AwardsWatch Podcast #201: TIFF 2023 Wrap Up

On episode 201 of The AwardsWatch Podcast, Executive Editor Ryan McQuade is joined by Editor-In-Chief Erik Anderson and AwardsWatch contributors Dan Bayer and Kevin L. Lee to give their reactions to the films they saw at the 48^th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival.

A couple of weeks back, Ryan and Erik gave their reactions to the Telluride Film Festival, one of the first film festivals to start of the fall festival season. After they left the mountains of Colorado, they got their passports ready and headed north to Canada for the annual Toronto International Film Festival. Known for having big Oscar contenders premiere and star-studded red carpets, because of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, TIFF was not as glamorous as years past. But with close to 300 movies from around the world screening across a week and a half, there was still plenty of good films that the gang saw that they were able to share their opinions on.

Before getting into the films, Ryan, Erik, Dan, and Kevin talk about their TIFF experience in terms of what it is like to attend the festival, the ticketing system, and how the screenings work for press and general audiences going to the festival. Then they went on to discuss the three films that won the TIFF People’s Choice Awards: American Fiction, The Holdovers, and The Boy and the Heron. After giving their thoughts on TIFF winners, they went on to gives thoughts on tons of films that included Next Goal Wins, Monster, Dumb Money, Sing Sing, Rustin, His Three Daughters, Woman of the Hour, Dream Scenario, Evil Does Not Exist, Hitman, Origin, Wicked Little Letters, and more.

You can listen to The AwardsWatch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more.

This podcast runs 2h38m. We will be back next week to talk about our Top 5 Directorial Debuts, in honor of the stellar year of debuts that have come out in 2023. Till then, let’s get into it.

Music: “Modern Fashion” from AShamaleuvmusic (intro), “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro)

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Ryan McQuade

Ryan McQuade is the AwardsWatch Executive Editor and a film-obsessed writer in San Antonio, Texas. Raised on musicals, westerns, and James Bond, his taste in cinema is extremely versatile. He’s extremely fond of independent releases and director’s passion projects. Engrossed with all things Oscars, he hosts the AwardsWatch Podcast. He also is co-host of the Director Watch podcast. When he’s not watching movies, he’s rooting on all his favorite sports teams, including his beloved Texas Longhorns. You can follow him on Twitter at @ryanmcquade77.

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