A British-Australian film about King George VI's efforts to overcome his speech impediment took top honours at the Toronto International Film Festival Sunday, dpa reported.
The King's Speech directed by Tom Hooper earned the festival's coveted people's choice award, which comes with a 15,000-dollar cash prize and hefty Oscar buzz.
The film stars Colin Firth as George, who became king when his brother Edward abdicated to marry American Wallis Simpson. It follows the relationship between George, father of Queen Elizabeth II, and his speech therapist.
Another British production, First Grader, directed by Justin Chadwick was runner-up for the award.
The international critics' Discovery award went to American Shawn Ku for Beautiful Boy and its special presentation award went to Pierre Thoretton of France for L'Amour Fou.
The festival featured 339 films from 59 countries over 11 days.