TIFF 2025: Park Chan-Wook, Lee Byung-Hun, Son Ye-Jin's No Other Choice Wins International People’s Choice Award

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Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2025 has officially wrapped up with its prestigious awards ceremony, announcing 12 accolades across categories, including the much-anticipated People’s Choice Awards. This year’s edition introduced two new honours - the International People’s Choice Award and the Short Cuts Award for Best Animated Short Film. At the heart of the celebrations was South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook’s latest masterpiece, No Other Choice, which clinched the first-ever International People’s Choice Award.

No Other Choice wins big

The satirical black comedy thriller No Other Choice, co-written, produced, and directed by Park, has been one of the buzziest titles at the festival. Based on Donald Westlake’s novel The Ax, the film brings together a powerhouse cast featuring Squid Game fame Lee Byung-hun, Crash Landing On You star Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran, and Cha Seung-won. With Park’s signature flair for mixing dark humour and psychological tension, the movie struck a chord with TIFF audiences, who voted it their favourite among international selections.

Homebound makes India proud

The People’s Choice Awards, long considered a barometer for awards season success, also spotlighted other acclaimed titles. Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value secured the position of first runner-up, while Indian filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan’s Homebound took second runner-up. Homebound, a moving story of two childhood friends from a North Indian village struggling against systemic odds, is slated for a theatrical release on September 26, generating buzz ahead of its wide release. The film stars Vishal Jethwa, Ishaan Khatter and Janhvi Kapoor.In addition, Korean Canadian filmmaker Min Sook Lee’s There are No Words received an honourable mention in the Best Canadian Feature Film Award category, further showing the diversity of storytelling celebrated at TIFF this year.With No Other Choice leading the way, TIFF 2025 has proved its role as a global stage for groundbreaking cinema, and the film’s win is already fuelling speculation about its chances at the upcoming Oscars.