The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is a complete whirlwind, and now that it is over, I’m happy that I decided to apply for the Media Inclusion Initiative. While this year may have been light on the celeb star power, it was still no less entertaining to see the films that were chosen and experience world cinema. I reviewed nearly every film I saw there both here and on TikTok, and am ready to celebrate the various films, performances, and below the line work that impressed me the most. I wanted to approach this awards section with the mandate that I could only vote for each film once, with the exception of the Best Film prize. It was a really fascinating way to look at the movies I had seen as even the worst movie has something interesting about it.

TIFF FILM AWARDS
Film – Les Indésirables
Director – Ladj Ly, Les Indésirables
Actor – Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction
Actress – Aunjanue Ellis, Origin
Supporting Actor – Rhys Ifans, Nyad
Supporting Actress – Go Min-si, Smugglers
Screenplay – The Teacher’s Lounge
Cinematography – The Promised Land
Production Design – Concrete Utopia
Costume Design – Woman of the Hour
Editing – A Normal Family
Sound – Lee
Ensemble – Sira
Stunts – Kill

TIFF Top Ten
Les Indésirables
A Normal Family
Concrete Utopia
Smugglers
Nyad
The Teacher’s Lounge
American Fiction
Origin
Sira
Kill