TIFF 2022: Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Fabelmans’ wins TIFF People’s Choice Award, locks in Oscar prospects

Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, the personal tale of his growing up years and his inspirations as a young filmmaker, has won the 2022 TIFF People’s Choice Award as the best film at the Toronto International Film Festival as voted on by the festival’s audience.

The win gives the film a massive boost in the Oscar race, where it had already been a bit of an early frontrunner. The track record for the TIFF People’s Choice Award winner and a Best Picture nomination is a strong one; every film since 2008 save one (Nadine Labaki’s Where Do We Go Now?) has been nominated and five have won (2008’s Slumdog Millionaire, 2012’s The King’s Speech, 2013’s 12 Years a Slave, 2108’s Green Book and 2020’s Nomadland). The world premiere marked Spielberg’s first ever appearance at the festival.

Steven Spielberg’s track record with the Academy Awards is one of the most prolific with eight Best Director nominations and two wins (1993’s Schindler’s List, 1998’s Saving Private Ryan) and a win for Best Picture (Schindler’s List) among his dozens of nominations. He was most recently nominated just last year for Best Picture and Best Director for his adaptation of West Side Story. The Fabelmans tells the semi-autobiographical story of Spielberg’s upbringing with his computer science, business-oriented father (played by Paul Dano) and irrepressible mother (played by four-time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams, a bonafide Supporting Actress frontrunner). The film also stars newcomer Gabriel LaBelle and Academy Award nominee Judd Hirsch. It’s set for theatrical release by Universal Pictures this November.

Sarah Polley’s Women Talking was the first runner-up. The Canadian-born and Oscar-nominated Polley returned to with her third feature film and first in 12 years. Adapted from the novel by Miriam Toews, the film centers on a group of women in a Mennonite-like religious community in 2010 who suffers grave injustices and must decide to stay and fight or flee to safety. It stars Oscar nominees Rooney Mara and Jessie Buckley, Claire Foy, Judith Ivey and producer and four-time Oscar winner Frances McDormand. It made its debut at the Telluride Film Festival earlier this month and will be released theatrically by United Artists and Orion Pictures this fall.

Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, was the second runner-up. A TIFF world premiere, the continuation of the Benoit Blanc detective mysteries starring Daniel Craig, features an entirely new cast and new murder on the remote island getaway of a tech multi-billionaire. The film stars Janelle Monáe, Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Jessica Henwick, Kathryn Hahn and Ethan Hawke. It is set for a release in select theaters this November and then streaming on Netflix December 23.

“2022 brought an exceptional selection of films that excited festival audiences around the world,” said Cameron Bailey, TIFF CEO. “Our lineup showcased beloved auteurs alongside fresh voices in filmmaking, including numerous women powerhouses. TIFF welcomed guests, press, industry, international stars, and directors back to the city and into cinemas. The sweeping range in cinematic storytelling from around the world is a testament to the uniqueness of the films that are being made. We’re so grateful and proud of this year’s Festival.”

Here is the full list of TIFF 2022 winners:

TIFF 2022 People’s Choice Documentary Award: Hubert Davis’s Black Ice

First Runner-up: Stephanie Johnes’s Maya and the Wave
Second Runner-up: Babak Payami’s 752 Is Not A Number

TIFF 2022 People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award: Eric Appel’s Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

First Runner-up: Ti West’s Pearl
Second Runner-up: Tim Story’s The Blackening