Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet has won the People’s Choice Award from the now-ended 50th Toronto Film Festival. In second place and third place, respectively, were Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein and Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.
The People’s Choice Award has been voted on by audiences since 1978 and has been dubbed “a harbinger” for the Best Picture Academy Award. Some previous films that have won the TIFF People’s Choice Award and went on to win Best Picture include Chariots of Fire, American Beauty, Slumdog Millionaire, The King’s Speech, 12 Years a Slave, Green Book, and Nomadland. Last year, the second and third runners-up, Emilia Pérez and Anora, received nineteen Academy Award nominations combined, with Anora winning the award for Best Picture.
Hailing from Focus Features, Hamnet is a historical drama directed, co-written, and co-edited by Zhao, which is adapted from Maddie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel of the same title. Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal lead the emotionally driven feature, with the film already gaining Oscar traction since its premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in August. The film will have a limited release on November 27th and a wide release on December 12th.
Check out the list of 2025 TIFF Award Winners below.
People’s Choice Award
Hamnet, Chloé Zhao
First runner-up: Frankenstein, Guillermo del Toro
Second runner-up: Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Rian Johnson
International People’s Choice Award
No Other Choice, Park Chan-wook
First runner-up: Sentimental Value, Joachim Trier
Second runner-up: Homebound, Neeraj Ghaywan
People’s Choice Documentary Award
The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, Barry Avirch
First runner-up: EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, Baz Luhrmann
Second runner-up: You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution…, Nick Davis
People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award
Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, Matt Johnson
First runner-up: Obsession, Curry Baker
Second runner-up: The Furious, Kenji Tanigaki
Short Cuts Award for Best International Short Film
Talk Me, Joecar Hanna, Spain/USA
Honorable Mention: Agapito, Arvin Belarmino and Kyla Danelle Romero, Philippines
Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film
The Girl Who Cried Pearls, Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
Honorable Mention: A Soft Touch, Heather Young
Short Cuts Award for Best Animated Short Film
To the Woods, Agnès Patron, France
FIPRESCI Prize
Forastera, Lucía Aleñar Iglesias, Spain/Italy/Sweden
NETPAC Award
In Search of The Sky (Vimukt), Jitank Singh Gurjar, India
Best Canadian Discovery Award
Blue Heron, Sophy Romvari
Honorable Mention: 100 Sunset, Kunsang Kyirong
Best Canadian Feature Film Award
Uiksaaringitara (Wrong Husband), Zachariaas Kunuk
Honorable Mention: There Are No Words, Min Sook Lee
Platform Award
To The Victory!, Valentyn Vasyanovych, Ukraine/Lituania
Honorable Mention: Hen, György Pálfi, Germany/Greece/Hungary
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