5 Things the Fall Festivals Told Us About the Oscar Race, From Julianne Moore and John Malkovich to ‘La Bola Negra’ and ‘I Play Rocky’
The autumn festival season concluded with Spanish Netflix film "La Bola Negra" winning Toronto's People's Choice Award, following Venice's Golden Lion award to "Woman Unknown" and Telluride's varied selections. These festival outcomes matter significantly because they reliably predict Oscar success: over the past decade, nine of ten Toronto People's Choice winners have gone on to receive best picture nominations, with two winning the award entirely.
Notable winners include John Malkovich receiving Venice's acting prize (Volpi Cup) for his performance in "Wild Horse Nine" (his first major accolade since the 1990s), and "La Bola Negra" from Los Javis, which previously won the Palme d'Or at Cannes and now leads Toronto's race. With Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" currently the frontrunner but six months remaining until the Academy Awards, the field remains competitive; other contenders include "I Play Rocky" and "Being Heumann," with two of every three Toronto top-three films historically receiving best picture nominations.
- Netflix's "La Bola Negra" emerges as major best picture contender after festival success
- Festival prizes historically predict Oscar nominations with strong accuracy
- John Malkovich gains career resurgence after three decades with major acting prize