Toronto/IBNS: Hamnet, Academy Award–winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed novel, has won the prestigious People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2025, festival organisers announced.

The UK-set film, starring Jessie Buckley as Agnes and Paul Mescal as William Shakespeare, was one of TIFF’s Gala presentations and quickly emerged as an audience favourite. The award, presented by Rogers, is considered a key indicator for the upcoming awards season, with previous winners often going on to garner critical and Oscar recognition.

Accepting the award via video link, Zhao expressed gratitude to audiences worldwide. “I’d like to share that I was very lonely when I was young. And I wrote stories and I drew manga, and I put them on the Internet so that I could read the comments and the reactions of strangers. Whether they liked them or not, I felt connected to them, and suddenly the world is a little less of a lonely place and life seems to have more meaning,” Zhao recalled.

Chloe Zhao speaking at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con International in San Diego, California. Gage Skidmore/Wikipedia Creative Commons

A portrait of love, grief, and resilience, Hamnet reimagines Shakespeare’s family life and the profound impact of losing his only son. Zhao’s direction balances sorrow with moments of joy, presenting the legendary playwright not as a distant genius but as a husband and father deeply shaped by domestic life.

Critics have praised the performances of Buckley and Mescal, highlighting their on-screen chemistry in portraying the intimacy and fractures of a family confronting tragedy. Cinematographer Łukasz Żal and sound designer Johnnie Burn, supported by Max Richter’s score, have also drawn acclaim for creating an atmosphere of naturalism and emotional depth.

The film suggests a direct connection between Shakespeare’s grief over Hamnet’s death and his later masterpiece Hamlet, offering viewers a poignant new lens on one of the most enduring works in English literature.

Born in Beijing, Zhao previously won global recognition for Nomadland (2020), which also took home TIFF’s People’s Choice Award before winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards. With Hamnet, Zhao once again blends intimate storytelling with universal themes, cementing her place as one of contemporary cinema’s most acclaimed voices.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)