Since making its world premiere at the opening night selection at the 2016 Venice Film Festival, La La Land has emerged as favorite among critics and festivalgoers. Damien Chazelle’s contemporary musical, which stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as struggling artists in the City of Angels, has been rapturously received in both Telluride and Toronto. As such, even as the film is months away from its theatrical bow, it seemed nearly inevitable that the film would take home the Grolsch People’s Choice Award as TIFF closes out their 41st annual film festival.
The award, chosen by TIFF festivalgoers – fans of the various films had the option of either logging their vote by depositing their ticket stubs in voting boxes available post-screening, or by voting online on the official TIFF app – most importantly has some major (and quite Oscar-y) pedigree. Last year, it was Room that surprised many earning the People’s Choice prize, major boost for that dark independent drama that eventually earned actress Brie Larson an Oscar statuette and earned a Best Picture nomination. Past winners include Best Picture winners American Beauty (1999), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), The King’s Speech (2010) and 12 Years a Slave (2013) as well as Oscar favorites Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Precious (2009), Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and The Imitation Game (2014). The honor is shared by Emma Stone’s recent Best Actress triumph at the Venice Film Festival.
There were other honors awarded as TIFF closed out, including two runners-up for the People’s Choice Award – they went to two other awards hopefuls in Lion and Queen of Katwe. Take a look at the full list of winners below:
- PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD: La La Land, directed by Damien Chazelle
- runners-up: Lion, directed by Garth Davis; Queen of Katwe, directed by Mira Nai
- PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD (Documentary): I Am Not Your Negro, directed by Raoul Peck
- PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD (Midnight Madness): Free Fire, directed by Ben Wheatley
- PLATFORM PRIZE: Jackie, directed by Pablo Larrían
- PLATFORM PRIZE (Special Mention): Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait, directed by Khyentse Norbu
- BEST CANADIAN FEATURE: Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves, directed by Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie
- BEST CANADIAN FIRST FEATURE: Old Stone, directed by Johnny Ma
- FIPRESCI PRIZE (Special Presentations Section): I Am Not Madame Bovary, directed by Feng Xiaogang
- FIPRESCI PRIZE (Discovery Section): Kati Kati, directed byMbithi Masya
- DROPBOX DISCOVERY PROGRAMME FILMMAKERS AWARD: Jeffrey, directed by Yanillys Perez
- NETPAC AWARD FOR WORLD/INTERNATIONAL ASIAN PREMIERE: In Between, directed by Maysaloun Hamoud
- BEST SHORT FILM: Imago, directed by Ribay Gutierrez
- BEST CANADIAN SHORT FILM: Mutants, directed by Alexandre Dostie
Leave a Comment