Toronto International Film Festival Amplify Voices Award


The Amplify Voices Award is an annual film award presented by the Toronto International Film Festival. First presented at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, the award was originally presented to three films annually, with one award open to all Canadian feature films and designated as the Amplify Voices Award for Best Canadian Film, and two awards presented to films from anywhere in the world directed by filmmakers who are Black, Indigenous or People of Colour. The winners in both the Canadian and BIPOC categories are selected and presented by the same jury.
In 2023, the award's criteria were changed, with the eligibility restricted to Canadian films; one award was presented for Best Film, one award was presented for Best First Film, and a new Trailblazer Award was presented to honour a Canadian BIPOC filmmaker for their overall career. The overall Best Canadian Film award was also split back off from Amplify Voices, returning to its own category.
The award was not presented at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, which instead saw a return of the Best Canadian Discovery Award.
As with all of TIFF's juried awards, the jury also have the discretion to name one or more honorable mentions in addition to the overall winners.

Winners

As the award for Best Canadian Film was simply a renaming of TIFF's existing Best Canadian Film award, winners in the Canadian film category are listed in that article; only winners of the BIPOC categories are listed below.
YearFilmDirectorRef
2020The DiscipleChaitanya Tamhane
2020Night of the Kings Philippe Lacôte
2020Downstream to Kinshasa Dieudo Hamadi
2021The Gravedigger's WifeKhadar Ayderus Ahmed
2021A Night of Knowing NothingPayal Kapadia
2022Leonor Will Never DieMartika Ramirez Escobar
2022While We WatchedVinay Shukla
2022Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It OnMadison Thomas
2023KanavalHenri Pardo
2023Tautuktavuk (What We See)Carol Kunnuk, Lucy Tulugarjuk

Trailblazer