Many Films were Screened, One Was Chosen
Ahead of the award season, Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet took the Toronto International Film Festival’s top award, the People’s Choice Award. The audience’s vote made Chloe Zhao the first director to win the award twice.
The Significance of People’s Choice
In 1978, the People’s Choice Award was created and has been a key performance indicator as to which film may take home Best Picture. Films such as Nomadland, 12 Years a Slave, and American Beauty are former winners that took home both awards. According to Variety, “Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein was the first runner-up for the Canadian prize, which was followed by Rian Johnson’s Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery in the third place spot. The audience prize for documentary went to The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue by Barry Avrich.
The International People’s Choice winner was Park Chan-wook’s South Korean satirical thriller No Other Choice, ahead of runner-up Sentimental Value from Norwegian director Joachim Trier. Last year, Life of Chuck took home this prestigious award, going against films such as Best Picture winner Anora (last year’s second runner-up), along with other Best Picture nominees Emilia Pérez (last year’s first runner-up), and The Brutalist with no distributor (which was later acquired by Neon).
The film was released this year in June, and while the award chances are slim due to the release date, there is still a slight chance for award acclaim.
What is Hamnet?
Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 bestselling novel by the same name, Hamnet is a historical fiction drama directed, co-written, and co-edited by Oscar-winning Director Chloe Zhao (Nomadland and Eternals). The film is based on the relationship between William Shakespeare and his wife Agnes as they mourn and come to terms with the death of their son Hamnet. Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter, Wild Rose) and Paul Mescal (All Of Us Strangers, Aftersun) lead this film, while supported by Joe Alwyn (The Brutalist, The Favorite), Emily Watson (Punch-Drunk Love, Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride), and Jacobi Jupe (Peter Pan & Wendy). As of now, Hamnet will screen at the upcoming Austin Film Festival in October.
See Hamnet in theaters with a limited release on November 27 and a nationwide release on December 12!
Hamnet (2025) Official Focus Features Trailer
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Elke Simmons' writing portfolio includes contributions to The Laredo Morning Times, Walt Disney World Eyes and Ears, Extinction Rebellion (XR) News/Blog, and Dead Talk News.