Many of the year’s most anticipated films premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, but only one could take the People’s Choice Award home. That honor belonged to Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, his most personal project to date.
TIFF’s People’s Choice Award is voted online by audience members. The Fabelmans managed to defeat Sarah Polley’s Women Talking and Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery to take this prestigious accolade home.
Spielberg thanked festival director Cameron Bailey, TIFF staff, and Universal Pictures for making this possible, and gave a special shout-out to the movie fans in Toronto, who made his visit to the festival unforgettable.
“I’m glad I brought this film to Toronto! This is the most personal film I’ve ever made, and the warm reception from everyone in Toronto made my first visit to TIFF so intimate and personal for me and my entire Fabelman family,” said Spielberg in a statement.
TIFF’s People’s Choice Award has long been considered the starting gun in the Oscars race because many of the past recipients went on to win or be nominated for the best picture. In the past ten years alone, 12 Years a Slave, Green Book, and Nomadland won the best picture, while the rest of the winners received nominations for this award.
