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. [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.
From 2020 to 2022, the award was presented as one of three Amplify Voices awards rather than as a standalone category. The Amplify Voices awards are 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 are open to any feature films, regardless of nationality, directed by BIPOC filmmakers; however, all three awards are selected and presented by the same jury. In 2023, this ceased and the award reverted to being presented separately from the Amplify Voices awards, although the same jury remained in charge of presenting both awards.
Films whose titles are highlighted in yellow were the winners of the award; non-highlighted films were given honorable mentions.
The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, founded in 1976 and taking place each September. It is also a permanent destination for film culture operating out of the TIFF Bell Lightbox cultural centre, located in Downtown Toronto.
The Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film is an annual film award, presented by the Toronto International Film Festival to a film judged to be the best Canadian feature film made by a first-time director.
The Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Short Film, formerly also known as the NFB John Spotton Award, is an annual film award, presented by the Toronto International Film Festival to a film judged to be the best Canadian short film of the festival. As of 2017, the award is sponsored by International Watch Company and known as the "IWC Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film".
The Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award is an annual film award, presented by the Toronto International Film Festival to the film rated as the year's most popular film with festival audiences. Past sponsors of the award have included Cadillac and Grolsch.
The Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award for Documentaries is an annual film award, presented by the Toronto International Film Festival to the film rated as the year's most popular documentary film with festival audiences. The award was first introduced in 2009; prior to its introduction, documentary films were eligible for the Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award.
The Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award for Midnight Madness is an annual film award, presented by the Toronto International Film Festival to the film rated as the year's most popular film in the festival's "Midnight Madness" stream of underground and cult films. The award was first introduced in 2009.
The Biggest Little Farm is a 2018 American documentary film, directed by John Chester. The film profiles the life of John Chester and his wife Molly as they acquire and establish themselves on Apricot Lane Farms in Moorpark, California.
The Platform Prize is an annual film award, presented by the Toronto International Film Festival to films of "high artistic merit that also demonstrate a strong directorial vision." Introduced in 2015, the award is presented to a film, selected by an international jury of three prominent filmmakers or actors, from among the films screened in the Platform program. The program normally screens between eight and twelve films; only one winner is selected each year, although as with TIFF's other juried awards the jurors have the discretion to give honorable mentions to other films besides the overall winner.
The Toronto International Film Festival International Critics' Prizes, currently known as the FIPRESCI Prizes, are film awards presented by the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) to films screening at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best International Short Film is an annual film award, presented by the Toronto International Film Festival to a film judged to be the best short film by an international filmmaker at the festival. The award was presented for the first time in 2014.
The Toronto International Film Festival NETPAC Prize is an annual film award, presented by the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema to honour the best film from the Asia-Pacific region screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. The award was presented for the first time in 2012.
The Hot Docs Audience Awards are annual film awards, presented by the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival to the most popular films as voted by festival audiences. There are currently two awards presented: the Hot Docs Audience Award, presented since 2001 to the most popular film overall regardless of nationality, and the Rogers Audience Award, presented since 2017 to the most popular Canadian film.
The Amplify Voices Award is an annual film award presented by the Toronto International Film Festival. First presented at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, the award is presented to three films annually, with one award open to all Canadian feature films and designated as the Amplify Voices Award for Best Canadian Film, and two awards presented to films from anywhere in the world directed by filmmakers who are Black, Indigenous or People of Colour. The winners in both the Canadian and BIPOC categories are selected and presented by the same jury.
The Changemaker Award is an annual film award presented by the Toronto International Film Festival in conjunction with the Shawn Mendes Foundation. First presented at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, the award is presented to honour films with a strong social message, with the winner selected by the organizing committee for the TIFF Next Wave youth film festival.
Share Her Journey is a Canadian film program, created by the Toronto International Film Festival to foster the career development and advancement of women in the film industry.
The 47th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 8 to 18, 2022.
Riceboy Sleeps is a 2022 Canadian drama film, written, produced, edited, and directed by Anthony Shim. Based in part on Shim's own childhood, the film centres on So-Young, a Korean immigrant single mother raising her teenage son Dong-Hyun after moving to Canada to give him a better life.
Anthony Shim is a Canadian actor and filmmaker based in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The Vancouver International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Film is an annual award, presented by the Vancouver International Film Festival to honour the film selected by a jury as the best Canadian film screened at VIFF that year.
Madison Thomas is an independent film and television writer and director from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She is most noted for her 2022 documentary film Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On.