In a neat little act of cosmic symmetry, the film that opened the 35th Vancouver International Film Festival was also officially anointed as this year's overall audience favourite.

Aisling Walsh's biopic Maudie, about Nova Scotian folk artist Maudie Lewis, took the VIFF Super Channel People’s Choice Award in a ceremony at the IMAX theatre on Friday (October 14), prior to the screening of festival closer Voyage of Time. 

Post-screening ballots determined the winners, which also included Ken Loach's Cannes winner I, Daniel Blake for Most Popular International Feature (runner-up The Salesman); Yann Arthus-Bertrand's spectacular Human for Most Popular International Documentary; and—not at all surprisingly—Pete McCormack's portrait of John Mann, Spirit Unforgettable, for Most Popular Canadian Documentary.

The Women in Film and Television Artistic Merit Award, meanwhile, was presented to Nettie Wild for her documentary, KONELĪNE: our land beautiful.