TIFF 2014 award winners

This year's TIFF 2014 award winners were announced this morning at the festival's annual brunch held at the Intercontinental Toronto Centre.

Curiosity was strong going into the awards announcements. Unlike in the past - with movies like 12 Years a Slave, Silver Linings Playbook and The King's Speech - no clear front-runner for TIFF's ultimate prize, the Grolsch People's Choice Award, ever really emerged.

Would Bill Murray Day propel St. Vincent to win? Would crowd favourites The Theory of Everything or Wild emerge victorious? Could Sundance glory lead to TIFF glory for Whiplash?

But ultimately it proved that Benedict Cumberbatch mania saw his latest film, The Imitation Game, take away the People's Choice Award, while the actor also walked away with his first likely Oscar chance.

Here then are all the winners this year:

People's Choice Award:The Imitation Game

Runner-Ups: Learning to Drive , St. Vincent

People's Choice Award Documentary:Beats of the Antonov

People's Choice Award Midnight Madness: What Do We Do in the Shadows

Best Asian Film:Margarita, with a Straw

Best film in the Special Presentations programme: Time Out of Mind

Best film in the Discovery programme: May Allah Bless France!

Best Canadian Feature Film: Felix and Meira

Best Canadian First Feature Film: Bang Bang Baby

Best Canadian Short Film: The Weatherman and the Shadowboxer

Best International Short Film: A Single Body

As always there will be a free - first-come, first-served - special screening of The People's Choice Award Winner - The Imitation Game - at the Ryerson Cinema at 6 PM tonight.

Thanks to the Equalizer, starring Denzel Washington, for sponsoring our coverage of TIFF 2014.

by Alexander Huls via blogTO