The 51st Toronto International Film Festival has closed its 2026 edition by revealing a wide-ranging slate of award winners, bringing recognition to films and filmmakers from across the globe. Among the festival’s most significant honours, Theja Rio’s Angh claimed the prestigious Platform Prize, while four audience-driven People’s Choice Awards celebrated La Bola Negra, Elsinore, Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been, and Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney.
Across 12 awards, TIFF’s closing recognition highlighted emerging directors, Canadian cinema, international filmmaking, documentaries, animation, and distinctive voices from the festival’s extensive programme.
Angh Wins the Platform Prize
Theja Rio’s Angh emerged as the winner of TIFF’s Platform Competition, receiving the $20,000 CAD prize from an international jury led by President Pablo Trapero, alongside Amma Asante, Sylvia Chang, Luc Déry, and Albert Lee.
Set in 1960s Nagaland, Angh follows an ageing Konyak village chief and his son as they hold on to their ancestral faith and way of life while their world undergoes profound change. The film explores family, cultural identity, memory, faith, and the disappearance of a traditional way of life.
The Platform jury praised the film for its perspective, filmmaking strength, and resonant portrait of a world, recognizing Rio’s vision and courage.
This year’s Platform victory carries additional significance because TIFF’s Platform Prize now provides a non-English-language winning film with direct eligibility for the Academy Awards’ International Feature Film category.
A Special Jury Award honourable mention went to Amanda Kernell’s Brace Your Heart (Garrat Du Váimmu), a Sweden-Norway-Denmark-Iceland-Bulgaria co-production.
Audiences Choose Their TIFF Favorites
TIFF’s People’s Choice Awards once again placed festival audiences at the centre of the closing celebrations. The overall People’s Choice Award, presented by Rogers, went to Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s La Bola Negra.
The audience’s first runner-up was Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky, followed by Siân Heder’s Being Heumann as second runner-up.
The International People’s Choice Award went to Simon Stone’s Elsinore, with Lee Chang-dong’s Possible Love as first runner-up and Hur Jin-ho’s The Assassin(s) as second runner-up.
In the documentary category, Barry Avrich’s Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been received the People’s Choice Documentary Award. Black Sunflowers, directed by James Marcus Haney, was first runner-up, while Mila Aung-Thwin’s The Ultra Runner placed second.
For Midnight Madness, the audience selected Matthew Rankin’s Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney. Paolo Strippoli’s The Spiral was first runner-up, followed by SABU’s Arrested Memory.
Short Cuts Celebrates Bold Short-Form Filmmaking
The Short Cuts programme recognized three films across international, Canadian, and animated categories, with each winner receiving a $10,000 CAD bursary.
Elia Kalogianni’s MAMMALIA won Best International Short Film. The jury highlighted its bold examination of uncomfortable human behaviour and its ability to turn the grotesque into something disturbingly recognizable.
The Canadian award went to Michael Del Monte’s Fight Kid, praised for its examination of inherited masculinity and ambition while blurring the boundaries between performance and reality.
The Best Animated Short Film award went to Varun Raman and Tom Hancock’s Into The Betaverse, a hybrid work combining live action and animation to explore friendship and unexpected forms of connection.
Honourable mentions included The Spectacular Death of Prisca, Almost Pink, and Terminal.
International Critics and Asian-Pacific Cinema
The FIPRESCI Prize went to David Turpin’s Ancestors, a debut feature from Ireland and the United Kingdom. The international critics’ jury recognized the film for translating memories, photographs, longing, and personal history into a compassionate cinematic experience.
The NETPAC Award, meanwhile, went to Hosam Abu Dan’s Thirteen in Gaza from Palestine. The award recognizes the best Asian film by a first- or second-time feature director, highlighting work from the Asian and Pacific regions.
Canadian Cinema Takes the Spotlight
TIFF also celebrated Canadian filmmakers through its Best Canadian Discovery and Best Canadian Feature Film awards.
Cody Lightning’s Smudge the Blades won the Best Canadian Discovery Award, recognizing an emerging filmmaker whose work brings a distinctive voice to Canadian cinema. The jury highlighted the film’s combination of humour, heart, Indigenous perspectives, and community.
An honourable mention went to Yuula Benivolski’s The Black Box is Orange.
The Best Canadian Feature Film Award went to Serville Poblete’s Sunburn. The jury described the film as vibrant, funny, and deeply human, while recognizing its filmmaking, performances, and distinctive creative voice.
Adrian Buitenhuis’s Man in Motion: The Rick Hansen Story received the honourable mention.
A Festival Defined by Global Cinema
TIFF 2026 presented 294 films from 72 countries, welcoming more than 800 talent across 98 red carpets. The festival also hosted approximately 2,000 accredited media, nearly 7,000 TIFF: The Market delegates, and 279 directors from around the world.
The awards therefore provide a final snapshot of a festival shaped by extraordinary geographic and creative diversity. From Indigenous filmmaking in Nagaland and Palestinian cinema to Canadian discovery, international critics, animation, documentary, and audience favourites, TIFF’s 2026 winners represent the many ways cinema can connect with viewers.
With Angh taking the Platform Prize and gaining its direct pathway toward the 2027 Academy Awards’ International Feature Film category, Theja Rio’s debut stands among the defining stories of this year’s festival — closing TIFF 2026 with a landmark recognition for a distinctive new voice from India.
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