“Hamnet,” Chloé Zhao’s film about Shakespeare’s family, has claimed the Toronto International Film Festival People’s Choice Award, often a predictor of Oscar success.
The win was announced Sunday, along with several other festival honorees. Runners-up for the People’s Choice prize were Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein” and Rian Johnson’s “Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.”
“Hamnet,” based on a book by Maggie O’Farrell and screenplay by O’Farrell and Zhao, probes the idea that Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” was profoundly influenced by the death of his 11-year-old son, Hamnet. Shakespeare’s wife, Agnes (also known as Anne), is central to the story.
Zhao, who has helmed five films, also directed “Nomadland,” winner of the 2020 Toronto People’s Choice Award and three Academy Awards, including best director, in 2021.
Last year’s People’s Choice winner in Toronto was Mike Flanagan’s film “The Life of Chuck,” which was publicly released in summer 2025, a timetable that some have said could hurt its Oscar chances.
The People’s Choice Documentary Award went to “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue,” about a hostage rescue mission undertaken by a retired Israel Defense Forces officer following the Hamas attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. After withdrawing its initial invitation to the film, directed by Toronto filmmaker (and former TIFF board member) Barry Avrich, the festival subsequently rescheduled it following public uproar.
The International People’s Choice Award went to “No Other Choice,” directed by Park Chan-wook of South Korea.
Among the other winners were:
Midnight Madness Award (celebrating “the very best and most bizarre in contemporary genre and shock cinema”): “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie,” directed by Matt Johnson
Platform Award (spotlighting artistic merit and directorial vision): “To The Victory,” directed by Valentyn Vasyanovych
Canadian Feature Film: “Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband),” directed by Zacharias Kunuk
Canadian Discovery: (celebrating emerging directors): “Blue Heron,” directed by Sophy Romvari
International Short Film: “Talk Me,” directed by Joecar Hanna
Canadian Short Film: “The Girl Who Cried Pearls,” directed by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
Animated Short Film: “To the Woods,” directed by Agnès Patron
NETPAC Award (focusing on films made in Asia and the Pacific): “In Search of the Sky,” directed by Jitank Singh Gurjar
FIPRESCI Prize (by the International Federation of Film Critics): “Forastera,” directed by Lucía Aleñar Iglesias
Staff writer Mark Olsen contributed to this report.