On behalf of the other members of the CAST junta, I’m very pleased to announce the results of the 6th edition of the CAST Awards. I received 41 completed ballots from film lovers in the Greater Toronto Area. Here are the CAST Top 25 voted from among all films that had a theatrical or festival release in Toronto during 2015. Voters ranked up to 10 films on their ballot from top to bottom, with first choices receiving 10 points, second choices 9, etc. The Points column lists the total score for each film, the Mentions column indicates the number of ballots it appeared on, and the First column indicates the total number of voters who chose the film as their top choice. We are very proud of the group of critics we’ve gathered, even though I’ve described us elsewhere as “a ragtag group of semi-professional film bloggers, podcasters, tweeters and Lightbox lobby loiterers.” 170 different films (including at least two short films) received at least one mention this year.
| 1. Mad Max: Fury Road | 131 | 16 | 4 |
| 2. Carol | 120 | 21 | 2 |
| 3. Ex Machina | 104 | 15 | 3 |
| 4. Inside Out | 99 | 19 | 3 |
| 5. Spotlight | 92 | 14 | 0 |
| 6. Anomalisa | 69 | 10 | 2 |
| 7. Sicario | 58 | 11 | 0 |
| 8. Brooklyn | 41 | 6 | 1 |
| 9. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl | 40 | 6 | 1 |
| 10. Room | 39 | 6 | 1 |
| 11. The Martian | 38 | 9 | 0 |
| 12. Star Wars: The Force Awakens | 38 | 11 | 0 |
| 13. Son of Saul | 36 | 6 | 2 |
| 14. Love and Peace | 36 | 5 | 0 |
| 15. The Lobster | 35 | 6 | 0 |
| 16. The Big Short | 34 | 5 | 1 |
| 17. Steve Jobs | 33 | 7 | 0 |
| 18. 45 Years | 32 | 5 | 0 |
| 19. Men and Chicken | 30 | 4 | 1 |
| 20. Phoenix | 27 | 4 | 1 |
| 21. Tangerine | 26 | 4 | 0 |
| 22. Girlhood | 26 | 5 | 0 |
| 23. Clouds of Sils Maria | 25 | 3 | 2 |
| 24. Magic Mike XXL | 24 | 3 | 0 |
| 25. The Duke of Burgundy | 23 | 3 | 1 |
Participants:
- Elayne from Particular Pelicula (@ParticPelic)
- Ulkar Alakbarova (@AlakbarovaUlkar)
- Corey Atad (@CoreyAtad)
- David Baldwin (@DaveMABaldwin)
- Mike Barber (@WorstCinephile)
- Hillary Butler (@PetDocHill)
- Jorge Ignacio Castillo (@jicastillo)
- David Davidson (@TOFilmReview)
- Stefan Ellison (@MisterCoat)
- Ariel Fisher (@Afis8)
- Sarah Gopaul (@SarahGopaul)
- Dan Gorman (@yckmd_)
- Barbara Goslawski (@bgos923)
- Kurt Halfyard (@triflic)
- Philip Hamilton
- Robert Harding
- Kirk Haviland (@MovieJunkieTO)
- Leora Heilbronn (@LeoraHeilbronn)
- Christopher Heron (@The7thArt)
- Matt Hoffman (@HoffmanOnFilm)
- Richard Iwasa (@TIFFtalk)
- Trevor Jeffery (@TrevorSJeffery)
- Sean Kelly (@SKonMovies)
- Shahbaz Khayambashi (@ShaKhayam)
- Eric Marchen (@EM6211)
- Don Marks (@torontoplex)
- Norm McGlashan (@McStay12)
- James McNally (@TOscreenshots)
- Ryan McNeil (@Matinee_CA)
- Pavan Moondi (@PavanMoondi)
- Less Lee Moore (@popshifter)
- Heidy Morales (@HeidyMo)
- Marko Orlic (@Marko_Orlic)
- Corey Pierce (@coreypierceart)
- Emily Reid (@ChristiePitsFF)
- Courtney Small (@SmallMind)
- Ian Stuart
- Bob Turnbull (@TheLogicalMind)
- David Voigt (@InTheSeats)
- Addison Wylie (@AddisonWylie)
- Sky Wylie (@SkyBaby5)
I’m also very happy that the CASTcast returned this year. Listen as I try to wrangle Dave Voigt, Ryan McNeil, Hillary Butler, Jorge Ignacio Castillo, Corey Pierce, Norm McGlashan, and Heidy Morales as we talk about the year in film. Bob Turnbull turns in a cameo as the very generous bartender, too.
And for those still reading, here is my very own CAST ballot, with my top ten from 2015.
My CAST Ballot
- Brooklyn
- Tangerine
- Victoria
- Mad Max: Fury Road
- Ex Machina
- Sicario
- Two Days, One Night
- While We’re Young
- Diamond Tongues
- Results