After giving such a lovely performance as young Judy Garland in the TV mini "Me and My Shadows," Tammy Blanchard must really give a beaut turn in "Bella" because the on-screen chemistry between her and Eduardo Verastegui as budding lovers is apparently what earned it the coveted audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Coveted because its recipient usually reaps more top kudos later. Consider some of the previous winners of the audience award over the past 10 years: "Tsotsi" (Oscar for best foreign film), "Hotel Rwanda" (Golden Globe nominee for best drama picture; star Don Cheadle nommed for Globe, Oscar and everything else), "Whale Rider" (Keisha Castle-Hughes became the youngest Oscar nominee for best actress), "Amelie" (2 BAFTA wins; 5 Oscar noms, including best foreign film), "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (Oscar for best foreign film, nommed for best pic), "American Beauty" (5 Oscars, including best picture), "Life Is Beautiful" (Oscar for Roberto Begnini, nommed for best pic) and "Shine" (Oscar and Golden Globe for Geoffrey Rush, nommed for best pic).

But did it really win? Word of its victory leaked out while many screenings continued, which means votes pooled from those audiences wouldn't count. Indeed, the official announcement came even before the last fest showing of "Bella." One Toronto blogger fumed: "Festivalgoers have long suspected that the ballots handed out at every screening at the festival were being shoveled into the nearest convenient furnace as soon as they are turned in, and TIFF's awkward timing with the 'Bella' news may have inadvertently conceded the point." Read more - CLICK HERE.

"Bella" was a suspicious choice because the film had such a low profile at the fest. In fact, I didn't hear anyone mention it over my nine days in Toronto. "Bella" is by a first-time filmmaker (Alejandro Monteverde) and follows the rather ho-hum story of a man and woman who flee their restaurant jobs and grow close while journeying through New York City one day.

The audience award wasn't the only strange kudo bestowed at the fest. For the 15th year, the International Federation of Film Critics piped in with its choice for best pic, usually citing an obscure Korean or Algerian film that's quickly forgotten after its brief moment in the critics' spotlight. This year, however, they picked one of the fest's most high-profile — and infamous — movies: "Death of a President," which imagines the future assassination of George W. Bush. Hmmmm. Could that be more of a comment on what those foreign critics think of Bush rather than what they think of the movie? Variety and Hollywood Reporter called it a skillfully made production, but otherwise shrugged it off. Variety summed up: "Disappointingly, 'Death of a President' shrinks from its promise as a piece of genuinely radical or adventurous speculative fiction." I could be mistaken, but I believe this is the first year in eons that no U.S. journalist served on the critics' award jury.

Top photo: Fest audience award champ "Bella." Middle photo: "Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing" was second runner-up for the audience award. Bottom photo: "D.O.A.P." is the first well-known film to win the critics' prize in recent years.
(Metanoiz Films/ Weinstein Co./ Newmarket)