Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans created quite a splash at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, and it wasn’t a shocker to see it take one of the top prizes home. This deeply personal drama collected TIFF’s prestigious People’s Choice Award.
Spielberg released an official statement thanking festival representatives and the audience for giving him this accolade. He said that the warm reception from everyone in Toronto made his first visit to TIFF intimate and personal to the entire Fabelman family.
The Fabelmans is a semi-autobiographical film, inspired by the famed director’s childhood as a young aspiring filmmaker. Gabriel LaBelle plays the lead role, while the rest of the cast includes Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, and Judd Hirsch.
The film’s big win in Toronto marks the start of its race for the Oscar because many of the previous winners of the People’s Choice Award went on to win the best picture, most recently Green Book and Nomadland.
The 2022 Toronto International Film Festival took place between September 8 and 18. Sarah Polley’s Women Talking and Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery were first and second runner-ups for the People’s Choice Award. The Midnight Madness award went to Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, while Black Ice was named the best documentary.
