The Toronto International Film Festival gave its top audience award to British director Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire, a high-octane drama about a teen boy in Mumbai who challenges for India’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Boyle, whose previous credits include Trainspotting and 28 Days Later, didn’t attend the awards luncheon as the Toronto festival wrapped on the weekend.

But actress Freida Pinto, who remained in Toronto to visit family in Mississauga, did, and said accepting the audience award on Boyle’s behalf in Toronto was a first in many ways.

‘It’s my first premiere, my first time dealing with the press, and now it’s my first award,’ she told the luncheon audience.

‘Slumdog Millionaire is a film about an underdog who believes in something.’

Last year, another British film, the London gangster drama Eastern Promises, directed by David Cronenberg and coproduced by Robert Lantos, won the People’s Choice Award, voted on by film fans.

The Toronto festival jury this year overlooked Phillipe Falardeau’s much-heralded C’est pas moi, je le jure! to give the best Canadian film prize to Rodrigue Jean’s Lost Song, a film about an Inuit woman and her grandson trapped on a remote island.

The jury said Lost Song was ‘profound, masterful and devastatingly sad.’ No word on when the Quebec movie hits the local multiplex.

‘Thanks to this award, hopefully this film will reach many, many people and continue to live on,’ Lost Song co-star Suzie LeBlanc told the Toronto audience upon accepting the trophy on behalf of Jean.

She added it was an honor to challenge for the best Canadian film ‘along so many great titles.’ Also in the running for the top Canadian film prize was Paul Gross’s Passchendaele, which opened the festival on Sept. 4, and Deepa Mehta’s Heaven on Earth.

Elsewhere, the best Canadian first feature went to Before Tomorrow by Marie-Helene Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu. It’s the third feature from the Nunavut-based Igloolik Isuma Productions after earlier success with Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner and The Journals of Knud Rasmussen.

The jury cited Before Tomorrow‘s ‘arresting beauty, its humanist innovative story-telling and its artistic integrity’ in blending European and Inuit film narratives.

‘It’s a very important thing for us to win this prize,’ Cousineau said, before thanking the women in Igloolik [Nunavut] for sharing their stories.

‘It was a fun, fun, fun film to make,’ she added.

The jury awarded special citations to Atom Egoyan’s Adoration and to Lyne Charlebois’ Borderline for her debut feature.

Chris Chong Chan Fui picked up the best Canadian short film prize for Block B. Denis Villeneuve’s Next Floor received a citation in that category.

Other award winners include the FIPRESCI prize going to Derick Martini’s Hollywood drama Lymelife, Steve Jacob’s Australia/South Africa copro Disgrace earning the FIPRESCI trophy for best offering in the Special Presentation program, and the Discovery trophy going to Steve McQueen for his IRA drama Hunger.

‘Here come the Americans,’ Derick Martini said as he received his trophy.

Piers Handling, CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival, said the 33rd installment ‘was a pretty flawless festival’ after it unspooled around 300 films.

He brushed aside early controversy at this year’s festival over special ticket lines for special people as Toronto is seen to go increasingly corporate.

‘I’m not saying the festival is blameless,’ Handling said of an opening night incident at Roy Thomson Hall where donor patrons were given preferential access to tickets.

‘I heard no more feedback after that particular screening from any patron in terms of privileged access, donors having access before them,’ he added.

Handling added the festival’s unofficial film market was successful after earlier gloom among distributors.

‘The buyers sensed an upbeat feeling and that there was product out there that they could buy. And there were major deals done here, and some deals will get done after the festival,’ he said.