Toronto After Dark Awards!
Toronto After Dark loves to celebrate horror in all its flavours and nowhere is this more evident that in its list of 41 Toronto After Dark awards issued after its 20 screenings in October.
This festival gives the audience a very clear voice in awards. The first category is “Audience Choice Awards: Best Feature” which is voted on by all those in attendance at each screening. This year over 4,000 ballots were cast. Many of the other categories were decided on by a post festival poll sent to those who had purchased an All-Access pass (100) which meant they were likely to have seen a majority of the films. There was a single screening of international short films, and only those in attendance voted for that category (over 200 people).
And now for the winners!
For Best Feature Film The Battery, one of my favourites, received Gold; Solo, a Canadian Film, received Silver; and found footage Banshee Chapter received Bronze.
The film that opened the festival, We Are What We Are,won four awards, Best Director (Jim Mickle), Best Horror Film, Best Cinematography, and Best Kill.
India’s Eega, about a young man reincarnated as a vengeful fly, won the most categories a total of nine awards: Best Action Film, Best Comedy, Most Original Film, Best Fight, Best Film to Watch with a Crowd, Best Editing, Best Villain and Best Hero.
Gold Winner The Battery also won Best Screenplay (Jeremy Gardner), Best Music, and Best Poster.
Other winners included The Machine (Best Sci-Fi Film, Best Leading Actress with Caity Lotz); Odd Thomas (Best Leading Actor with Anton Yelchin, and Most Like to See a Sequel To); Found (Best Title Sequence and Best Gore); and Motivational Growth (Best Monster/Creature and Best Line of Dialogue “The Mold knows Jack, the Mold knows.”)
Five other films won single awards ranging from Best Canadian Feature (Silent Retreat) to Best Ensemble Cast (Big Bad Wolves).
There were also awards for the Best Canadian Short Film as well as Best International Short.
This year the festival had several ‘bumpers’ which were less than a minute each made by festival alumni, and there were awards for those too. Check out the details for all the awards here: http://torontoafterdark.com/2013/award-winners/
