Chloé Zhao wins TIFF’s top audience prize for the 2nd time

Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet” won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, in Toronto, Ontario, the highest recognition determined by audience votes.

Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s 2020 novel, the film stars Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare and Jessie Buckley as his wife Agnes. The narrative follows the couple as they confront the death of their 11-year-old son Hamnet, a tragedy that reverberates through their personal and creative lives and is tied to the origins of Shakespeare’s later play “Hamlet.”

Zhao previously won the People’s Choice Award at TIFF in 2020 with “Nomadland,” which went on to earn multiple Academy Awards. “Hamnet” premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in August and is scheduled for release in the U.S. on Nov. 27 before expanding nationwide in December.

The festival also introduced the International People’s Choice Award this year, presented to Park Chan-wook’s “No Other Choice.” Adapted from Donald E. Westlake’s novel “The Ax,” the film stars Lee Byung-hun as a laid-off paper factory worker whose search for new employment turns violent as he targets potential competitors. The South Korean release is planned for later this year following its festival circuit screenings.