Almost a week removed from the conclusion of the Toronto International Film Festival and many still can’t seem to shake off how unusual this 46th edition was.
There were fewer films than usual — 100 instead of the usual 300-plus — and the stars seemed, for the most part, absent from the red carpet. The 2021 program still had the usual buzzy titles and under-the-radar gems, but critics seemed to be puzzled by the films. Some of the key titles missing from this year’s Toronto lineup included Venice/Telluride highlights “Happening,” “Parallel Mothers,” “The Hand of God,” “The Lost Daughter,” “King Richard,” “C’mon C’mon,” and “Cyrano.”
Eight of the ten most voted films in our critics poll had their world premiere at another festival. Meanwhile, the top vote-getter (“Petite Maman”) first screened at the digital Berlin Film Festival back in February.
Some of the accredited press experienced this year’s lineup at home, others actually showed up on the ground in the big Canadian city. And so, an experiment was born, a critics survey of the best films of TIFF 2021. With 40 accredited critics and journalists voting, some of the results reflect the buzz that came out of Telluride and Venice just a week prior. However, Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” the people’s choice award winner and supposed Oscar frontrunner, finished 30th with a tepid 3 votes to its name.
The results of our Critics Poll:
1. Petite Maman (17 votes)
2. The Power of the Dog (14 votes)
3. The Rescue (11 votes)
4. Titane (10 votes)
5. Flee (9 votes)
6. Spencer (8 votes)
7. Benediction (8 votes)
8. The Worst Person in the World (8 votes)
9. Saloum (7 votes)
10. Listening to Kenny G (7 votes)
11. I’m Your Man (6 votes)
12. Dune (6 votes)
13. The Electric Life of Louis Wain (5 votes)
14. The Humans (5 votes)
15. A Hero (5 votes)
16. Julia (5 votes)
17. Attica (5 votes)
18. Ali and Ava (4 votes)
19. You Are Not My Mother (4 votes)
20. Mad Women’s Ball (4 votes)
VOTERS:
Mae Abdulbaki (ScreenRant), Corey Attad (Esquire), Liz Braun (Toronto Sun), Lauren Coates (Cultures), Tyler Collins (Oakville News), Adam Cook (Freelance), Max Covill (Polygon), Jordan Cronk (Cinema Scope), Robert Daniels (Polygon), A.A. Dowd (The AV Club), David Fear (Rolling Stone), Eli Glasner (CBC), Simran Hans (The Guardian), Barry Hertz (The Globe and Mail), Peter Howell (Toronto Star), Eric Lavallee (IONCINEMA), Eric Marchen (Rogers TV), Joey Magidson (Awards Radar), Jared Mobarak (The Film Stage), Matt Neglia (Next Best Picture), Adam Nayman (The Ringer), Thomas Page (CNN), Katie Rife (The AV Club), Soraya Roberts (Pipe Wrench Magazine), Jordan Ruimy (World of Reel), Tom Santilli (Detroit Film Critics Society), Jeff Sneider (Freelance), Brian Tallerico (RogerEbert.com), Brian Truitt (USA Today), Kent Turner (Film Forward), Jackson Weaver (CBC), Esther Zuckerman (Thrillist)
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