The Awardist 22 recent Oscar breakouts from the Toronto International Film Festival From I, Tonya to Silver Linings Playbook, these Academy-verified films premiered in Toronto By Joey Nolfi Joey Nolfi Entertainment Weekly's Oscars expert, 'RuPaul's Drag Race' beat reporter, host of 'Quick Drag' Twitter Spaces, and cohost of 'EW's BINGE' podcast. Almost all of the drag content on this site is my fault (you're welcome). EW's editorial guidelines Published on September 7, 2017 10:45AM EDT 01 of 23 10 Years, 22 Oscar Contenders Mark Rogers; Everett Collection; JOJO WHILDEN/Sony Pictures Classics It might not be the only awards-positioning event launching Academy Award contenders into the race, but — sandwiched between Venice, Telluride, and New York — TIFF certainly is the largest. With hundreds of films screening annually at the non-competitive fest, at least one Best Picture nominee per year between 2011 and 2016 has found its way into the Oscar conversation after a world premiere in Toronto, with nine of the last 10 People's Choice selections going on to win or be nominated for the Academy's top prize. To whet your appetite for the 10 days of TIFF's 2018 edition ahead, here are 22 Oscar-verified films that have premiered north of the border in the last decade. 02 of 23 I, Tonya (2017) Neon TIFF premiere: Sept. 8, 2017 Directed by: Craig Gillespie Starring: Margot Robbie, Allison Janney, Sebastian Stan, Julianne Nicholson, Bobby Cannavale Oscar win: Best Supporting Actress (Janney) Oscar nominations: Best Actress (Robbie), Best Film Editing 03 of 23 Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017) Columbia Pictures TIFF premiere: Sept. 10, 2017 Directed by: Dan Gilroy Starring: Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo Oscar nomination: Best Actor (Washington) 04 of 23 Molly's Game (2017) STXfilms TIFF premiere: Sept. 8, 2017 Directed by: Aaron Sorkin Starring: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Chris O'Dowd Oscar nominations: Best Adapted Screenplay 05 of 23 Lion (2016) Mark Rogers TIFF premiere: Sept. 10, 2016 Directed by: Garth Davis Starring: Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, Sunny Pawar Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Best Supporting Actor (Patel), Best Supporting Actress (Kidman), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score 06 of 23 The Martian (2015) Aidan Monaghan/20th Century Fox TIFF premiere: Sept. 11, 2015 Directed by: Ridley Scott Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor (Damon), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Production Design 07 of 23 Trumbo (2015) Hilary Bronwyn Gayle TIFF premiere: Sept. 12, 2015 Directed by: Jay Roach Starring: Bryan Cranston, Diane Lane, Helen Mirren Oscar nomination: Best Actor (Cranston) 08 of 23 Land of Mine (2016) Everett Collection TIFF premiere: Sept. 10, 2015 Directed by: Martin Zandvliet Starring: Roland Møller, Louis Hofmann Oscar nomination: Best Foreign Language Film (Denmark) 09 of 23 The Theory of Everything (2014) Liam Daniel/Focus Features TIFF premiere: Sept. 7, 2014 Directed by: James Marsh Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones Oscar win: Best Actor (Eddie Redmayne) Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Actress (Jones), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score 10 of 23 Still Alice (2014) Julianne Moore in 'Still Alice'. JOJO WHILDEN/Sony Pictures Classics TIFF premiere: Sept. 8, 2014 Directed by: Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland Starring: Julianne Moore, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart Oscar win: Best Actress (Moore) 11 of 23 The Judge (2014) Claire Folger/Warner Bros TIFF premiere: Sept. 4, 2014 Directed by: David Dobkin Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall, Vera Farmiga Oscar nomination: Best Supporting Actor (Robert Duvall) 12 of 23 Dallas Buyers Club (2013) Jared Leto and Matthew McConaughey star in 'Dallas Buyers Club'. Focus Features TIFF premiere: Sept. 7, 2013 Directed by: Jean-Marc Vallée Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner Oscar wins: Best Actor (McConaughey), Best Supporting Actor (Leto), Best Makeup and Hairstyling Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Film Editing, Best Original Screenplay 13 of 23 August: Osage County (2013) Claire Folger/The Weinstein Company TIFF premiere: Sept. 9, 2013 Directed by: John Wells Starring: Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor Oscar nominations: Best Actress (Streep), Best Supporting Actress (Julia Roberts) 14 of 23 The Impossible (2012) JOSE HARO/Summit TIFF premiere: Sept. 9, 2012 Directed by: J.A. Bayona Starring: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland Oscar nomination: Best Actress (Watts) 15 of 23 Silver Linings Playbook (2012) JOJO WHILDEN/The Weinstein Company TIFF premiere: Sept. 8, 2012 Directed by: David O. Russell Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro Oscar win: Best Actress (Lawrence) Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor (Cooper), Best Supporting Actor (De Niro), Best Supporting Actress (Jacki Weaver), Best Director (Russell), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing 16 of 23 Moneyball (2011) Melinda Sue Gordon/Columbia / Sony TIFF premiere: Sept. 9, 2011 Directed by: Bennett Miller Starring: Brad Pitt, Robin Wright, Jonah Hill Oscar nominations: Best Picture, Best Actor (Pitt), Best Supporting Actor (Hill), Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Adapted Screenplay 17 of 23 Beginners (2010) Andrew Tepper/Focus Features TIFF premiere: Sept. 11, 2010 Directed by: Mike Mills Starring: Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer, Mélanie Laurent Oscar win: Best Supporting Actor (Plummer) 18 of 23 Rabbit Hole (2010) JoJo Whilden TIFF premiere: Sept. 13, 2010 Directed by: John Cameron Mitchell Starring: Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Wiest Oscar nomination: Best Actress (Kidman) 19 of 23 A Serious Man (2009) Wilson Webb/Focus Features TIFF premiere: Sept. 12, 2009 Directed by: Joel & Ethan Coen Starring: Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Sari Lennick Oscar nomination: Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay 20 of 23 The Visitor (2008) JoJo Whilden/Overture TIFF premiere: Sept. 7, 2007 Directed by: Tom McCarthy Starring: Richard Jenkins, Danai Gurira, Hiam Abbass Oscar nomination: Best Actor (Jenkins) 21 of 23 Eastern Promises (2007) Peter Mountain/Focus Features TIFF premiere: Sept. 8, 2007 Directed by: David Cronenberg Starring: Naomi Watts, Viggo Mortensen, Vincent Cassel Oscar nomination: Best Actor (Mortensen) 22 of 23 Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) Laurie Sparham/Universal Studios TIFF premiere: Sept. 9, 2007 Directed by: Shekhar Kapur Starring: Cate Blanchett, Clive Owen, Geoffrey Rush Oscar win: Best Costume Design Oscar nomination: Best Actress (Cate Blanchett) 23 of 23 Away from Her (2007) Michael Gibson/Lionsgate TIFF premiere: Sept. 11, 2006 Directed by: Sarah Polley Starring: Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis Oscar nominations: Best Actress (Christie), Best Adapted Screenplay Close