The Toronto International Film Festival concluded today and David Cronenberg’s “Eastern Promises” won the audience award. The film stars Viggo Mortensen as a Russian gangster crossing paths with a midwife played by Naomi Watts. Congrats to Cronenberg and I’m sure we are all looking forward to the film, which opens this weekend in the U.S.
The win for Cronenberg, an established filmmaker, contrasts with last year when first-time director Alejandro Monteverde earned the audience award in Toronto for his romantic drama “Bella.” Cronenberg beat out two American indie movies for the best-liked movie in Toronto. The first runner-up was Jason Reitman’s “Juno,” while the second runner-up was “Body of War,” a documentary about an Iraqi war veteran turned social activist from co-directors Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro. (source)
