What were the Toronto International Film Festival 2025 winners?

The winners of the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, covered by independent journalist Mansour Jahani, were announced, and the film “Hamnet” directed by Chloé Zhao, won the top audience award at this prestigious festival that took place on September 4-14, 2025 in Toronto, Canada.

The Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Awards, presented by Rogers, presents the audience’s top titles at the festival as voted by the viewing public. All feature films and Primetime series in TIFF’s Official Selection are eligible.

• The People’s Choice Award, to: “Hamnet” by Chloé Zhao (United Kingdom)
• First runner-up, to: “Frankenstein” by Guillermo del Toro (United States of America)
• Second runner-up, to: “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery” by Rian Johnson (USA)
• The International People’s Choice Award, to: “No Other Choice” by Park Chan-wook (South Korea)
• First runner-up: Sentimental Value, by Joachim Trier (Norway, France, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, United Kingdom)
• Second runner-up, to: “Homebound” by Neeraj Ghaywan (India)
• The People’s Choice Documentary Award, to: “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue” by Barry Avrich (Canada)
• First runner-up, to: “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert” by Baz Luhrmann (Australia)
• Second runner-up, to: “You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution...” by Nick Davis (United States of America)
• The People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award, to: “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie”, by Matt Johnson (Canada)
• First runner-up, to: “Obsession” by Curry Barker (United States of America)
• Second runner-up, to: “The Furious” by Kenji Tanigaki (Hong Kong, China)

The Short Cuts Awards are presented to the Best International Short Film, Best Canadian Short Film, and Best Animated Short Film, as awarded by the Short Cuts jury. Each of the three winning films will receive a bursary of $10,000 CAD.

• The Short Cuts Award for Best International Short Film, to: “Talk Me” by Joecar Hanna (Spain/USA)
• Honourable Mention, to: “Agapito” by Arvin Belarmino & Kyla Danelle Romero (Philippines)
• Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film, to: “The Girl Who Cried Pearls” by Chris Lavis & Maciek Szczerbowski (Canada)
• Honourable Mention, to: “A Soft Touch” by Heather Young (Canada)
• Short Cuts Award for Best Animated Short Film, to: “To the Woods” by Agnès Patron (France)

MULTIPLE AWARDS

The FIPRESCI jury is awarding the International Critics Prize, dedicated to emerging filmmakers, to a debut feature film having its World Premiere in TIFF’s Discovery or Centrepiece programmes.

• The FIPRESCI Prize, to: “Forastera” by Lucía Aleñar Iglesias (Spain/Italy/Sweden)

Presented by the Network for the Promotion of Asian Pacific Cinema, the NETPAC Award recognizes films specifically from the Asian and Pacific regions. The jury consists of three international community members selected by TIFF and NETPAC, who award the prize to the best Asian film by a first or second-time feature director.

• The NETPAC Award, to: “In Search of The Sky” (Vimukt) by Jitank Singh Gurjar (India)
• The Best Canadian Discovery Award, to: “Blue Heron” by Sophy Romvari (Canada)
• Honourable Mention, to: “100 Sunset” by Kunsang Kyirong (Canada)

The Best Canadian Feature Film Award honours the unique craft and storytelling in Canadian cinema. All Canadian feature films in Official Selection - excluding first or second features - are considered for the award. The winning filmmaker will receive a $10,000 CAD cash prize.

• The Best Canadian Feature Film Award, to: “Uiksaringitara” (Wrong Husband) by Zacharias Kunuk (Canada)
• Honourable Mention, to: “There Are No Words” by Min Sook Lee (Canada)

Marking the tenth anniversary of the Festival’s competitive section, Platform champions bold directorial vision and distinctive storytelling on the world stage. The Platform Award is a prize of $20,000 CAD given to the best film in the programme, selected.

• Platform Award, to: “To The Victory!” by Valentyn Vasyanovych (Ukraine/Lithuania)
• Honourable Mention, to: “Hen” by György Pálfi (Germany/Greece/Hungary)