It’s still unclear if a large contingent of actors will make their way to all the fall festivals this year due to the SAG strike, but the Toronto International Film Festival is confidently moving forward with its annual Tribute Awards. Recently added to the annual TIFF programming mix, the Tribute Awards honor not just actors (Michelle Yeoh was a recipient in 2022), but writers (who also may not be at TIFF due to their own strike), directors (who are available after a deal with the AMPTP), and other film industry contributors. This year, TIFF will kick off its ceremony by honoring two genuine cinema legends: Pedro Almodóvar and Spike Lee.
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Almodóvar is set to receive the Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media. Lee, on the other hand, will receive the TIFF Ebert Director Award. While both are best known as directing auteurs, they have both won competitive screenwriting Oscars for “Talk to Her” and “BlacKKKlansman,” respectively.
In a release from the festival, Cameron Bailey, TIFF CEO, remarked, “It’s a true thrill to acknowledge Pedro Almodóvar as the distinguished recipient of the Jeff Skoll Impact Media Award for 2023. Pedro has been coming to TIFF for years and each time is better than the time before. His artistic vision, bold storytelling, and unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of cinema have had a profound impact on cinema. He challenges societal norms, champions diversity, and illuminates the human experience with sensitivity and grace. We applaud his contributions to cinema and celebrate his ability to inspire and provoke audiences worldwide.”
Past recipients honored in this category include Buffy Sainte-Marie last year, Alanis Obomsawin in 2021 as well as Mira Nair in 2020.
Bailey also noted, “The TIFF Ebert Director Award recognizes filmmakers who have exemplified greatness in their career. A foremost storyteller of our era, Spike’s body of work from ‘She’s Gotta Have it,’ to ‘Do the Right Thing’ to ‘Mo Betta Blues,’ his most recent film at TIFF 2021, ‘American Utopia,’ Spike has inspired audiences and made a lasting impact on the art of filmmaking.”
Named in honor of legendary film critic Roger Ebert, this award has been given out previously to Martin Scorsese, Claire Denis, Ava DuVernay, Wim Wenders, Agnès Varda, Sam Mendes, Denis Villeneuve, Chloé Zhao, and Taika Waititi.
A relatively new stop on the awards “circuit,” the awards night is actually TIFF’s largest annual fundraiser with $1.3 million being raised in 2022. This year’s Tribute Awards gala will support the Viola Desmond Cinema campaign, which was launched through the Every Story Fund in 2022.
The TIFF Tribute Awards will be handed out on Sunday, Sept. 10.
The 2023 Toronto International Film Festival will be held from Sept. 7-Sept 17.