Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Film
The Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Film is an annual juried film award, presented by the Toronto International Film Festival to a film judged to be the best Canadian feature film. As of 2017, the award is sponsored by the Canada Goose clothing company, and known as the "Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film".[1]
As with TIFF's other juried awards, the jury has the discretion to name one or more honorable mentions in addition to the overall winner, but are normally expected to name a single winner. On only one occasion to date, in 1997, were two full winners of the award named in the same year.
In 2020, the award was presented as one of three "Amplify Voices" awards rather than as a standalone category. The Amplify Voices awards were presented to three films overall, with one award open to all feature films made by Canadian directors and designated as the Amplify Voices Award for Best Canadian Film, while the other two awards were open to any feature films, regardless of nationality, directed by BIPOC filmmakers. The different structure took place against the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting restriction of the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival to a primarily online streaming format; organizers have not yet confirmed whether the same structure will be used in the future, or whether this was a one-time-only divergence due to the unusual circumstances.
Winners
Films whose titles are highlighted in yellow were the winners of the award; non-highlighted films were given honorable mentions.
References
- "TIFF Canadian Slate Offers Peek into Country's Cinematic Future with Bold Feature Debuts Alongside New Works from Festival Vets" (PDF) (Press release). Toronto International Film Festival Inc. 9 August 2017. p. 2. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
- Jay Scott, "Film wins place in fans' hearts". The Globe and Mail, September 17, 1984.
- Jay Scott, "Official Story voted most popular film; No Surrender, American Cousin critics' choices". The Globe and Mail, September 16, 1985.
- "Quebec film Le declin tops in T.O.; Arcands sex comedy wows public and jury". Montreal Gazette, September 15, 1986.
- Jay Scott, "No attendance figures released; Critics laud Zoo as best film". The Globe and Mail, September 21, 1987.
- "Spanish film is most popular at Toronto fest". Montreal Gazette, September 20, 1989.
- Sid Adilman, "Toronto director surprise winner of $25,000 film prize". Toronto Star, September 18, 1989.
- Jay Scott, "Director 'shocked' to win $25,000 prize; H was 'totally unanimous' choice as best Canadian feature". The Globe and Mail, September 17, 1990.
- Mark Bastien, "Film festival winner gives $25,000 away". Montreal Gazette, September 16, 1991.
- Jane Stevenson, "Dark drama cops top honors". Windsor Star, September 21, 1992.
- Craig MacInnis, "$25,000 Toronto-City prize goes to native filmmaker". Toronto Star, September 20, 1993.
- "Once again, Egoyan win means double happiness for directors". Vancouver Sun, September 19, 1994.
- "Film fest names winners". Edmonton Journal, September 18, 1995.
- "Toronto director scoops top film prize". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, September 17, 1996.
- "Hanging Garden wins two awards". The Globe and Mail, September 15, 1997.
- Peter Howell, "Life's beautiful for Benigni". Toronto Star, September 21, 1998.
- Liam Lacey, "Five Senses tops jury list at Toronto Film Festival: Canadian audience gazes favourably on American Beauty at award brunch capping off star-studded year". The Globe and Mail, September 20, 1999.
- Goodridge, Mike (17 September 2000). "waydowntown, Crouching Tiger top Toronto prizes". Screen Daily. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
- "Inuit film best at fest". St. Catharines Standard, September 17, 2001.
- "Spider, Whale Rider win big in Toronto". Timmins Daily Press, September 17, 2002.
- "Barbarian Invasions wins best Canadian feature: Toronto International Film Festival wraps up". Orillia Packet and Times, September 15, 2003.
- "Hotel Rwanda tops at T.O. film fest". The Province, September 20, 2004.
- "South African drama is people's choice at TIFF". The Globe and Mail, September 19, 2005.
- "Winners a list of surprises". The Globe and Mail, September 18, 2006.
- Chris Knight, "Toronto film fest's people's choice award stays home". Vancouver Sun, September 17, 2007.
- Adam McDowell, "Slumdog emerges as top dog at TIFF; People's Choice". National Post, September 15, 2008.
- Cassandra Szklarski, "Toronto film fest audiences choose Precious". Waterloo Region Record, September 21, 2009.
- "Incendies Passes $1M Mark at the Canadian Box Office". Telefilm Canada. 5 October 2010. Archived from the original on 20 September 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
- "TIFF: Awards 2011". Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 29 June 2012. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
- Mesley, Wendy (16 September 2012). "Xavier Dolan's "Laurence Anyways" won Best Canadian Feature at the TIFF". The National. CBC Television.
- "TIFF 2013: 12 Years a Slave wins film fest's top prize". The Toronto Star. 15 September 2013.
- "'The Imitation Game' Wins Toronto Audience Award". The Wrap. 14 September 2014.
- "'Room' Wins Toronto Film Festival's People's Choice Award". Variety. 20 September 2015.
- "TIFF People's Choice Award cements La La Land's place in Oscar race". Entertainment Weekly. 18 September 2016.
- Wilner, Norman (17 September 2017). "TIFF 2017: And The Winners Are ..." Now. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
- "'Green Book' boosts awards season prospects with TIFF audience award win". Screen Daily, September 16, 2018.
- Etan Vlessing, "Toronto: Taika Waititi's 'Jojo Rabbit' Wins Audience Award". The Hollywood Reporter, September 15, 2019.
- Etan Vlessing, "Toronto: Chloe Zhao's 'Nomadland' Wins Audience Award". The Hollywood Reporter, September 20, 2020.
- Daniele Alcinii, "TIFF ’20: “Inconvenient Indian” takes People’s Choice Documentary Award". RealScreen, September 21, 2020.