TIFF 2013: The key award win for '12 Years a Slave'

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Director Jeremiah S. Chechik attends “The Right Kind of Wrong” premiere. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images)

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Marteen Devji and Maya Samy attend “The Right Kind if Wrong” premiere. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images)

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Actress Kristen Hager and actor James A. Woods attend “The Right Kind of Wrong” premiere. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images)

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Actress Annette Bening and director Arie Posin arrive at the premiere of “The Face of Love.” (Arthur Mola / Invision / Associated Press)

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Actor Will Sasso arrives at “The Right Kind of Wrong” premiere at Roy Thomson Hall. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images)

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Joel Hopkins, writer-director of “The Love Punch,” and actress Emma Thompson take part in a news conference. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

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Pierce Brosnan and Emma Thompson on the red carpet for “The Love Punch.” (Frank Gunn / Associated Press)

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Actors Jay Baruchel, left, Kurt Russell and director Jonathan Sobol arrive at the premiere of “The Art of the Steal” at Roy Thomson Hall. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

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TIFF co-director Cameron Bailey, left, actress Parineeti Chopra, director Maneesh Sharma and writer Jaideep Sahni at the premiere of “A Random Desi Romance.” (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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Actress Tao Zhao arrives at “A Touch of Sin” premiere at TIFF Bell Lightbox. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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Actor Moran Atias, producer Michael Nozik, actors Olivia Wilde, Mila Kunis, Loan Chabanol, Liam Neeson and Adrien Brody gather at a media event for their film, “Third Person.” (George Pimentel / Getty Images)

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Juana Acosta and Edgar Ramirez costar in “Libertador,” a biopic about Simon Bolivar screening at the festival. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

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Daniel Radcliffe and Dane DeHaan arrive at the “Kill Your Darlings” premiere. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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John Krokidas, right, director and co-writer of “Kill Your Darlings,” joins cast member Michael C. Hall at the premiere of their Beat Generation film. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP)

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“Don Jon” costars Scarlett Johansson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt arrive at the film’s premiere. (Evan Agostini / Invision / Associated Press)

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Ben Foster, who portrays William S. Burroughs in “Kill Your Darlings,” arrives with actress Robin Wright at the premiere of the film. (Chris Pizzello / Invision/AP)

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Actress Vanessa Leigh arrives at the premiere of “Almost Human,” a sci-fi horror flick. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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Writer-director Richard Shepard, second from left, feigns a nap break with cast members of his film “Dom Hemingway,” from left, Richard E. Grant, Emilia Clarke, Demian Bichir and Madalina Diana Ghenea. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP)

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Romanian actress and cast member Madalina Ghenea attends the press conference for “Dom Hemingway.” (Warren Toda / EPA)

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British actor and cast member Jude Law attends the press conference for “Dom Hemingway.” (Warren Toda / EPA)

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Actor Nicolas Cage arrives at the “Joe” premiere at Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto. (Michael Buckner / Getty Images)

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Ewan McGregor arrives at the premiere of “August: Osage County.” (Evan Agostini / Invision/AP)

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Julia Roberts, left, and Dermot Mulroney arrive at the premiere of “August: Osage County” at the Roy Thomson Hall. (Evan Agostini / Invision / Associated Press)

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Actress Mila Kunis arrives at the “Third Person” premiere. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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Actors Adrien Brody and Liam Neeson and director Paul Haggis, right, arrive at the “Third Person” premiere. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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Musician Taylor Swift arrives at the “One Chance” premiere. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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Singer Taylor Swift, who contributed a song to the new movie “One Chance,” poses for a photograph on the red carpet for the movie’s premiere. (Michelle Siu / Associated Press)

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Amma Asante, second from right, director of the film “Belle,” poses with cast members, from left, Miranda Richardson, Emily Watson and Penelope Wilton. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

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Director Nimrod Antal arrives at the “Metallica: Through The Never” premiere. (Peter Bregg / Getty Images)

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Scarlett Johansson, left, star of the film “Under the Skin,” poses with the film’s director Jonathan Glazer at the premiere of the film at The Princess of Wales Theatre. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

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Actress Juliette Lewis arrives at the TIFF HFPA / InStyle Party at Windsor Arms Hotel. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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From left, actress Alexandra Roach, singer Paul Potts, actress Valeria Bilello, actor James Corden and musician Taylor Swift of “One Chance” pose. (Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

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Actor Hill Harper arrives at the TIFF HFPA / InStyle Party. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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French actress and cast member Marion Cotillard arrives for the screening of “Blood Ties.” (Warren Toda / EPA)

