Toronto (Canada), September 17 (EFE).- The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) concluded its 48th edition on Sunday, affected by the Hollywood actors’ strike and awarding the film “American Fiction”, which strengthens its nomination for this Oscar season.

“American Fiction”, the first feature film by Cord Jefferson, played by the acclaimed Jeffrey Wright, was crowned the big surprise of the competition on Sunday by receiving the Audience Award on the Canadian broadcast.

The film, an adaptation of the book “Erasure” by Percival Everett that also stars actors Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz and Erika Alexander, is a satire on artistic integrity.

The TIFF People’s Choice Award is awarded by popular vote from viewers who attend screenings of the Canadian exhibition each year, considered one of the most important in the world.

And although the prize does not carry any financial reward, it is the most popular prize awarded by the Toronto festival.

On 14 occasions, the winner of the Toronto Audience Award has won Oscar statuettes. Films such as “Chariots of Fire” (1981), “The Official Story” (1985), “American Beauty” (1999), “Slumdog Millionaire” (2008) or more recently “Jojo Rabbit” (2019) and “ Nomadland” (2020).

On numerous occasions, the winners of the Audience Award have been nominated for the Oscars.

It is precisely this ability of the Toronto public to anticipate the tastes of the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Hollywood that makes TIFF each year the preferred platform for many studios to launch the films they wish to bring to the Oscars. . .

And this is also why for years, the Toronto festival has attracted hundreds of leading actors, directors and screenwriters of the moment each year.

Not this year, since the strike of Hollywood actors and screenwriters meant that many of them were unable to travel to the Canadian city to accompany the presentation of their films and walk the traditional red carpets.

In the case of “American Fiction,” neither Jefferson, who is also the film’s screenwriter, nor Wright nor the rest of the cast of the Audience Award-winning film attended its Sept. 14 world premiere.

But despite the actors’ and writers’ strike, some famous Hollywood names were present at the 48th edition of TIFF thanks to the fact that they presented films as directors, including the union, the Directors Guild of America (DGA), entered into a labor agreement. with production companies in early summer.

This was the case for Michael Keaton who directed “Knox Goes Away”; Viggo Mortensen with “The Dead Don’t Hurt”; Anna Kendrick with “Woman of the Hour”; Chris Pine with “Poolman” and Ethan Hawke with “Wildcat”.

Mexican-American actress Salma Hayek also attended TIFF, wearing a colorful actors’ union strike T-shirt, as a producer of “The Taste of Christmas,” which premiered in Toronto.

Hollywood actors and screenwriters are on joint strike, the first in 60 years, to demand from the big studios better working conditions, transparency and fair payment of residual royalties, as well as regulation of artificial intelligence .

The strike did not prevent TIFF from rewarding Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar this year for his professional career and the social impact his films have had around the world.

Almodóvar, who also screened at TIFF his latest film, “Strange Way of Life” with Pedro Pascal and Ethan Hawke, received one of the festival’s Tribute Awards alongside Spike Lee and Patricia Arquette.

Julius Caesar Rivas