TIFF 2010 Award Winners

The festival announced its award winners for 2010:

• The Cadillac People's Choice Award, voted on by the public based on ballots submitted after screenings, went to The King's Speech, starring Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. The runner-up was The First Grader, a movie I saw earlier in the week, based on the real-life story of a Kenyan who enrolled in primary school at the age of 84 when the government announced free education for all its citizens.
• The Cadillac People's Choice Midnight Madness Award, voted on by the public for the best film in the Midnight Madness programme, went to Stake Land, with Fubar II the runner-up.
• The Cadillac People's Choice Documentary Award, voted on by the public for the best documentary, went to Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie, which I reviewed earlier in the festival. The runner-up was Nostalga for the Light.
• The FIPRESCI Prize for the Discovery programme went to Shawn Ku's Beautiful Boy. This award is voted on by a panel of international critics from the International Federation of Film Critics.
• The FIPRESCI Prize for the Special Presenations programme went to Pierre Thoretton's L'Amour Fou.
• The award for Best Canadian Short Film went to Vincent Biron's Les Fleurs de l'age.
• The SKYY Vodka Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film went to Deborah Chow's debut, The High Cost of Living (starring Zach Braff).
• The City of Toronto Award for Best Canadian Feature Film went to Denis Villeneuve's Incendies.

Tags: 2010,awards,tiff

Documentary and Midnight Madness Films

The festival made a number of announcements today:

In addition to the existing Cadillac People's Choice Award (Slumdog Millionaire won last year), there will be new Cadillac People's Choice Awards specific for Documentaries and for Midnight Madness films.

The complete Midnight Madness lineup has been announced. Highlights below:

• Jennifer's Body, starring Megan Fox, with a script by Diablo Cody.
• A Town Called Panic, an animated film from Belgium/Luxembourg/France.
• Bitch Slap, from the creators of Xena and Hercules.
• Daybreakers, a sci-fi vampire film starring Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafor, and Sam Neill.
• Survival of the Dead, a new film from George Romero.
• The Loved Ones, from Australia.
• Ong Bak 2: The Beginning, a prequel of sorts to Ong Bak, from Tony Jaa who does double-duty as director and star.
• [REC] 2, a sequel to [REC], which was remade recently as Quarantine.
• Solomon Kane, about a mercenary in 16th-century England, from the writings of Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan the Barbarian.
• Symbol, from director and star Hitoshi Matsumoto.

Some of the documentaries for the festival have also been announced. These include:

• The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights: follows The White Stripes as they tour across Canada.
• The Art of the Steal: looks at the outcome of a famous collection of Post-Impressionist paintings following the death of its owner.
• Bassidji: a study of the Bassidjis, extreme supporters of the Iranian republic.
• Cleanflix: examines the industry around providing clean versions of R-rated films.
• Collapse: looks at Michael Ruppert's pessimistic thoughts around the future of the planet.
• Colony: a film about colony collapse disorder, affecting bee colonies around the US.
• Google Baby: looks at the burgeoning industry in India for provide surrogate mothers for childless western couples.
• How to Fold a Flag: follows US veterans of Iraq readjusting to life stateside, from the filmmakers of Gunner Palace.
• L'Enfer de Henri-Georges Clouzot: images from Henri-Georges Clouzot's (Diabolique) unfinished film L'Enfer withRomy Schneider.
• The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers: The story of the man who leaked top secretpapers on the history of the US involement in Vietnam to the New York Times.
• Presumed Guilty: A view of the Mexican legal system through two lawyer's efforts to clear a wrongly convicted man.
• Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags: a history of New York's garment district.
• Snowblind: focuses on Rachael Scdoris, a blind 23-year-old woman competing in the Iditarod.
• The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls: a film about New Zealand lesbian country-and-western singers.
• Videocracy: examines Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's expansive media empire.
• Good Hair: Chris Rock's look at the culture of African American hair.
• Turtle: The Incredible Journey: Follows a turtle in its look at how marine life is being impacted by environmental changes.
  

Tags: 2009,awards,films,tiff