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Actress Lyndsy Fonseca arrives at the TIFF HFPA / InStyle Party at Windsor Arms Hotel. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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Actress Sharon Leal arrives at the TIFF HFPA / InStyle Party. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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Actor Keanu Reeves arrives at the Entertainment One Celebrates 29 Films At TIFF function, with reporters at the ready. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images)

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Actress Natalie Brown attends the Entertainment One Celebrates 29 Films At TIFF event. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images)

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Actor Taylor Kitsch arrives at the Entertainment One Celebrates 29 Films At TIFF gathering. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images)

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Actress Abigail Breslin arrives at the Entertainment One Celebrates 29 Films At TIFF event. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images)

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Rapper Kardinal Offishall arrives at the Entertainment One Celebrates 29 Films At TIFF soiree. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images)

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Actor Tiger Chen arrives at the Entertainment One Celebrates 29 Films At TIFF party. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images)

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Actress Charlene Amoia arrives at the TIFF HFPA / InStyle Party. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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Actress Melissa George arrives at the TIFF HFPA / InStyle Party. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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Actress Jess Weixler arrives at the TIFF HFPA / InStyle Party. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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Actresses Rebecca Dalton, left, and Holly Deveaux arrive at the Variety Entertainment One Celebrates 29 Films At TIFF. (Jemal Countess / Getty Images)

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Actors Demián Bichir and Stefanie Sherk arrive at the TIFF HFPA / InStyle Party. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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Documentary subject Burt Shavitz, left, and director Jody Shapiro attend the “Burt’s Buzz” premiere. (Jason Kempin / Getty Images)

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Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor and his guest arrive at the “Half of a Yellow Sun” premiere at the Winter Garden Theatre. (Jerod Harris / Getty Images)

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Catherine Keener, left, Nicole Holofcener, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Toni Collette attend the news conference for “Enough Said.” (Evan Agostini / Invision / Associated Press)

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Filmmaker Joslyn Barnes, left, and Debra Zimmerman, executive director of Women Make Movies, attend the Doha Film Institute Brunch held at the Malaparte Room at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. (Jerod Harris / Getty Images)

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Actress Thandie Newton and novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie arrive at the “Half of a Yellow Sun” premiere. (Jerod Harris / Getty Images)

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Actor Jake Gyllenhaal arrives at the “Enemy” premiere. (Aaron Harris / Getty Images)

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Executive producer Henry Normal, from left, a guest, Gabrielle Tana, Christine Langan and Carolyn Marks Blackwood arrive at the “Philomena” premiere. (Aaron Harris / Getty Images)

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Director Denis Villeneuve and actress Isabella Rossellini arrive at the premiere of “Enemy.” (Arthur Mola / Invision/Associated Press)

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Actors Don McKella, left, and Kim Cattrall at the gala for “The Grand Seduction.” (Nathan Denette / Associated Press)

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Actors Gordon Pinsent, left, and Peter Keleghan at the gala for “The Grand Seduction.” (Nathan Denette / Associated Press)

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Actress Jennifer Morrison arrives at the premiere of “Gravity.” (Chris Pizzello / Invision/AP)

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Actress Sandra Bullock attends the “Gravity” premiere. (Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

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Actor Hugh Jackman attends the “Prisoners” press event at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. (Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

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Actress Felicity Jones at the press event for “The Invisible Woman” at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. (Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

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Actor Jake Gyllenhaal onstage at the “Prisoners” press event at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. (Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

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Actress Dakota Fanning arrives at the premiere of “The Last Of Robin Hood” at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

(Peter Bregg / Getty Images)

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Actress Susan Sarandon arrives at the premiere of “The Last Of Robin Hood” at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. (Peter Bregg / Getty Images)

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Actor Terrence Howard arrives for the screening of “Prisoners” at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. (Warren Toda / EPA)

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Zac Efron arrives at the premiere of “Parkland” on Day 2 of the Toronto International Film Festival. (Evan Agostini / Invision/Associated Press)

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Actress Nicole Kidman arrives at “The Railway Man” premiere. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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Brad Pitt arrives on the red carpet at the gala for the new movie “12 Years a Slave.” (Nathan Denette / AP)

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Colin Firth poses with his wife Livia Giuggioli on the red carpet at the gala for the new movie “The Railway Man.” (Frank Gunn / AP)

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Actress Adepero Oduye arrives at the “12 Years a Slave” premiere. (Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

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Actress Sarah Paulson signs autographs at the “12 Years a Slave” premiere. (Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

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Kristen Wiig, a cast member in “Hateship Loveship,” waves to photographers at the premiere of the film. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP)

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Sami Gayle, a cast member in “Hateship Loveship,” turns back for photographers at the premiere of the film. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP)

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Daniel Radcliffe at Guess Portrait Studio on the second day of the festival. (Charles Leonio / Getty Images for Guess)

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Juno Temple at Guess Portrait Studio during the second day of the festival. (Charles Leonio / Getty Images for Guess)

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Actor-director Jason Bateman of “Bad Words” poses at the Guess Portrait Studio.

