TIFF 51 People’s Choice Award: ‘La Bola Negra’ Makes History, With ‘I Play Rocky’ Right Behind

Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s Lorca-inspired epic now holds Best Director at Cannes and Toronto’s audience prize. I Play Rocky finished first runner-up. Here are all 12 winners from TIFF 51.

Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi‘s La Bola Negra won the People’s Choice Award presented by Rogers at the 51st Toronto International Film Festival, making the Spanish-language drama the first non-English-language film to take Toronto’s top audience prize since Where Do We Go Now? in 2011.

It is the second major win of the year for the directing duo known in Spain as Los Javis. They took Best Director at Cannes in May, where the film world-premiered in competition. Toronto’s audience has now handed them the festival circuit’s most reliable Oscar signal.

That signal is worth taking seriously. Seven People’s Choice winners have gone on to win Best Picture, including “American Beauty,” “Slumdog Millionaire,” “The King’s Speech,” “12 Years a Slave,” Green Book and “Nomadland.” No other festival award has that hit rate, because no other festival award is voted on by the same kind of audience that eventually decides what a movie earns.

What La Bola Negra Actually Is

The film runs 159 minutes and follows three gay men across three timelines, 1932, 1937 and 2017. Calvo and Ambrossi built it from Federico Garcia Lorca’s unfinished novel of the same name, written before his murder in 1936, alongside Alberto Conejero’s play “La piedra oscura.” The title refers to the black ball dropped to reject a young gay man’s application to a Granada social club.

Penelope Cruz and Glenn Close star, alongside Spanish musician Guitarricadelafuente in his acting debut, Miguel Bernardeau, Carlos Gonzalez, Milo Quifes and Lola Duenas. Gris Jordana shot it on 35mm. Raul Refree composed the score. The budget was roughly about 15 million euros.

Netflix holds U.S. rights and has set a theatrical window beginning November 6 ahead of streaming on December 4. Elastica opens it in Spain on September 25.

‘I Play Rocky’ Finished Second

Peter Farrelly‘s I Play Rocky placed first runner-up, with Sian Heder’s Being Heumann second. Farrelly’s film, which tracks Sylvester Stallone’s refusal to sell his script unless he could star in it, has been building exactly the kind of crowd response that Toronto measures well. Our review out of TIFF called Anthony Ippolito’s performance the element holding the whole thing together.

The runner-up slot is not a consolation prize here. The Imitation Game, Jojo Rabbit and Belfast all came out of Toronto with audience heat and converted it into Best Picture nominations.

The Platform Prize Just Became an Oscar Pipeline

The bigger structural story out of TIFF 51 is a rule change. For the first time, winning the Platform Prize grants a non-English-language film direct eligibility for Best International Feature at the Academy Awards, putting Toronto alongside five other qualifying festivals.

That makes this year’s winner the first film to walk through a door that did not exist before: “Angh,” directed by Theja Rio, from India.

The five-member jury, led by president Pablo Trapero with Amma Asante, Sylvia Chang, Luc Dery and Albert Lee, cited the film “for its refreshing perspective, strength of filmmaking, and deeply resonant portrait of a world.” The Platform programme expanded to 12 films this year on the strength of its new status, and the prize carries $20,000 CAD.

Amanda Kernell‘s Brace Your Heart took the Special Jury Award.

Elsinore, Darlene Love and Brian Mulroney

Simon Stone‘s Elsinore won the International People’s Choice Award, with Lee Chang-dong‘s Possible Love first runner-up and Hur Jin-ho‘s The Assassin(s) second.

Barry Avrich‘s Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been took the Documentary award, ahead of James Marcus Haney‘s Black Sunflowers and Mila Aung-Thwin‘s “The Ultra Runner.”

Matthew Rankin‘s Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney won Midnight Madness, with Paolo Strippoli‘s The Spiral and SABU‘s Arrested Memory as runners-up.

All four People’s Choice winners screen free at TIFF Lightbox starting at noon today.

The Full List of TIFF 51 Winners

People’s Choice Award presented by Rogers
“La Bola Negra,” dirs. Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi
First runner-up: “I Play Rocky,” dir. Peter Farrelly
Second runner-up: “Being Heumann,” dir. Sian Heder

International People’s Choice Award
“Elsinore,” dir. Simon Stone
First runner-up: “Possible Love,” dir. Lee Chang-dong
Second runner-up: “The Assassin(s),” dir. Hur Jin-ho

People’s Choice Documentary Award
“Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been,” dir. Barry Avrich
First runner-up: “Black Sunflowers,” dir. James Marcus Haney
Second runner-up: “The Ultra Runner,” dir. Mila Aung-Thwin

People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award
“Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney,” dir. Matthew Rankin
First runner-up: “The Spiral,” dir. Paolo Strippoli
Second runner-up: “Arrested Memory,” dir. SABU

Platform Prize
“Angh,” dir. Theja Rio (India)
Special Jury Award: “Brace Your Heart,” dir. Amanda Kernell (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Bulgaria)

Short Cuts Award for Best International Short Film
“MAMMALIA,” dir. Elia Kalogianni (Greece, Netherlands)
Honourable Mention: “The Spectacular Death of Prisca,” dir. Kaelo Iyizoba (Nigeria)

Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film
“Fight Kid,” dir. Michael Del Monte (Canada)
Honourable Mention: “Almost Pink,” dir. Justine Prince (Canada)

Short Cuts Award for Best Animated Short Film
“Into The Betaverse,” dirs. Varun Raman and Tom Hancock (United Kingdom)
Honourable Mention: “Terminal,” dir. Alexandre Siqueira (Portugal, Spain, France)

FIPRESCI Prize
“Ancestors,” dir. David Turpin (Ireland, United Kingdom)

NETPAC Award
“Thirteen in Gaza,” dir. Hosam Abu Dan (Palestine)

Best Canadian Discovery Award
“Smudge the Blades,” dir. Cody Lightning (Canada)
Honourable Mention: “The Black Box is Orange,” dir. Yuula Benivolski (Canada)

Best Canadian Feature Film Award
“Sunburn,” dir. Serville Poblete (Canada)
Honourable Mention: “Man in Motion: The Rick Hansen Story,” dir. Adrian Buitenhuis (Canada)

TIFF 51 by the Numbers

Over eleven days, the festival screened 294 films from 72 countries, hosted more than 800 talent across 98 red carpets, and accredited 2,000 media and nearly 7,000 delegates for TIFF: The Market. A total of 279 directors attended.

The 52nd Toronto International Film Festival runs September 9 through 19, 2027.

Joanthan P. Moustakas

Jonathan P. Moustakas founded The Cinema Group in 2020 during the challenges of the pandemic, after losing the vital ability to find community in theaters and escape through the captivating magic of cinema. Feeling profoundly cut off from the vibrant film community he cherished, he sought to create a welcoming home for dedicated cinema fans while providing engaging, daily curated content that resonates with their passions. Years later, The Cinema Group has blossomed from a small collective of loyal fans into a thriving brand that reaches millions of audiences every month across a diverse array of platforms and mediums.

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