TORONTO — The Spanish film La Bola Negra won the People’s Choice Award at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, taking the festival’s most prominent audience-voted honour as its 51st edition came to a close.

Directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, the film follows connected stories of gay men across different periods in Spain. I Play Rocky and Being Heumann were named runners-up for the main audience award. TIFF announced its winners on September 20, the festival’s final Sunday.

The awards also drew attention to Canadian work. Cody Lightning received Best Canadian Discovery for Smudge the Blades, while Serville Poblete’s Sunburn won Best Canadian Feature. In other audience categories, Elsinore took the international prize and Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been won for documentary.

An audience award is an early sign of how a film connects with festivalgoers, rather than a guarantee of what comes next. Release plans differ by title, and viewers interested in any of the winners should check confirmed Canadian theatrical or streaming announcements before making plans.

For TIFF, the results tell more than one story: an international film won the festival’s headline audience vote, while Canadian filmmakers left with significant recognition of their own.

Sources: TIFF awards; Associated Press.

Lead image: an AI-generated editorial illustration, not a photograph of the reported event.