 |
| Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Edwin, Patsey and Solomon in Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave |
The historical drama, based on the novel by Solomon Northup, stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as a free man who is abducted and sold into slavery a world populated by the likes of sadistic plantation owner Edwin Epps, played by long-time McQueen collaborator Michael Fassbender. The film premiered at Telluride in August and will screen at New York Film Festival later this month.
Unlike other festivals, Toronto Film Festival only hands out a small clutch of awards. In recently years, winning to top accolade has been considered to augur well for Oscar success, with previous recipients including The King's Speech, Slumdog Millionaire, Silver Linings Playbook and Precious.
The British director said: "At a festival that has shown so many brilliant films, I cannot be more thrilled to receive this award.
"I'd like to thank the Toronto audience who have supported my work ever since I was fortunate enough to show my first film there."
It was a good week for British filmmakers, as director Stephen Frears too the runner-up spot with his true-life drama Philomena, starring Judi Dench as a woman hunting for the son she was forced to give up for adoption. Second runner-up was Denis Villeneuve's Prisoners, which will screen at San Sebastian Film Festival next week.
Jehane Noujaim's The Square - chronicling the revolution in Egypt's Tahrir Square and which premiered back at Sundance in January - won the People's Choice award for documentary.
The full awards were as follows:
People's Choice Award - Drama
Winner: 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen)
First runner-up: Philomena (Stephen Frears)
Second runner-up: Prisoners (Denis Villeneuve)
People's Choice Award - Documentary
Winner: The Square (Jehane Noujaim)
First runner-up: Hi-Ho Mistahey! (Alanis Obomsawin)
Second runner-up: Leanne Pooley's Beyond the Edge
People's Choice Award - Midnight Madness
Winner: Why Don't You Play in Hell? (Sion Sono)
First runner-up: Oculus (Mike Flanagan)
Second runner-up: Witching & Bitching (Alex de la Iglesia)
FIPRESCI, International Critics' Prize
Special Presentations: Ida (Pawel Pawlikowski) - "For a layered and humane exploration of issues of religious and personal identity. With its very original, austere yet poetic imagery it brings alive the gravity and grimness of history.”
Discovery Programme: The Amazing Catfish (Claudia Sainte-Luce) - "Claudia Sainte-Luce shows a precocious, playful and poignant grasp of the fluid nature of family and the capability of the human heart under the most dire conditions for generosity, empathy and tenderness."
NETPAC Award for World or International Asian Film Premiere
Qissa (Anup Singh)
Grolsch Film Works Discovery Award
All The Wrong Reasons (Gia Milani)
Emerging Filmmakers Competition
Requiem for a Robot (Christoph Rainer)
Hon mentions: Tales Of Santa Fe (Dan Pope), Destroyer (Kevan Funk)
Best Canadian Feature Film
When Jews Were Funny (Alan Zweig)
Special citation: (Jennifer Podemski, Cara Gee and Shay Eyre)
Best Canadian First Feature
Asphalt Watches (Shayne Ehman and Seth Scriver)
Hon mention: Afflicted (Derek Lee and Cliff Prowse)
Best Canadian Short Film
Noah (Walter Woodman and Patrick Cederberg)
Hon mentions: Yellowhead (Kevan Funk), The Chaperone 3D (Fraser Munden and Neil Rathbone)
