Toronto International Film Festival 2017 highlights: The Shape of Water, Molly’s Game

As the Oscars approach, the film festival in Canada offers a preview of potential awards season success. Hopefuls include Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water, Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain and two second world war films

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Richard Jenkins and Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water.

Published: 9:02am, 16 Sep 2017Updated: 9:01am, 16 Sep 2017

Mayor John Tory had just introduced Guillermo del Toro’s lush monster love story The Shape of Water at its Toronto International Film Festival premiere, ending with a couple of sentences in stilted Spanish, which Del Toro, taking the stage, translated for the audience: “He said, ‘Guillermo del Toro has gonorrhoea.’” Del Toro paused for the laughter. “That is not true.”

From left: Toronto Mayor John Tory, director Guillermo del Toro and producer J. Miles Dale at the premiere for The Shape of Water. Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

It wasn’t the only time Del Toro used Toronto’s mayor for comic effect. Bounding back on the Elgin Theatre’s stage (the film uses the historic venue to fine effect in a couple of key scenes), Del Toro told the adoring audience after the premiere: “As the mayor said, ‘Vote early and often.’”

Del Toro was referring to the Toronto festival’s top prize – the People’s Choice Award – which audiences determine by dropping their tickets in ballot boxes held by volunteers at the exits.

But the cinematic showman could well be directing his sales pitch in the coming months to Oscar voters, who have been taking in the buzz from the Toronto, Telluride and Venice festivals in the past week and making mental notes about which films to prioritise this awards season.

As has been the case for the past few years, Toronto offered a confirmation of the acclaim audiences had bestowed on films that have already played at Telluride and Venice.