“The Fabelmans” Becomes First Major Oscar Contender After Winning Top Honor in Toronto

Steven Spielberg at the
Steven Spielberg at the "Ready Player One" film premiere in 2018. Photo by Stewart Cook/REX/Shutterstock (9478325aq)

The Fabelmans is one of the most talked-about films to premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, and its future is looking bright. Steven Spielberg’s deeply personal drama won the festival’s People’s Choice Award and entered the Oscars race in the process.

Spielberg’s latest film is set in the post-World War II era Arizona, and it centers on a young man who uses the power of film to uncover a shattering family secret. It’s inspired by the director’s own childhood and he repeatedly described it as his most personal film to date.

The Fabelmans is Spielberg’s first film to ever premiere at TIFF, and the critics and the audience were impressed by it in equal measure. In addition to receiving rave reviews, it also defeated Sarah Polley’s Women Talking and Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery to win TIFF’s People’s Choice Award.

What does this victory say about the film’s future at the upcoming Academy Awards? As a matter of fact, quite a lot! Many of the previous People’s Choice Awards either won or received nominations for the best picture. Most recently, Green Book and Nomadland, both walked away with the Oscars, and The Fabelmansi could experience the same fate after its victory in Toronto.