TORONTO — “The Life of Chuck,” an offbeat drama from writer-director Mike Flanagan, has been named the People’s Choice Award winner at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
The top TIFF award, which is voted on by audiences, was handed out Sunday as the 11-day festival rolled into its final hours. Other prizes were bestowed on Matthew Rankin’s “Universal Language,” Sophie Deraspe’s “Shepherds” and a Tragically Hip docuseries.
Flanagan is best known for his Netflix horror fare, including “The Haunting of Hill House” and “Midnight Mass.” His latest, which is adapted from a Stephen King story, strays from that genre with a quirky portrait of a divorced man, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who can’t escape a looming presence that’s infiltrated every corner of his life.
In announcing the award, TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey read a thank-you note from Flanagan that said he was “absolutely overwhelmed” and never expected to win the prize, considered a bellwether for Oscar attention.
Last year’s People’s Choice winner “American Fiction” went on to nab five Oscar nominations and won best adapted screenplay.
Other notable past People’s Choice picks include best picture winners “Green Book,” “12 Years a Slave” and “The King’s Speech.”
“The Life of Chuck” is in an unusual position since its producers came to TIFF still seeking a distributor, which means it has no release date and may not be out in time for awards season.
Runners-up for this year’s People’s Choice award were Jacques Audiard’s Spanish-language musical crime thriller “Emilia Pérez” and Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner “Anora.”
The audience award for best Midnight Madness film went to Coralie Fargeat’s twisted body-horror “The Substance,” starring Demi Moore, while the People’s Choice for best documentary went to “The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal,” a four-hour docuseries directed by Mike Downie about his late brother’s influential Canadian rock band.
“I just need to say my brother Gord was an incredible guy. There was never a show that I was at … that I didn’t elbow the stranger beside me and say, ‘That’s my brother,'” said Mike Downie, whose project is bound for Prime Video.
“And I never got used to it. I never got used to how amazing he was on stage and how great the band was.”
The Best Canadian Discovery Award, worth $10,000, went to Rankin’s second feature “Universal Language,” set in an alternate Canada where Persian and French are the two official languages.
The Best Canadian Feature Award, also worth $10,000, went to Sophie Deraspe’s “Shepherds,” about a young Montrealer frustrated with the emptiness of his marketing job who flees to the French Alps for a new life.
The juried FIPRESCI Award, from the International Federation of Film Critics, went to Somalia’s “Mother Mother,” directed by Somali-Canadian recording artist K’naan Warsame.
The $20,000 Platform Award, selected by an in-person international jury, went to the Spain/Italy/Switzerland film “They Will Be Dust,” directed by Carlos Marques-Marcet.
The Toronto International Film Festival was set to wrap Sunday after more than a week of marathon screenings including Francis Ford Coppola’s divisive $120-million passion project, “Megalopolis;” Amy Adams’ ode to motherhood, “Nightbitch”; and Nicole Kidman’s erotic drama “Babygirl.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024.
David Friend, The Canadian Press