(Larry Busacca / Getty Images)

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Director Alanis Obomsawin, left, director Sarah Spillane of “Around the Block,” actor Hunter Page-Lochard of “Around the Block,” direcor Jeff Barnaby of “Rhymes for Young Ghouls,” actor Glen Gould of “Rhymes for Young Ghouls,” director Peter Stebbings of “Empire of Dirt,” actress-producer Jennifer Podemski of “Empire of Dirt” and producer Jack Thompson of “Around the Block” attend First Peoples Cinema Press Conference. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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Actor Benedict Cumberbatch attends the opening-night “The Fifth Estate” gala at Roy Thomson Hall. (Evan Agostini / Invision/AP)

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Director Bill Condon arrives at “The Fifth Estate” premiere. (Jason Merritt / Getty Images)

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Roger Ebert’s widow, Chaz Ebert, attends the opening-night gala for “The Fifth Estate.” (Evan Agostini / Invision/AP)

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Swedish actress Alicia Vikander arrives for the screening of “The Fifth Estate.” (Warren Toda / EPA)

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Penn Jillette, left, producer Farley Ziegler, Tim Jenison and director Teller attend a dinner for the documentary “Tim’s Vermeer” at Dhaba restaurant. Jenison is the film’s subject. (Evan Agostini / Invision / Associated Press)

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Writer-director Jim Jarmusch, left, and actors Tom Hiddleston, Mia Wasikowska and Anton Yelchin attend the “Only Lovers Left Alive” premiere. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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At the “All Cheerleaders Die” premiere are actresses Reanin Johannink, left, Sianoa Smit-McPhee, Caitlin Stasey, Brooke Butler, filmmaker Lucky McKee, actor Tom Williamson, producer Andrew van den Houten, actress Amanda Grace Cooper, filmmaker Chris Sivertson, executive producer Arrien Schiltkamp and producer Robert Tonino. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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Cheerleaders perform at the “All Cheerleaders Die” premiere. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

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Glenn Close, a cast member in the 1983 film “The Big Chill,” waves to fans at a reunion screening at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival at the Princess of Wales Theatre. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

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Actors Glenn Close, left, Mary Kay Place, Kevin Kline, Meg Tilly, Tom Berenger and JoBeth Williams arrive for “The Big Chill” 30th-anniversary screening at the Princess of Wales Theatre. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

By John Horn

Sept. 16, 2013 10:26 AM PT

There are all kinds of film festivals and almost every one hands out some sort of award.

But even with virtually every major city on the planet now hosting a trophy-dispensing movie gathering, there’s still just one honor that truly matters: the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.

And Fox Searchlight really needed its “12 Years a Slave” to collect that prize over the weekend.

Compared with prominent prizes at other top festivals--the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or, the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize and the Berlin International Film Festival’s Golden Bear--the audience accolade at Toronto is by far the best harbinger of critical and commercial success.

WATCH: Trailers from Toronto

Over the last several years, the People’s Choice Award has gone to several movies that either won the best picture Oscar (“The King’s Speech,” “Slumdog Millionaire”) or were major players in the awards season (“Silver Linings Playbook,” “Precious”).

Although some winners of the top Toronto prize have vanished fast--the case with 2011’s “Where Do We Go Now?’’--the audience honor is particularly powerful in transforming films that have inherent marketing challenges into must-see releases.

There’s no doubt that “12 Years a Slave,” the fact-based account of Solomon Northup, a free black man kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841, is going to draw ecstatic reviews.

But Fox Searchlight, which will release the Steve McQueen-directed drama on Oct. 18, has long been nervous that the film’s exigent story--coupled with several scenes of unimaginable brutality--might keep some moviegoers on the sidelines.

INTERACTIVE: From Toronto to the Oscars?

Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained” was a huge commercial hit a year ago, grossing more than $424 million worldwide to become Tarantino’s biggest hit ever, but “12 Years a Slave” is a very different story--as the title tells you, it’s “Django Chained.”

In looking at the Toronto recognition for “12 Years a Slave,” one of the most fitting comparisons for Fox Searchlight is 2002’s “The Whale Rider,” which also won Toronto’s audience prize.

The New Zealand film, distributed by Newmarket, had a no-name cast and told the story of a 12-year-old Maori girl who aspires to become chief of her people. Not exactly, like “12 Years a Slave,” a commercial premise.

But as the Toronto audience proved, “The Whale Rider” was a true crowd pleaser, and played for nearly half a year, grossing $20.8 million in domestic release.

Expect much better returns for “12 Years a Slave.”

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