-Hungarian co-production that extends the acclaim it received in Locarno. With this list of winners, Toronto reaffirms its place as a festival where cinema and audiences meet, and where, very often, the race for the industry’s most coveted prizes begins.

All the winners:

Platform Award

• To the Victory! – Valentyn Vasyanovych (Ucrania/Lituania)
  Mención especial: Hen – György Pálfi (Alemania/Grecia/Hungría)

Best Canadian Feature Film Award

• Wrong Husband – Zacharias Kunuk (Canadá)
  Mención especial: There Are No Words – Min Sook Lee (Canadá)

Best Canadian Discovery Award

• Blue Heron – Sophy Romvari (Canadá/Hungría)
  Mención especial: 100 Sunset – Kunsang Kyirong (Canadá)

People’s Choice Award

• Hamnet – Chloé Zhao (Reino Unido/EE. UU.)
  Primer finalista: Frankenstein – Guillermo del Toro (EE. UU.)
  Segundo finalista: Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery – Rian Johnson (EE. UU.)

International People’s Choice Award

• No Other Choice – Park Chan-wook (Corea del Sur/Francia)
  Primer finalista: Sentimental Value – Joachim Trier (Noruega/Francia/Dinamarca/Alemania)
  Segundo finalista: Homebound – Neeraj Ghaywan (India/EE. UU.)

People’s Choice Documentary Award

• The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue – Barry Avrich (Canadá)
  Primer finalista: EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert – Baz Luhrmann (Australia/EE. UU.)
  Segundo finalista: You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution… – Nick Davis (EE. UU.)

People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award

• Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie – Matt Johnson (Canadá)
  Primer finalista: Obsession – Curry Barker (EE. UU.)
  Segundo finalista: The Furious – Kenji Tanigaki (Hong Kong/China)

Short Cuts Award for Best International Short Film

• Talk Me – Joecar Hanna (España/EE. UU.)
  Mención especial: Agapito – Arvin Belarmino, Kyla Danelle Romero (Filipinas)

Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film

• The Girl Who Cried Pearls – Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski (Canadá)
  Mención especial: A Soft Touch – Heather Young (Canadá)

Short Cuts Award for Best Animated Short Film

• To the Woods – Agnès Patron (Francia)

NETPAC Award

• In Search of the Sky – Jitank Singh Gurjar (India)

FIPRESCI Prize

• Forastera – Lucía Aleñar Iglesias (España/Italia/Suecia)