TIFF 2019
To celebrate the opening of the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival this week, we have compiled a list of past international winners of the TIFF People’s Choice Award — an uncanny predictor of awards season success. Best of luck to this year’s films!
Roma
A meditative portrait of a domestic worker's journey through adversity in turbulent 1970s Mexico City.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Mexico, United States • 2018
- Director Alfonso Cuarón
- Cast Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira, Diego Cortina Autrey, Carlos Peralta, Marco Graf, Daniela Demesa
- Genre Drama
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Call Me by Your Name
Is it better to speak or die?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, France, Brazil • 2017
- Director Luca Guadagnino
- Cast Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, Esther Garrel, Victoire Du Bois
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Netflix, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand
Lion
A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Australia, United States • 2016
- Director Garth Davis
- Cast Sunny Pawar, Dev Patel, Rooney Mara, David Wenham, Nicole Kidman, Abhishek Bharate
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, AMC on Demand, Tubi TV, Pluto TV, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
May Allah Bless France
(Qu’Allah bénisse la France)
Regis dreams of becoming a rap artist, but must overcome the underprivileged, drug-ridden French suburbs where he lives.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2014
- Director Abd Al Malik
- Cast Gianni Giardinelli, Marc Zinga, Sabrina Ouazani, Larouci Didi, Mickaël Nagenraft
- Genre Drama
- Available on Strand Releasing Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Ida
A young novitiate discovers a family secret dating back to World War II and must follow her history — wherever it takes her.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Poland, Denmark, France • 2013
- Director Paweł Pawlikowski
- Cast Agata Trzebuchowska, Agata Kulesza, Dawid Ogrodnik, Joanna Kulig, Adam Szyszkowski, Jerzy Trela
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, MUBI, Fandor Amazon Channel, MUBI Amazon Channel, fuboTV, OVID, Chai Flicks, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, YouTube, Crackle, Tubi TV, VUDU Free, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Reveel, Plex Channel
Philomena
These two unlikely companions are on a journey to find her long lost son.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States, France • 2013
- Director Stephen Frears
- Cast Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Mare Winningham, Barbara Jefford, Ruth McCabe
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
The Square
During the Egyptian Revolution, young activists armed with determination, humor, and social media savvy fight for their country’s future.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Egypt, United States • 2013
- Director Jehane Noujaim
- Cast Khalid Abdalla, Dina Abdullah, Dina Amer, Magdy Ashour, Ramy Essam, Ahmed Hassan
- Genre Documentary, Drama, History
- Available on Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Kanopy
Zaytoun
Captive Isreali pilot Yoni and twelve-year-old Palestinian refugee Fahed embark on a harrowing journey back to Palestine.
- ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Israel, France • 2012
- Director Eran Riklis
- Cast Stephen Dorff, Ashraf Barhom, Alice Taglioni, Абдалла Эль-Акал
- Genre Adventure, Drama, Thriller, War
- Available on Chai Flicks, Strand Releasing Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV
A Separation
(جدایی نادر از سیمین)
Simin wants to leave Iran to give her daughter, Termeh, a different kind of life outside the country. But Nader, Termeh’s father, refuses to leave his ailing father behind.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, France • 2011
- Director Asghar Farhadi
- Cast Leila Hatami, Payman Maadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, Sarina Farhadi, Babak Karimi
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Where Do We Go Now?
(Et maintenant on va où ?)
The women of a Middle Eastern village must quell rising tensions between their Christian and Muslim men.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Lebanon, Egypt • 2011
- Director Nadine Labaki
- Cast Claude Msawbaa, Leyla Hakim, Nadine Labaki, Yvonne Maalouf, Antoinette Noufaily, Julian Farhat
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
The First Grader
The true story of an 84 year-old Kenyan villager who fights for his right to go to school for the first time.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States, Kenya • 2010
- Director Justin Chadwick
- Cast Naomie Harris, Tony Kgoroge, Nick Reding, Oliver Litondo, Alfred Munyua, Kamau Mbaya
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, AMC on Demand
The King's Speech
Find your voice.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States, Australia • 2010
- Director Tom Hooper
- Cast Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
Slumdog Millionaire
What does it take to find a lost love? A. Money, B. Luck, C. Smarts, or D. Destiny?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States, France • 2008
- Director Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan
- Cast Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Anil Kapoor, Mia Drake Inderbitzin, Saurabh Shukla, Rajendranath Zutshi
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Microsoft Store, AMC on Demand
Eastern Promises
A midwife investigates the rape of a teenager, but her investigation leads her into the world of the Russian mafia.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Canada, United States • 2007
- Director David Cronenberg
- Cast Naomi Watts, Viggo Mortensen, Vincent Cassel, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Sinéad Cusack, Donald Sumpter
- Genre Thriller, Crime, Mystery
- Available on fuboTV, Paramount Plus, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
Tsotsi
In this world... Redemption comes just once.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, South Africa • 2005
- Director Gavin Hood
- Cast Presley Chweneyagae, Jerry Mofokeng, Terry Pheto, Kenneth Nkosi, Zenzo Ngqobe, Zola
- Genre Crime, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Hoopla
Hotel Rwanda
When the world closed its eyes, he opened his arms.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, South Africa, Italy • 2004
- Director Terry George
- Cast Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte, Fana Mokoena, Joaquin Phoenix, Jean Reno
- Genre Drama, History, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Hoopla