TIFF to Tinseltown: a tour of the 14 Oscar-nominated films that screened at TIFF

The Toronto International Film Festival may not have the glamour of Cannes, the street cred of Berlin or the skiing of Sundance, but it does have one thing going for it: it’s the unofficial kickoff of Oscar season. The filmmakers who come here every September to show and sell—a full five months before the awards ceremony—are well aware that they’re already in the race to the Kodak Theatre. The early jockeying often pays off: 14 of the 36 feature films nominated for Academy Awards this year screened here (the dubious likes of TRON: Legacy and Salt, for the record, did not). Before the big tally on Sunday night, we take a look at the films that embarked on their trip to the golden boy’s antechamber right here in our backyard.