The TIFF 2012 award winning films were announced Sunday afternoon as brunch was served in the ballroom of the Intercontinental Hotel in Toronto. I joined the group of movie critics, media and film industry individuals as we sipped on coffee and enjoyed an amazing menu offered by TIFF. There was an incredible roster this year for the Toronto International Film Festival so there was no doubt that they had a difficult time debating on the following winners. I had my favorites but here are the short films that were recognized after these 10 days of fun and film.

And the winners are…..

• People’s Choice Award: Silver Linings Playbook
• People’s Choice Award Documentary: Artifact
• People’s Choice Award Midnight Madness: Seven Psychopaths
• Best Asian Feature First Film: The Land of Hope
• Best film in the Special Presentations programme: In the House
• Best film in the Discovery programme: Call Girl
• Best Canadian Feature Film: Laurence Anyways
• Best Canadian First Feature Film: Blackbird and Antiviral
• Best Short Film: Keep a Modest Head (Honorable mention: Crackin’s Down Hard)

Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in “Silver Linings Playbook”

So, Best Canadian First Feature Film was a tie.  Brandon Cronenberg’s “Antiviral” and Jason Buxton’s tragic “Blackbird” share TIFF’s Best Canadian First Feature Film award but the amazing thing is that instead of splitting the $15,000 prize, each filmmaker will be awarded the full amount! The crowd definitely cheered loud for that announcement!

It was amazing to be a part of such a great group of talent and TIFF supporters. The speeches from some of the directors were incredibly touching as they thanked everyone they possible could for their accomplishments. Sipping on memosas and being present as films were recognized for their incredible movie making was a wonderful ending to the TIFF festivities.

Thanks to Diet Coke for the amazing opportunity to attend the 2012 TIFF Awards Brunch!

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