The film “La Bola Negra” secured the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, solidifying its position as a strong contender for the Oscars. Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, the movie narrates a grand story revolving around the intertwined lives of three homosexual men in Spain. The festival’s award winners were announced by TIFF on Sunday.

The prestigious award at TIFF is determined by the votes of festival attendees and has gained a reputation as a reliable predictor for the Academy Awards. The directors expressed their gratitude for the film’s personal significance and its message advocating for self-expression.

“La Bola Negra” had already received acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival, where it shared the best director accolade with Paweł Pawlikowski’s “Fatherland.” Following its success at Cannes, Netflix acquired the film and has initiated a robust awards campaign. The movie will have an extended theatrical run on Netflix, with a theatrical release scheduled for October 16 and streaming availability from December 2.

In other festival highlights, “Angh” clinched the Platform Award, accompanied by a $20,000 prize. Directed by Theja Rio, the film portrays the last chief of a Nagaland village on the border between India and Burma. This year, the Platform Award offers a direct pathway to the best international feature film category at the Academy Awards.

Canadian filmmakers also received recognition at the event, with Cody Lightning winning the Best Canadian Discovery award for “Smudge the Blades,” a film marking his second directorial venture. The Best Canadian Feature honor was presented to Serville Poblete for “Sunburn,” a coming-of-age story set in Toronto’s Bleecker Street.

Additionally, other People’s Choice winners included “Elsinore” by Simon Stone, “Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney” for Midnight Madness, and Barry Avrich’s “Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been” for the People’s Choice documentary category. Avrich, a repeat winner, had previously triumphed with “The Road Between Us” in the documentary category.

The FIPRESCI Prize was bestowed upon Irish writer-director David Turpin for “Ancestors,” while the NETPAC Award recognized “Thirteen in Gaza” by Hosam Abu Dan, a film portraying the life of a 13-year-old girl in a Gaza Strip refugee camp.