Steve McQueen’s ’12 Years a Slave’ Wins Audience Award at Toronto Film FestPosted by Wilson Morales
September 15, 2013
Source: THR
12 Years a Slave was named the top audience prize winner at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday.
The Steve McQueen-directed film now numbers among previous TIFF audience award winners like Slumdog Millionaire, American Beauty and Silver Linings Playbook that received a lift in Toronto on their way to Academy Awards glory.
Fox Searchlight will release 12 Years a Slave in theaters on Oct. 18. The film had its world premiere on September 6 at the Princess of Wales Theater.
People’s choice Midnight Madness award went to director Sion Sono’s Why Don’t You Play in Hell?. The people’s choice documentary award went to Jehane Noujaim‘s film The Square, which looked at recent unrest in Cairo.
Director Anup Singh‘s Qissa was honored with the NETPAC Award for World or International Asian Film Premiere.
The FIPRESCI jury prize for best special presentation sidebar film went to Pawel Pawlikowski‘s Ida from Poland. The FIPRESCI Discovery award was given to The Amazing Catfish, directed by Claudia Sainte-Luce.
Director Alan Zweig claimed the honor for best Canadian feature film for When Jews Were Funny.
The best Canadian short film prize was awarded to Walter Woodman, Patrick Cederberg for Noah and best Canadian first feature went to Shayne Ehman and Seth Scriver for Asphalt Watches.
All the Wrong Reasons, which starred the late Glee actor Cory Monteith, was previously announced as the winner of the Discovery award.
The Toronto awards luncheon is held the Intercontinental Hotel, with festival director Piers Handling and artistic director Cameron Bailey presenting the jury and audience awards.
