Toronto After Dark 2026 Winners: 5 MORE MINUTES Dominates Audience and Passholder Awards

The Toronto After Dark Film Festival is thrilled to announce the official Award Winners of its 19th Annual Edition, which took place earlier this month and attracted 5000 attendees across 16 screenings and programmes. At After Dark, the Audience is the Jury: ticketholders are polled following each screening at the festival, and their scores are later tabulated into a list of ranked favourites.

 

This determines the Adam Lopez Audience Award for Best Feature Film; as well as the Audience Choice Awards for Best Canadian Short Film; Best International Short Film; and Best Late-Night Feature.

 

Additionally, After Dark’s 200 Passholders are given a survey following the festival to determine their selections in a number of unique categories; while the festival’s Volunteers are given their own ballot to decide the Harvey Lalonde Volunteers’ Choice Awards.

 

Without further ado…

 

The 2026 Adam Lopez Audience Award goes to… 5 MORE MINUTES, director Javier Ruiz Caldera’s thrilling re-invention of the time-loop conceit. The Silver and Bronze runner-ups are: THE FOX (d. Dario Russo) and DRAG (d. Raviv Ullman, Greg Yagolnitzer), respectively.

 

5 MORE MINUTES is also the recipient of the 2026 Harvey Lalonde Volunteers’ Choice Award for Best Feature Film. For Best Short Film, the Volunteers have selected PAPER CUTS (d. Alice Gatland & Ross Ozarka).

 

The festival’s Audience Choice Award for Best Canadian Short Film goes to… SOMETHING BORROWED (d. Findlay Ironside); with FREQUENCY (d. Lauren Andrews) and MY DINNER WITH VICTOR (d. Andrew Chiu) as the respective Silver and Bronze runner-ups.

 

For Best International Short Film, the Audience has selected IT HELPS (d. J. Zachary Thurman). PAPER CUTS and THE DOGLEG (d. Piotr Szubra) are the Audience’s Silver and Bronze selections.

 

The festival’s inaugural Audience Choice Award for Best Late-Night Feature signals the crowd’s top choice of After Dark’s new late-night programme. Held at CFMDC’s CineCycle, the programme spotlights esoteric and experimental genre cinema from around the world. This year’s award goes to… director Casey Donahue’s debut feature MY LOVE FOR YOU IS DEEP BUT THE DEVIL LOVES ME DEEPER.

 

After Dark Passholders awarded 9 distinct feature films with honours at this year’s festival. 5 MORE MINUTES takes home 5 Passholder Awards, including Best Director, Best Screenplay and Funniest Film; while the festival’s Opening Feature WHALEFALL was bestowed 3 Passholder Awards (Best Cinematography, Best Sound Design and Best Special Effects).

 

Acting accolades were given to both I LOVE PARIS’ Aminata Thiboult (Best Performance) and to Dario Russo’s THE FOX (Best Ensemble); while the Vampire Santa of RED SNOW (d. Ilja Rautsi) was selected as After Dark 2026’s Best Monster/Creature. Scariest Film was bestowed upon Marion Le Corroller’s SPECIES, and Passholders acknowledged the “frying pan” kill from DRAG as the festival’s Best Kill.

 

TURN IT UP! (d. Sam Scott) and HALLOWARRIOR (d. Ben Sottak) each received 2 Passholder Awards, and fans are clamoring for more HALLOWARRIOR: having awarded it The Film You Most Want to See a Sequel To.

 

After Dark is also proud to announce its inaugural ScareScore Trophy, awarded to the film that earned the audience’s highest ScareScore throughout the festival.

 

ScareScore is the world’s most dynamic biometric engine for entertainment, and the festival’s Lead Sponsor for its 19th Edition. ScareScore measures your body's real-time reactions to every scene in the film you’re watching, and creates your own personal ScareScore. You can try the app now at scarescore.com/pulse.

 

This year’s ScareScore Trophy goes to… HALLOWARRIOR.

 

The complete list of 2026 Toronto After Dark award winners can be found below:

 

Adam Lopez Audience Award for Best Feature Film

5 MORE MINUTES (d. Javier Ruiz Caldera)

Silver: THE FOX (d. Dario Russo)

Bronze: DRAG (d. Raviv Ullman, Greg Yagolnitzer)

 

Harvey Lalonde Volunteers’ Choice Awards

Feature: 5 MORE MINUTES (d. Javier Ruiz Caldera)

Short: PAPER CUTS (d. Alice Gatland & Ross Ozarka)

 

Audience Choice Award for Best Canadian Short Film

SOMETHING BORROWED (d. Findlay Ironside)

Silver: FREQUENCY (d. Lauren Andrews)

Bronze: MY DINNER WITH VICTOR (d. Andrew Chiu)

 

Audience Choice Award for Best International Short Film

IT HELPS (d. J. Zachary Thurman)

Silver: PAPER CUTS (d. Alice Gatland & Ross Ozarka)

Bronze: THE DOGLEG (d. Piotr Szubra)

 

Audience Choice Award for Best Late-Night Feature

MY LOVE FOR YOU IS DEEP BUT THE DEVIL LOVES ME DEEPER (d. Casey Donahue)

 

ScareScore Trophy 

HALLOWARRIOR (d. Ben Sottak)

 

Passholder Awards

 

5 MORE MINUTES (d. Javier Ruiz Caldera) (5 Awards)

Best Director (Javier Ruiz Caldera)

Best Screenplay (Berto Romero)

Funniest Film

Best Editing

Best Choreography

Best Film to Watch with a Crowd

 

WHALEFALL (d. Brian Duffield) (3 Awards)

Best Cinematography

Best Sound Design

Best Special Effects

 

HALLOWARRIOR (d. Ben Sottak) (2 Awards)

Best Costume Design

The Film You Most Want to See a Sequel To

 

TURN IT UP! (d. Sam Scott) (2 Awards)

Best Music

Best Title Sequence

 

DRAG (d. Raviv Ullman, Greg Yagolnitzer)

Best Kill: Frying Pan

 

THE FOX (d. Dario Russo)

Best Ensemble Cast

 

I LOVE PARIS (d. Nicky Murphy)

Best Performance: Aminata Thiboult

 

RED SNOW (d. Ilja Rautsi)

Best Monster/Creature: Vampire Santa

 

SPECIES (d. Marion Le Corroller)

Scariest Film