Chloé Zhao’s ‘Hamnet’ Wins Toronto Film Festival’s 2025 People’s Choice Award

Chloé Zhao’s historical drama ‘Hamnet’ has won the prestigious People’s Choice Award at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, the film is based on Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel and tells an emotionally charged story of love, loss, Shakespeare, and art. Premiering at Telluride before making its international debut in Toronto, ‘Hamnet’ is being positioned as a strong Oscar contender. The first runner-up at TIFF was Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’, while Rian Johnson’s ‘Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery’ took second runner-up. Park Chan-wook’s ‘No Other Choice’ was awarded the inaugural International People’s Choice Award. In the documentary section, Barry Avrich’s ‘The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue’ claimed the top prize. TIFF’s People’s Choice Award, voted on by audiences since 1978, has historically been a strong predictor of Oscar success, with past winners including ‘Nomadland’, ‘Green Book’, and ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. Zhao herself previously won with ‘Nomadland’, which later secured the Best Picture Oscar. This victory cements ‘Hamnet’ as a frontrunner in the awards season, particularly as it prepares for its limited release on November 27 followed by a wider rollout on December 12. Other winners included Matt Johnson’s ‘Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie’ in Midnight Madness, Valentyn Vasyanovych’s ‘To The Victory!’ in the Platform section, and Zacharias Kunuk’s ‘Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband)’ as Best Canadian Feature. The results underscore TIFF’s ongoing role as a key launchpad for films with global awards ambitions.