Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF): History and Winners

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is an annual festival held every September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Since its inception in 1976, it has become one of the most prestigious film festivals in North America and one of the most-attended film festivals in the world. Since the mid-1990s, TIFF's major award, the People's Choice Award, has bestowed films with significant awards season buzz at the beginning of the annual awards season.

History

The inaugural Toronto International Film Festival was held in October 1976 under the name of Toronto Festival of Festivals. The original intention of the festival was to serve as a program containing the "best of" films that debuted at other festivals around the globe. That concept was so successful that the Toronto Festival of Festivals gradually added film premieres and other special programs to its schedule, and was renamed the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) starting from the 1994 edition.

Since the rebranding of the festival, the impact of the festival's program on the annual awards season has been significant. TIFF has been utilized by film studios and distributors to launch awards campaigns for many films with their major releases premiering both in competition and as special programs. The number of celebrity attendees and amount of media coverage has also significantly increased, and by the end of the 1990s, TIFF was firmly established as the most popular film festival in North America.

People's Choice Award

The festival's top award, the People's Choice Award, was first presented in 1978. Unlike the top prizes for the major European film festivals, the People's Choice Award is voted on by festival attendees instead of a jury. Beginning in 2000, TIFF started announcing the runners-up for the award as well. In 2009, People's Choice Awards were added for documentaries and for "Midnight Madness," which are for genre films. Past People's Choice Award for Midnight Madness include 2011's The Raid, 2012's Seven Psychopaths, 2014's What We Do in the Shadows, and 2015's Hardcore Henry.

A Canadian jury presents honors like Best Canadian Film, which has been awarded to many films that have gone on to be major winners at the Genie Awards and, later, the Canadian Screen Awards (the top filmmaking awards for Canadian productions). Another jury, made up of international members, presents other festival awards like the Platform Prize.

In addition, TIFF operates a year-round schedule at its headquarters, the TIFF Bell Lightbox, which includes a five-screen cinema. TIFF also supports other smaller Canadian film festivals, film education initiatives, and film preservation.

Notable Winners

A number of major films that have won the Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and six of those have gone on to win the Oscar:

• Chariots of Fire (1981)
• American Beauty (1999)
• Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
• The King's Speech (2010)
• 12 Years a Slave (2013)
• Green Book (2018)

Films that won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival that later were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture:

• The Big Chill (1983)
• Places in the Heart (1984)
• Shine (1996)
• Life Is Beautiful (1998)
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
• Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (2009)
• Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
• The Imitation Game (2014)
• Room (2015)
• La La Land (2016)
• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)

In addition, over its more than 40 years of history, the TIFF has featured a number of other films that won the People's Choice Award and later went on to gain more recognition and success. This is a partial list of some of the festival's other notable winners:

1979: Best Boy

In just the second year of the People's Choice Award, the documentary Best Boy, directed by Ira Wohl, won the honors. The documentary, which follows the education of Wohl's middle-aged mentally challenged cousin, later won the Academy Award for Best Documentary. Beginning in 2009, TIFF has presented a People's Choice Award for Documentary.

1985: The Official Story (La historia oficial)

The Argentine drama The Official Story, directed by Luis Puenzo, later won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

1987: The Princess Bride

Director Rob Reiner's 1987 fantasy film The Princess Bride has become one of the most beloved cult classic films released in the 1980s.

1991: The Fisher King

Terry Gilliam's 1991 fantasy drama The Fisher King, starring Jeff Bridges and Robin Williams, became a minor box office hit and proved to be a classic. In addition, actress Mercedes Ruehl won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.

1995: Antonia's Line

The Dutch film Antonia's Line, directed by Marleen Gorris, later won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Film.

2005: Tsotsi

The South African crime drama Tsotsi, directed by Gavin Hood, later won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

2016 People's Choice Award for Documentaries: I Am Not Your Negro

Director Raoul Peck's I Am Not Your Negro, a documentary about writer James Baldwin and his history in the Civil Rights Movement, won the People's Choice Award for Documentaries. It was later nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and won the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary.

2018 People's Choice Award for Documentaries: Free Solo

Directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin's documentary Free Solo, about renowned free solo climber Alex Honnold, would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary.