# Platform Prize

The Platform Prize is an annual film award, presented by the Toronto International Film Festival to films of "high artistic merit that also demonstrate a strong directorial vision." Introduced in 2015, the award is presented to a film, selected by an international jury of three prominent filmmakers or actors, from among the films screened in the Platform program. The program normally screens between eight and twelve films; only one winner is selected each year, although as with TIFF's other juried awards the jurors have the discretion to give honorable mentions to other films besides the overall winner.
The winner of the Platform Prize receives $25,000 from the award's current corporate sponsor, Air France.
According to festival programmer Cameron Bailey, the Platform program and prize were established because "films are passing through the festival without the attention they deserve". He compared Platform's intentions to the Cannes Film Festival's Directors' Fortnight and Un Certain Regard streams rather than its Palme d'Or award, indicating that it was meant to provide a platform for distinctive or innovative films but not to supplant the People's Choice Award as the top award at the festival. The award is named after filmmaker Jia Zhang-ke's 2000 historical drama.
After the award is announced, the festival offers a repeat screening of the winner at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on the final day of the festival.

## Critical response

In some years, the film magazine Screen International has convened its own unofficial panel of film critics, who were assigned to watch all the Platform films and conduct their own independent vote on which film should win the award. Their panel in 2017 selected Warwick Thornton's Sweet Country, the same film that won the prize, but their panel in 2018 split between two films, Benjamín Naishtat's Rojo and Emir Baigazin's The River, while the festival jury awarded the prize to Ho Wi Ding's Cities of Last Things; the jury did, however, give The River an honorable mention.
Other critics have questioned whether the Platform Prize has been effective at accomplishing its stated goals at all. Canadian documentary filmmaker Alan Zweig, who won the inaugural Platform Prize in 2015 for his film Hurt, noted that while it was not the least successful film of his career in general release, the prize did not appear to give the film any major boost in distribution or box office sales over his other films. The 2016 jury's choice of Pablo Larraín's Jackie has also been questioned by critics, in particular because the Platform lineup that year also included Moonlight, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.

## Films

† denotes a non-winning film which received an honorable mention from the jury.
| Year | Jury | Film | Director |
| 2015 | Jia Zhang-ke Claire Denis Agnieszka Holland | Hurt | Alan Zweig |
| 2015 | Jia Zhang-ke Claire Denis Agnieszka Holland | Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story) | Eva Husson |
| 2015 | Jia Zhang-ke Claire Denis Agnieszka Holland | The Clan | Pablo Trapero |
| 2015 | Jia Zhang-ke Claire Denis Agnieszka Holland | French Blood | Diastème |
| 2015 | Jia Zhang-ke Claire Denis Agnieszka Holland | Full Contact | David Verbeek |
| 2015 | Jia Zhang-ke Claire Denis Agnieszka Holland | High-Rise | Ben Wheatley |
| 2015 | Jia Zhang-ke Claire Denis Agnieszka Holland | Land of Mine | Martin Zandvliet |
| 2015 | Jia Zhang-ke Claire Denis Agnieszka Holland | Looking for Grace | Sue Brooks |
| 2015 | Jia Zhang-ke Claire Denis Agnieszka Holland | Neon Bull | Gabriel Mascaro |
| 2015 | Jia Zhang-ke Claire Denis Agnieszka Holland | The Promised Land | He Ping |
| 2015 | Jia Zhang-ke Claire Denis Agnieszka Holland | Sky | Fabienne Berthaud |
| 2015 | Jia Zhang-ke Claire Denis Agnieszka Holland | The White Knights | Joachim Lafosse |
| 2016 | Brian de Palma Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Zhang Ziyi | Jackie | Pablo Larraín |
| 2016 | Brian de Palma Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Zhang Ziyi | Daguerrotype (Le Secret de la chambre noire) | Kiyoshi Kurosawa |
| 2016 | Brian de Palma Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Zhang Ziyi | Goldstone | Ivan Sen |
| 2016 | Brian de Palma Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Zhang Ziyi | Heal the Living | Katell Quillévéré |
| 2016 | Brian de Palma Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Zhang Ziyi | Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait † | Khyentse Norbu |
| 2016 | Brian de Palma Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Zhang Ziyi | Home | Fien Troch |
| 2016 | Brian de Palma Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Zhang Ziyi | Lady Macbeth | William Oldroyd |
| 2016 | Brian de Palma Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Zhang Ziyi | Layla M. | Mijke de Jong |
| 2016 | Brian de Palma Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Zhang Ziyi | Searchers | Zacharias Kunuk, Natar Ungalaaq |
| 2016 | Brian de Palma Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Zhang Ziyi | Moonlight | Barry Jenkins |
| 2016 | Brian de Palma Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Zhang Ziyi | Nocturama | Bertrand Bonello |
| 2016 | Brian de Palma Mahamat-Saleh Haroun Zhang Ziyi | Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves (Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n'ont fait que se creuser un tombeau) | Mathieu Denis, Simon Lavoie |
| 2017 | Chen Kaige Małgorzata Szumowska Wim Wenders | Sweet Country | Warwick Thornton |
| 2017 | Chen Kaige Małgorzata Szumowska Wim Wenders | Beast | Michael Pearce |
| 2017 | Chen Kaige Małgorzata Szumowska Wim Wenders | Brad's Status | Mike White |
| 2017 | Chen Kaige Małgorzata Szumowska Wim Wenders | Custody | Xavier Legrand |
| 2017 | Chen Kaige Małgorzata Szumowska Wim Wenders | Dark River | Clio Barnard |
| 2017 | Chen Kaige Małgorzata Szumowska Wim Wenders | The Death of Stalin | Armando Iannucci |
| 2017 | Chen Kaige Małgorzata Szumowska Wim Wenders | Euphoria | Lisa Langseth |
| 2017 | Chen Kaige Małgorzata Szumowska Wim Wenders | If You Saw His Heart (Si tu voyais son cœur) | Joan Chemla |
| 2017 | Chen Kaige Małgorzata Szumowska Wim Wenders | Mademoiselle Paradis [de; fr] | Barbara Albert |
| 2017 | Chen Kaige Małgorzata Szumowska Wim Wenders | Razzia | Nabil Ayouch |
| 2017 | Chen Kaige Małgorzata Szumowska Wim Wenders | The Seen and Unseen | Kamila Andini |
| 2017 | Chen Kaige Małgorzata Szumowska Wim Wenders | What Will People Say (Hva Vil Volk Si) | Iram Haq |
| 2018 | Lee Chang-dong Béla Tarr Mira Nair | Cities of Last Things | Ho Wi Ding |
| 2018 | Lee Chang-dong Béla Tarr Mira Nair | Angelo | Markus Schleinzer |
| 2018 | Lee Chang-dong Béla Tarr Mira Nair | Destroyer | Karyn Kusama |
| 2018 | Lee Chang-dong Béla Tarr Mira Nair | Donnybrook | Tim Sutton |
| 2018 | Lee Chang-dong Béla Tarr Mira Nair | The Good Girls | Alejandra Márquez Abella |
| 2018 | Lee Chang-dong Béla Tarr Mira Nair | Her Smell | Alex Ross Perry |
| 2018 | Lee Chang-dong Béla Tarr Mira Nair | The Innocent (Der Unschuldige) | Simon Jaquemet |
| 2018 | Lee Chang-dong Béla Tarr Mira Nair | Jessica Forever | Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel |
| 2018 | Lee Chang-dong Béla Tarr Mira Nair | Lady J (Mademoiselle de Joncquières) | Emmanuel Mouret |
| 2018 | Lee Chang-dong Béla Tarr Mira Nair | Out of Blue | Carol Morley |
| 2018 | Lee Chang-dong Béla Tarr Mira Nair | The River † | Emir Baigazin |
| 2018 | Lee Chang-dong Béla Tarr Mira Nair | Rojo | Benjamín Naishtat |
| 2019 | Carlo Chatrian Jessica Kiang Athina Rachel Tsangari | Martin Eden | Pietro Marcello |
| 2019 | Carlo Chatrian Jessica Kiang Athina Rachel Tsangari | Anne at 13,000 Ft. † | Kazik Radwanski |
| 2019 | Carlo Chatrian Jessica Kiang Athina Rachel Tsangari | The Moneychanger | Federico Veiroj |
| 2019 | Carlo Chatrian Jessica Kiang Athina Rachel Tsangari | My Zoe | Julie Delpy |
| 2019 | Carlo Chatrian Jessica Kiang Athina Rachel Tsangari | Proxima † | Alice Winocour |
| 2019 | Carlo Chatrian Jessica Kiang Athina Rachel Tsangari | Rocks | Sarah Gavron |
| 2019 | Carlo Chatrian Jessica Kiang Athina Rachel Tsangari | The Sleepwalkers | Paula Hernández |
| 2019 | Carlo Chatrian Jessica Kiang Athina Rachel Tsangari | Sound of Metal | Darius Marder |
| 2019 | Carlo Chatrian Jessica Kiang Athina Rachel Tsangari | Wet Season | Anthony Chen |
| 2019 | Carlo Chatrian Jessica Kiang Athina Rachel Tsangari | Workforce | David Zonana |
| 2020 | Award not presented, due to the reduced program in light of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. | Award not presented, due to the reduced program in light of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. | Award not presented, due to the reduced program in light of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. |
| 2021 | Riz Ahmed Clio Barnard Anthony Chen Valerie Complex Kazik Radwanski | Yuni | Kamila Andini |
| 2021 | Riz Ahmed Clio Barnard Anthony Chen Valerie Complex Kazik Radwanski | Arthur Rambo | Laurent Cantet |
| 2021 | Riz Ahmed Clio Barnard Anthony Chen Valerie Complex Kazik Radwanski | Drunken Birds (Les oiseaux ivres) | Ivan Grbovic |
| 2021 | Riz Ahmed Clio Barnard Anthony Chen Valerie Complex Kazik Radwanski | Earwig | Lucile Hadžihalilović |
| 2021 | Riz Ahmed Clio Barnard Anthony Chen Valerie Complex Kazik Radwanski | Good Madam (Mlungu Wam) † | Jenna Cato Bass |
| 2021 | Riz Ahmed Clio Barnard Anthony Chen Valerie Complex Kazik Radwanski | Huda's Salon | Hany Abu-Assad |
| 2021 | Riz Ahmed Clio Barnard Anthony Chen Valerie Complex Kazik Radwanski | Montana Story | Scott McGehee, David Siegel |
| 2021 | Riz Ahmed Clio Barnard Anthony Chen Valerie Complex Kazik Radwanski | Silent Land | Aga Woszczyńska |
| 2022 | Patricia Rozema Iram Haq Chaitanya Tamhane | Riceboy Sleeps | Anthony Shim |
| 2022 | Patricia Rozema Iram Haq Chaitanya Tamhane | Charcoal (Carvão) | Carolina Markowicz |
| 2022 | Patricia Rozema Iram Haq Chaitanya Tamhane | Emily | Frances O'Connor |
| 2022 | Patricia Rozema Iram Haq Chaitanya Tamhane | The Gravity (La Gravité) | Cédric Ido |
| 2022 | Patricia Rozema Iram Haq Chaitanya Tamhane | Hawa | Maïmouna Doucouré |
| 2022 | Patricia Rozema Iram Haq Chaitanya Tamhane | How to Blow Up a Pipeline | Daniel Goldhaber |
| 2022 | Patricia Rozema Iram Haq Chaitanya Tamhane | Subtraction (Tafrigh) | Mani Haghighi |
| 2022 | Patricia Rozema Iram Haq Chaitanya Tamhane | Thunder (Foudre) | Carmen Jaquier |
| 2022 | Patricia Rozema Iram Haq Chaitanya Tamhane | Tora's Husband | Rima Das |
| 2022 | Patricia Rozema Iram Haq Chaitanya Tamhane | Viking | Stéphane Lafleur |
| 2023 | Barry Jenkins Nadine Labaki Anthony Shim | Dear Jassi | Tarsem Singh Dhandwar |
| 2023 | Barry Jenkins Nadine Labaki Anthony Shim | Dream Scenario | Kristoffer Borgli |
| 2023 | Barry Jenkins Nadine Labaki Anthony Shim | Great Absence | Kei Chika-ura |
| 2023 | Barry Jenkins Nadine Labaki Anthony Shim | I Told You So (Te l’avevo detto) | Ginevra Elkann |
| 2023 | Barry Jenkins Nadine Labaki Anthony Shim | The King Tide | Christian Sparkes |
| 2023 | Barry Jenkins Nadine Labaki Anthony Shim | Not a Word (Kein Wort) | Hanna Slak |
| 2023 | Barry Jenkins Nadine Labaki Anthony Shim | The Rye Horn (O Corno) | Jaione Camborda |
| 2023 | Barry Jenkins Nadine Labaki Anthony Shim | Sisterhood (HLM Pussy) | Nora El Hourch |
| 2023 | Barry Jenkins Nadine Labaki Anthony Shim | Shame on Dry Land (Syndabocken) | Axel Petersén |
| 2023 | Barry Jenkins Nadine Labaki Anthony Shim | Spirit of Ecstasy (La Vénus d'argent) | Héléna Klotz |
| 2024 | Atom Egoyan Hur Jin-ho Jane Schoenbrun | They Will Be Dust (Polvo serán) | Carlos Marqués-Marcet |
| 2024 | Atom Egoyan Hur Jin-ho Jane Schoenbrun | Daniela Forever | Nacho Vigalondo |
| 2024 | Atom Egoyan Hur Jin-ho Jane Schoenbrun | Daughter's Daughter † for lead actress Sylvia Chang | Huang Xi |
| 2024 | Atom Egoyan Hur Jin-ho Jane Schoenbrun | Mr. K | Tallulah H. Schwab |
| 2024 | Atom Egoyan Hur Jin-ho Jane Schoenbrun | Paying for It | Sook-Yin Lee |
| 2024 | Atom Egoyan Hur Jin-ho Jane Schoenbrun | Pedro Páramo | Rodrigo Prieto |
| 2024 | Atom Egoyan Hur Jin-ho Jane Schoenbrun | Triumph | Petar Valchanov, Kristina Grozeva |
| 2024 | Atom Egoyan Hur Jin-ho Jane Schoenbrun | Viktor | Olivier Sarbil |
| 2024 | Atom Egoyan Hur Jin-ho Jane Schoenbrun | Winter in Sokcho | Koya Kamura |
| 2024 | Atom Egoyan Hur Jin-ho Jane Schoenbrun | The Wolves Always Come at Night | Gabrielle Brady |