David O. Russell‘s Silver Linings Playbook got a boost in the Oscar race as was named the top audience prize winner in Toronto on Sunday.
The idiosyncratic blend of comedy and drama went on to become a sleeper hit at TIFF which took everyone by surprise.
A perfectly calibrated comedy which stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence has won the BlackBerry People’s Choice Award – contenders included Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master, Ben Affleck’s Argo, the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer’s Cloud Atlas and Terrence Malick’s To the Wonder.
The other big winner was the ultra-violent black comedy Seven Psychopaths – Martin McDonagh‘s latest film about dogknapping and screenwriting won the People’s Choice Midnight Madness award.
Here’s the full list via TIFF.net:
BlackBerry People’s Choice Award:
Silver Linings Playbook directed by David O. Russell
Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Julia Stiles and Jennifer Lawrence star in this acerbic comedy-drama from David O. Russell (The Fighter), about a former high-school teacher who returns to his family home after eight months in a mental institution and begins to slowly rebuild his life.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj5_FhLaaQQ[/youtube]
Runners Up: Ben Affleck’s Argo and Eran Riklis’ Zaytoun
BlackBerry People’s Choice Documentary Award:
Artifact directed by Bartholomew Cubbins
Telling harsh truths about the modern music business, Artifact gives intimate access to singer/actor Jared Leto and his band Thirty Seconds to Mars as they battle their label in a brutal lawsuit and record their album This Is War. The film is a true artifact of our times, as its subjects struggle with big questions over art, money and integrity.
Runners Up: Christopher Nelius & Justin McMillan’s Storm Surfers 3D and Rob Stewart’s Revolution
BlackBerry People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award:
Seven Psychopaths directed by Martin McDonagh
A screenwriter (Colin Farrell) struggling to write a serial-killer script gets more real-life inspiration than he can handle when a dognapping scheme gone awry brings a galaxy of crazies to his doorstep. A top-notch cult-movie cast — including Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Tom Waits, Harry Dean Stanton — anchors this wacky, blood-spattered commentary on the psycho-killer thriller from the writer-director of In Bruges.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DybuxVZriQs&oref=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fresults%3Fsearch_query%3Dseven%2Bpsychopaths%2Bofficial%2Btrailer%26oq%3DSeven%2BPs%26gs_l%3Dyoutube-reduced.1.2.0l4.684553.686867.0.690601.8.8.0.0.0.0.132.725.7j1.8.0…0.0…1ac.1.dz4TI_owxtU[/youtube]
Runners Up: Barry Levinson’s The Bay and Don Coscarelli’s John Dies at the End
City of Toronto + Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature:
Laurence Anyways directed by Xavier Dolan
Skyy Vodka Award For Best Canadian First Feature Film:
Antiviral directed by Brandon Cronenberg
(tie) Blackbird directed by Jason Buxton
FIPRESCI Prize For Special Presentations:
In the House (Dans la maison) directed by Francois Ozon
FIPRESCI Prize For Discovery Programme:
Call Girl directed by Mikael Marcimain
Best Canadian Short Film:
Keep a Modest Head directed by Deco Dawson
Honorable Mention: Mike Clattenburg’s Crackin’ Down Hard
NETPAC Award for the Best First or Second Feature:
The Land of Hope directed by Sion Sono
Source: First Showing
