TIFF ’12: “Artifact” picks up People’s Choice Doc Award

September 17, 2012 by Adam Benzine

Jared Leto in "Artifact"

Artifact (pictured), a documentary following actor Jared Leto and his rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, has picked up the People’s Choice Documentary Award at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

The first runner up in the category was Christopher Nelius and Justin McMillan’s Storm Surfers 3D, while the second runner up was Rob Stewart’s Revolution.

Artifact, directed by Leto under the pseudonym Bartholomew Cubbins, had its world premiere at TIFF on Friday night (September 14), at a packed screening attended by the actor and his bandmates. The film follows the band as they as they face a legal battle with record label EMI, while attempting to record their third album This is War.

In his first interview to promote the doc, Leto told realscreen last week that Artifact “is a David and Goliath story,” adding: “It’s a story about art and commerce, and it’s an age-old story.”

Read the full interview and check out a clip from the film here.

Tags: 30 Seconds to Mars, Artifact, Bartholomew Cubbins, EMI, Jared Leto, Revolution, Rob Stewart, Storm Surfers 3D, This is War, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival