Unfortunately, TIFFReviews.com will not be covering TIFF this year due to other project commitments. However, the forum will still be open for posting and film discussion. We hope to be back next year with an improved site. Thanks for all the support from our readers and hope to see you in 2012!

Cadillac People’s Choice Award: The King’s Speech
Runner-up: The First Grader

Cadillac People’s Choice Award For Documentary: Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie
Runner-up: Nostalgia for the Light

Cadillac People’s Choice Award For Midnight Madness: Stake Land
Runner-up: Fubar II

Prizes of the International Critics (FIPRESCI Prize) for Special Presentations Section: L’Amour Fou

Prizes of the International Critics (FIPRESCI Prize) for Discovery Section: Beautiful Boy

City of Toronto and Astral Media’s The Movie Network Award Award For Best Canadian Feature Film: Incendies

SKYY Vodka Award For Best Canadian First Feature Film: High Cost of Living

Award For Best Canadian Short Film: Les fleurs de l’âge

Deborah’s dark drama, High Cost of Living, also written by her, centre’s on the burgeoning relationship between an unlikely pair. Nathalie (Isabelle Blais) is expecting her first child and Henry (Zach Braff) is on his way to his next drug deal. Their paths fatefully collide one night in an event that irrevocably changes their lives.

“Just getting into the festival was a feat unto itself–and so it’s a crazy unexpected privilege to win this award,” says a beaming Deborah. “There were so many great Canadian first features in the festival this year, that it’s truly an honour to receive this award amidst such outstanding company.”

The SKYY Vodka AWARD FOR BEST CANADIAN FIRST FEATURE FILM also carries a cash prize of $15,000.

“We are thrilled to have our film complimented by the prestigious SKYY Vodka Award for Best Canadian First Feature,” says Filmoption VP Andrew Noble. “This is an important acknowledgement of Deborah Chow’s talent, dedication, and skill, that she has brought to her directorial debut. This award will help The High Cost of Living receive the recognition it deserves around the world!”

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• Casey Affleck reveals in the New York Times that his film, I’m Still Here, starring Joaquin Phoenix, is entirely a performance

• More major distribution deals for films at TIFF including: A Horrible Way to Die (Anchor Bay), Everything Must Go (Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions), Little White Lies (Maple Pictures), Meek’s Cutoff (Oscilloscope Laboratories), Modra (Mongrel Media) and Peep World (IFC Films)

• Michael Moore calls Canada ’shameful’ for refusing to offer refuge to Iraq-war dodgers… [more]

• Politicians attended a screening of Davis Guggenheim’s education-reform documentary Waiting for Superman in Washington on Wednesday… [more]

• France selects Of Gods and Men to represent the country for the Foreign Oscars

• Watch highlights from the Midnight Madness scene for Red Nights courtesy of thesubstream.com below

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• Hundreds of fans were outside Roy Thomson Hall last night to catch Bruce Springsteen at the premiere of The Promise: The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town. There were reports that tickets were selling for as much as $300 to watch the documentary. Watch highlights of the premiere below or here

• Several films were acquired in the last 2 days including: Beautiful Boy (Anchor Bay), Cave of Forgotten Dreams (IFC Films), The Conspirator (Lionsgate & Roadside Attractions), Insidious (Sony Pictures Worldwide) and Submarine (The Weinstein Company)

• The first public screening of Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours caused 3 faintings and 1 seizure… [more]

• At last night’s Midnight Madness, James Wan compared his latest horror flick Insidious to Poltergeist. Watch scenes from the premiere below or here courtesy of thesubstream.com

• Other buzzworthy films recently screened and worth checking out: 13 Assassins, Meek’s Cutoff, Submarine and The Trip

• Check out over 400 photos in our TIFF10 Flickr group

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James Wan, the director of Saw, teams up with the producers of Paranormal Activity, for the new horror pic, Insidious. In this film, proud parents (Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne) move into an old house and their son unexpectedly falls into a coma. Spirits from another realm come to haunt the family, creating a scary, haunted house thriller. Check out a new clip from the film below:

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• Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan premiered at TIFF to a standing ovation at Roy Thomson Hall on Monday night. Many enjoyed Danny Boyle’s thrilling 127 Hours, despite angry crowds complaining about lack of seats and technical issues delaying the screening. Similar technical problems occurred at the 3-D screening for Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams, but audiences were enthralled by the new documentary

• Major distribution deals at TIFF so far include: IFC Films taking Super, The Weinstein Company picking up Dirty Girl and Sony Pictures Classic acquiring rights to Incendies

• Issues with subtitles on the new digital cinema projector at Roy Thomson Hall caused major problems at the gala screening of Guillaume Canet’s Little White Lies on Saturday. Those who didn’t understand French were moved to the Scotiabank Theatre, causing delays for other industry screenings… [more]

• Roger Ebert has posted videos of a discussion between directors Werner Herzog and Errol Morris at the TIFF Bell Lightbox

• The star of I’m Still Here, Joaquin Phoenix, will be making a return to The Late Show with David Letterman on September 22… [more]

• thesubstream.com’s video coverage of Vanishing on 7th Street below

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After a phenomenal night at the Midnight Madness premiere on Friday, Super is turning heads at the Festival. Today, it was announced that IFC has acquired distribution rights to the film, the first domestic deal at TIFF. Starring Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler and Kevin Bacon, Super is about a frustrated husband (Rainn Wilson) who transforms into Crimson Bolt, a superhero armed with a monkey wrench. Here’s a scene with his sociopathic sidekick played by the hilarious Ellen Page:

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• TIFF Bell Lightbox was opened to the public on Sunday. There was a huge Block Party held to celebrate the opening, which included a performance by K’nann and free cupcakes.

• Reviews are in for Clint Eastwood’s latest Hereafter starring Matt Damon. Not exactly his strongest film to date, critics are not too fond of the “laughable coincidences” and the “facile” letdown of an ending. There are however many positives about the film:

Variety: “An uneven but absorbing triptych of stories concerning the bonds between the living and the dead, the 80-year-old filmmaker’s latest feature is a beguiling blend of the audacious and the familiar…”

The Hollywood Reporter: “The film never is less than intriguing, right from its tour de force opening sequence, and often full of insights into why people long for answers, sometimes with great urgency…”

Screendaily: “It is good to see Clint Eastwood trying something very different. Fans expecting to see a supernatural thriller will be disappointed….but those interested in a shrewdly made and well-scripted drama about loss and compassion will be intrigued and impressed.”

• thesubstream.com have being doing some great video coverage of the Midnight Madness films. Check out the scenes from the premiere of Fubar II, Super and Bunraku below:

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Alex de la Iglesia’s Balada Triste and Essential Killing starring Vincent Gallo were the big winners at the Venice Film Festival this weekend. Both took home 2 awards: Best Director and Best Screenplay for Balada Triste, and Best Actor and the Special Jury Prize for Essential Killing. Sofia Coppola’s film Somewhere ended up winning the Golden Lion, which is not screening at TIFF. Below are other Venice winners who have premieres in Toronto:

Best Actress: Ariane Labed, Attenberg
Best Young Actor or Actress: Mila Kunis, Black Swan
Best Cinematography: Silent Souls
Golden Lion Cub Prize: Barney’s Version
UNICEF Award: Miral