Following Cannes and Sundance earlier in the year, which distance themselves chronologically from award season, we have had to wait a few months to see how the highly anticipated award season contenders have faired with critics and audiences. Every awards year offers a wide range of possible Oscar contenders, most of which remain in the running despite being unseen until their world premiere at either TIFF, Venice of Telluride in the Autumn/Fall season.
While some potential heavy hitters in the past have failed to meet expectation, the festival circuit has seen a handful of previously overlooked releases shoot to the front of the pack after a suprise win at either Venice or TIFF in particular.
TIFF
History suggests that TIFF has the strongest correlation with the Academy when it comes to its winners, with 2011 being the only outlier when it has come to Best Picture nominations. That year saw Nadine Labaki‘s Lebanese comedy/drama “Where Do We Go Now?” take home the People’s Choice Award, which remains the only winner since 2008 to not go onto receive a Best Picture nomination at the following Academy Awards. Within that time, TIFF winners: “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008), “The King’s Speech” (2010), “12 Years a Slave” (2013), “La La Land” (2016), “Green Book” (2018), and “Nomadland” (2020), have all gone onto win the Academy’s big prize.
This bodes well for this year’s People’s Choice Winner, “The Life of Chuck”, directed by “The Haunting of Hill House” creator Mike Flanagan. Flanagan has become a staple within the horror genre over the past decade having created multiple successful genre series for Netflix, as well as adapted two novels by Stephen King into feature films, “Gerald’s Game” (2017) and “Doctor Sleep” (2019). “The Life of Chuck” is the director’s latest adaptation of one of King’s works, and was a surprise selection for the People’s Choice Award, beating out early award season favourites “Anora” and “Emilia Perez”.
TIFF Winners:
People’s Choice Award: “The Life of Chuck” | dir. Mike Flanagan
People’s Choice Award (First Runner Up): “Emilia Perez” | dir. Jacques Audiard
People’s Choice Award (Second Runner Up): “Anora” | dir. Sean Baker
People’s Choice Award for Documentaries: “The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal” | dir. Mike Downie
People’s Choice Award for Documentaries (First Runner Up): “Will & Harper” | dir. Josh Greenbaum
People’s Choice Award for Documentaries (Second Runner Up): “Your Tomorrow” | dir. Ali Weinstein
People’s Choice Award for Midnight Mass: “The Substance” | dir. Coralie Fargeat
People’s Choice Award for Midnight Mass (First Runner Up): “Dead Talents Society” | dir. John Hsu
People’s Choice Award for Midnight Mass (Second Runner Up): “Friendship” | dir. Andrew DeYoung
La Biennale di Venezia
Venice does not quite match up with the Academy as well as TIFF when it comes to its winners, with only six Golden Lion winners going onto receive a Best Picture nomination, ten fewer than the festival’s Canadian counterpart. Out of those six winners; “The Wrestler” (2008), “The Shape of Water” (2017), “Roma” (2018), “Joker” (2019), “Nomadland” (2020) and “Poor Things” (2023), only two went onto win Best Picture at the Oscars the following Spring.
However, this is not to detract from an impressive win for European circuit favourite Pedro Almodóvar, who received this year’s Golden Lion for his English-language debut, “The Room Next Door”. Adapted from Sigrid Nunez‘s novel “What Are You Going through”, the film stars Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton astwo estranged friends who reunite as one of their life’s nears its end.
Despite its win, “The Room Next Door” was far from the most critically acclaimed showing at the festival, with Brady Corbet‘s epic drama “The Brutalist” wowing the Venice audiences, taking home the festival’s Silver Lion for directing.
Venice Winners:
Golden Lion: “The Room Next Door” | dir. Pedro Almodóvar
Grand Jury Prize: “Vermiglio” | dir. Maura Delpero
Special Jury Prize: “April” | dir. Dea Kulumbegashvili
Silver Lion: Brady Corbet | “The Brutalist”
Volpi Cup for Best Actress: Nicole Kidman | “Babygirl”
Volpi Cup for Best Actor: Vincent Lindon | “The Quiet Son”
Golden Osella for Best Screenplay: Murilo Hauser and Heitor Lorega | “I’m Still Here”
Marcello Mastroianni Award: Paul Kircher | “And Their Children After Them”
Telluride
Unlike Venice and TIFF, Telluride hands out no major rewards regarding the festival’s main programme as all films are seen as out of competition. However, the Silver Medallion is handed out for achievements in cinema, some of which may coincide with that given year. The three Silver Medallion recipients this year were Saoirse Ronan, Jacques Audiard and Thelma Schoonmaker, the first two accepting on behalf of their work on “The Outrun” and “Emilia Perez” respectively.
The big hitters out of the festival that have done the Oscar chances no harm include: Sean Baker‘s Palme d’Or winning “Anora”; Edward Berger‘s Vatican thriller “Conclave”; and RaMell Ross‘ “The Nickel Boys”. More mixed to underwhelming showings include “Maria”, “The Piano Lesson”, “Saturday Night”, “The End” and “Bird”.
With the major International Award bodies out the way, we are starting to get a clearer picture as to what may be in the running come Award Season in the new year. With the Critics’ Circles still to come, at this stage it is looking like anyone’s race with no real early frontrunner.
Dan Loves Film 
Mike Flanagan impressed me with his take on King’s “Doctor Sleep” – once I saw the Director’s cut, I was hooked on his storytelling, which he has continued with his terrific mini-series efforts for Netflix…perhaps this will be the film that gives him the spotlight he richly deserves…thoughtful horror and now one of King’s more human stories!
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