Platform Prize

The Platform Prize is an annual film award, presented by the Toronto International Film Festival to films of "high artistic merit that also demonstrate a strong directorial vision."[1] Introduced in 2015, the award is presented to a film, selected by an international jury of three prominent filmmakers or actors, from among the films screened in the Platform program. The program normally screens between eight and twelve films; only one winner is selected each year, although as with TIFF's other juried awards the jurors have the discretion to give honorable mentions to other films besides the overall winner.

The winner of the Platform Prize receives $25,000 from the award's current corporate sponsor, Air France.[2]

According to festival programmer Cameron Bailey, the Platform program and prize were established because "films are passing through the festival without the attention they deserve".[3] He compared Platform's intentions to the Cannes Film Festival's Directors' Fortnight and Un Certain Regard streams rather than its Palme d'Or award,[3] indicating that it was meant to provide a platform for distinctive or innovative films but not to supplant the People's Choice Award as the top award at the festival. The award is named after filmmaker Jia Zhang-ke's 2000 historical drama.[4]

After the award is announced, the festival offers a repeat screening of the winner at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on the final day of the festival.

Critical response

In some years, the film magazine Screen International has convened its own unofficial panel of film critics, who were assigned to watch all the Platform films and conduct their own independent vote on which film should win the award.[5] Their panel in 2017 selected Warwick Thornton's Sweet Country, the same film that won the prize,[6] but their panel in 2018 split between two films, Benjamín Naishtat's Rojo and Emir Baigazin's The River,[7] while the festival jury awarded the prize to Ho Wi Ding's Cities of Last Things;[8] the jury did, however, give The River an honorable mention.

Other critics have questioned whether the Platform Prize has been effective at accomplishing its stated goals at all.[3][9] Canadian documentary filmmaker Alan Zweig, who won the inaugural Platform Prize in 2015 for his film Hurt, noted that while it was not the least successful film of his career in general release, the prize did not appear to give the film any major boost in distribution or box office sales over his other films.[9] The 2016 jury's choice of Pablo Larraín's Jackie has also been questioned by critics, in particular because the Platform lineup that year also included Moonlight, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.[9]

Films

† denotes a non-winning film which received an honorable mention from the jury.

Year Jury Film Director Ref.
2015 Jia Zhang-ke
Claire Denis
Agnieszka Holland		 Hurt Alan Zweig [10]
Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story) Eva Husson [11]
The Clan Pablo Trapero
French Blood Diastème
Full Contact David Verbeek
High-Rise Ben Wheatley
Land of Mine Martin Zandvliet
Looking for Grace Sue Brooks
Neon Bull Gabriel Mascaro
The Promised Land He Ping
Sky Fabienne Berthaud
The White Knights Joachim Lafosse
2016 Brian de Palma
Mahamat-Saleh Haroun
Zhang Ziyi		 Jackie Pablo Larraín [12]
Daguerrotype (Le Secret de la chambre noire) Kiyoshi Kurosawa [13]
Goldstone Ivan Sen
Heal the Living Katell Quillévéré
Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait † Khyentse Norbu
Home Fien Troch
Lady Macbeth William Oldroyd
Layla M. Mijke de Jong
Searchers Zacharias Kunuk, Natar Ungalaaq
Moonlight Barry Jenkins
Nocturama Bertrand Bonello
Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves (Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n'ont fait que se creuser un tombeau) Mathieu Denis, Simon Lavoie
2017 Chen Kaige
Małgorzata Szumowska
Wim Wenders		 Sweet Country Warwick Thornton [14]
Beast Michael Pearce [15]
Brad's Status Mike White
Custody Xavier Legrand
Dark River Clio Barnard
The Death of Stalin Armando Iannucci
Euphoria Lisa Langseth
If You Saw His Heart (Si tu voyais son cœur) Joan Chemla
Mademoiselle Paradis Barbara Albert
Razzia Nabil Ayouch
The Seen and Unseen Kamila Andini
What Will People Say (Hva Vil Volk Si) Iram Haq
2018 Lee Chang-dong
Béla Tarr
Mira Nair		 Cities of Last Things Ho Wi Ding [8]
Angelo Markus Schleinzer [16]
Destroyer Karyn Kusama
Donnybrook Tim Sutton
The Good Girls Alejandra Márquez Abella
Her Smell Alex Ross Perry
The Innocent Simon Jaquemet
Jessica Forever Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel
Lady J (Mademoiselle de Joncquières) Emmanuel Mouret
Out of Blue Carol Morley
The River † Emir Baigazin
Rojo Benjamín Naishtat
2019 Carlo Chatrian
Jessica Kiang
Athina Rachel Tsangari		 Martin Eden Pietro Marcello [17]
Anne at 13,000 Ft. † Kazik Radwanski [18]
The Moneychanger Federico Veiroj
My Zoe Julie Delpy
Proxima † Alice Winocour
Rocks Sarah Gavron
The Sleepwalkers Paula Hernández
Sound of Metal Darius Marder
Wet Season Anthony Chen
Workforce David Zonana
2020 Award not presented, due to the reduced program in light of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.
2021 Riz Ahmed
Clio Barnard
Anthony Chen
Valerie Complex
Kazik Radwanski		 Yuni Kamila Andini [19]
Arthur Rambo Laurent Cantet [20]
Drunken Birds (Les oiseaux ivres) Ivan Grbovic
Earwig Lucile Hadžihalilović
Good Madam (Mlungu Wam) † Jenna Cato Bass
Huda's Salon Hany Abu-Assad
Montana Story Scott McGehee, David Siegel
Silent Land Aga Woszczyńska
2022 Patricia Rozema
Iram Haq
Chaitanya Tamhane		 Riceboy Sleeps Anthony Shim [21]
Charcoal (Carvão) Carolina Markowicz [22]
Emily Frances O'Connor
The Gravity (La Gravité) Cédric Ido
Hawa Maïmouna Doucouré
How to Blow Up a Pipeline Daniel Goldhaber
Subtraction (Tafrigh) Mani Haghighi
Thunder (Foudre) Carmen Jaquier
Tora's Husband Rima Das
Viking Stéphane Lafleur
2023 Barry Jenkins
Nadine Labaki
Anthony Shim		 Dear Jassi Tarsem Singh Dhandwar [23]
Dream Scenario Kristoffer Borgli [24]
Great Absence Kei Chika-ura
I Told You So (Te l’avevo detto) Ginevra Elkann
The King Tide Christian Sparkes
Not a Word (Kein Wort) Hanna Slak
The Rye Horn (O Corno) Jaione Camborda
Sisterhood (HLM Pussy) Nora El Hourch
Shame on Dry Land (Syndabocken) Axel Petersén
Spirit of Ecstasy (La Vénus d'argent) Héléna Klotz

