Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Fabelmans’ wins People’s Choice prize at TIFF

TORONTO – Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical “The Fabelmans” has won the People’s Choice prize at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The coming-of-age ode to cinema was announced as the winner during a TIFF awards breakfast Sunday, capping off 10 days of in-person filmgoing and festivities.

Billed as the legendary director’s most personal project to date, “The Fabelmans” marked Spielberg’s TIFF debut.

“As I said onstage the other night, above all I’m glad I brought this film to Toronto,” Spielberg said in a statement shared during Sunday’s presentation.

“The warm reception from everyone in Toronto made my first visit to TIFF so intimate and personal for me and my entire ‘Fabelman’ family.”

The People’s Choice prize, chosen through online votes, is often seen as a predictor of Academy Award success.

Last year’s winner was Kenneth Branagh’s Northern Ireland-set family drama “Belfast.”

In the vein of “Belfast” and “Roma,” “The Fabelmans” is an auteur filmmaker’s retelling of his own childhood and the family dynamics that shaped him.

Set in midcentury Arizona, the drama stars Michelle Williams and Paul Dano as the parents of teenage cinephile Sammy Fabelman, while Seth Rogen takes on the role of a close family friend.

Among the previous People’s Choice winners that have nabbed best picture are “Nomadland,” “Green Book,’’ ”12 Years a Slave,’’ “The King’s Speech’’ and ”Slumdog Millionaire.“

The first runner-up for this year’s prize was Canadian filmmaker Sarah Polley’s adaptation of Miriam Toews novel “Women Talking,” which centres on a remote religious community grappling with how to respond to a serial problem of sexual abuse.

The second runner-up was “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” Rian Johnson’s star-studded follow-up to his 2019 TIFF hit about the adventures of drawling detective Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2022.

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