12 Films That Went From TIFF To The Oscars

The 41st edition of the Toronto International Film Festival is set to take over the city from September 8 until the 18. That means countless cocktail parties, red carpet premieres, and tons of film industry related events. But, let's not forget that the annual festival is also a predictor of Academy Award gold.

Here’s a look back at twelve memorable films that won over the critics at TIFF and went on to make headlines around the globe and grab a little Oscar gold.

(2015)

It's the touching story that was based on Canadian author Emma Donoghue's celebrated novel, Room. After screening at the Toronto International Film Festival (the film premiered at the Tellurude Film Festival before going to Toronto), the Canadian-Irish film went on to receive 4 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. In the end Brie Larson took home the Best Actress award at the 88th annual Academy Awards in 2016 for her powerful portrayal of a woman held captive for years with her young son.

(2014)

The Imitation Game, a drama about British mathematician Alan Turing (played by Benedict Cumberbatch), debuted to rave reviews at the Telluride Film Festivalin in 2014 and carried that momentum over to Toronto when the film hit TIFF. The film picked up the People's Choice award in Toronto and then went on to receive eight Oscar nominations, nabbing one golden statuette for best adapted screenplay.

(2013)

Before Steve McQueen's adaptation of the 1853 slave narrative memoir Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup won three of the 10 Academy Awards it was nominated for, it was screened at Toronto’s 2012 film festival. In Toronto it received rave reviews from critics and won the coveted People's Choice award.

(2013)

Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto garnered early praise from critics around the globe after celebrated Canadian filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée’s Dallas Buyers Club hit TIFF. Months later McConaughey took home the Best Actor statue at the 86th annual Academy Awards in March 2014 for his performance as Texas electrician Ron Woodroof, who is diagnosed with AIDS in the mid 1980s and given 30 days to live, and Leto took home the Best Supporting Actor award for his portrayal of a transgender AIDS patient named Rayon.

(2012)

Ben Affleck's third directorial effort had its world premiere in Toronto before it received seven Academy Awards nominations. Argo went on to win three awards at the 85th annual Oscar ceremony on February 24, 2013: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. Memorably Affleck didn’t receive a Best Director nod… But, winning Best Picture isn’t that bad a consolation prize.

(2012)

Another film that made headlines when it premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival? David O. Russell's romance-cum-comedy, Silver Linings Playbook. The film beat out Argo in Toronto and received TIFF's fan-voted People's Choice award. Later Silver Linings Playbook received eight Oscar nominations; with Jennifer Lawrence winning the Oscar for Best Actress for playing a troubled wannabe dancer opposite Bradley Cooper.

(2010)

Tom Hooper brought The King’s Speech to Toronto in 2010 and ended up charming festival goers with his film about England's King George VI. The film was awarded the People’s Choice award at TIFF and then went on to recieve 12 Oscar nominations, more than any other film in that year. At the 83rd annual Academy Awards in February 2011, The King's Speech took home Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director (Hooper), Best Actor (Colin Firth), and Best Original Screenplay.

(2008)

Director Danny Boyle's love letter to Bollywood was a hit when it was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2008 and ended up taking home the People’s Choice Award. Months later Slumdog Millionaire was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and took home eight—the most for any 2008 film—including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

(2004)

Canadian director Paul Haggis brought Crash to Toronto back in 2004 as part of the Special Presentation program at TIFF. The film went on to be nominated for six awards at the 78th Academy Awards in 2006 and won three, including the win for Best Picture. It was a controversial win, with critics complaining that Brokeback Mountain (which was also screened at TIFF in 2004) was the more deserving film.

(1999)

It’s been years since American Beauty premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, but it still holds an unshakeable spot in pop culture history. The film won the People’s Choice at TIFF in 1999 and months later was nominated for 8 Academy Awards. In 2000, American Beauty won five Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Sam Mendes), Best Actor (Kevin Spacey), Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography.

(1983)

Lawrence Kasdan's classic film about baby boomers reuniting after college was a hit when it had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, winning the People’s Choice award. The Big Chill was later nominated for three Oscars in 1984, but didn’t actually end up taking home any gold. BUT... Here's a fun fact: The Big Chill has the unique distinction of being one of the few films to screen twice at TIFF. The cast reunited at TIFF back in 2013 to mark 30 years since the film premiered in Toronto.

(1981)

Chariots Of Fire actually had its premiere at Cannes in 1981, but it did pick up the People’s Choice Award after it was screened in Toronto. Chariots Of Fire was nominated for seven Oscars at the 54th annual Academy Awards in 1982 and went on to win four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Original Score.