References
  1. "TIFF reveals Cannes-centric jury for 2018 Platform competition". The Globe and Mail, May 10, 2018.
  2. "Air France signs with TIFF". Media in Canada, August 11, 2017.
  3. "At TIFF, a competition that's still not competitive". The Globe and Mail, September 14, 2017.
  4. "TIFF '16 names its Platform Jury". Toronto International Film Festival. August 25, 2016.
  5. "'Rojo', 'The River' top Screen's final TIFF Platform jury grid". Screen Daily, September 13, 2018.
  6. "'Sweet Country' tops Screen's Toronto Platform jury grid". Screen Daily, September 20, 2017.
  7. "TIFF 2018: Rojo deserves to win the Platform Prize". Now, September 15, 2018.
  8. "TIFF 2018 Awards: ‘Green Book’ Wins the People's Choice Award, Upsetting ‘A Star Is Born’". IndieWire, September 16, 2018.
  9. "Will TIFF's Platform Prize ever take off?". Now, May 16, 2018.
  10. Peter Howell, "Searching for global excellence at TIFF, then choosing Toronto". Toronto Star, September 20, 2015.
  11. Naman Ramachandran, "High-Rise amongst 12 Platform titles at Toronto". Cineuropa, August 17, 2015.
  12. Joey Nolfi (September 18, 2016). "TIFF People's Choice Award cements La La Land's place in Oscar race". Entertainment Weekly.
  13. Anita Busch, "Toronto Film Festival Announces Films To Screen In Its 2nd Annual Platform Program". Deadline Hollywood, August 11, 2016.
  14. Vlessing, Etan (September 17, 2017). "Toronto: 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' Captures Audience Award"". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  15. Jeremy Kay, "'The Death Of Stalin' to open Toronto Film Festival Platform programme". Screen Daily, August 3, 2017.
  16. Norman Wilner, "TIFF 2018: Nicole Kidman, Elisabeth Moss films to compete for Platform Prize". Now, August 8, 2018.
  17. Hipes, Patrick (September 12, 2019). "Toronto Film Festival Jury Winners: 'Martin Eden', 'Murmur', 'How To Build A Girl'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
  18. Norman Wilner (August 7, 2019). "TIFF 2019: Platform lineup includes films by Julie Delpy, Sarah Gavron". Now.
  19. Steve Pond, "‘Belfast’ Wins Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award". TheWrap, September 18, 2021.
  20. Pat Mullen, "TIFF Unveils Line-up for ‘Celebrating Alanis’ Retrospective". Point of View, August 11, 2021.
  21. Christian Zilko, "‘The Fabelmans’ Wins TIFF 2022 People’s Choice Award". IndieWire, September 18, 2022.
  22. Jeremy Kay, "Frances O’Connor’s ‘Emily’ to open TIFF Platform alongside films from Maïmouna Doucouré, Rima Das". Screen Daily, August 3, 2022.
  23. Christian Zilko, "American Fiction’ Wins People’s Choice Award at 2023 TIFF (Complete Winners List)". IndieWire, September 17, 2023.
  24. John Hazelton, "Toronto unveils 2023 Platform line-up; ‘Dream Scenario’ with Nicolas Cage to open". Screen Daily, August 2, 2023.
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