#TIFF25: TIFF TRIBUTE AWARDS 2025 GALA FIRST HONOUREES NAMED

Cameron Bailey, CEO, TIFF, is delighted to announce the first group of honourees of the seventh annual TIFF Tribute Awards, celebrating outstanding contributions to cinema and serving as the kick-off to awards season. Academy Award–winning Mexican-born filmmaker Guillermo del Toro will receive the TIFF Ebert Director Award, two-time Academy Award winner and boundary-defying artist Jodie Foster will receive the TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award, award-winning Japanese writer, director, and producer HIKARI will receive the TIFF Emerging Talent Award; and award-winning South Korean actor Lee Byung Hun is the recipient of a TIFF Special Tribute Award, attending TIFF this year with the North American Gala premiere of Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice. Academy Award–winning actor and 2022 Tribute Performer Award recipient Brendan Fraser will return to the Tribute Awards as the 2025 Honorary Chair. The seventh annual TIFF Tribute Awards will take place on Sunday, September 7, at Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

“We’re thrilled to announce this year’s recipients, each of whom has left an indelible mark on the cinematic landscape: from the commanding talent of Lee Byung Hun; the visionary imagination of maestro Guillermo del Toro; the evocative storytelling of HIKARI; to the incomparable career of actor, filmmaker, and icon Jodie Foster. We’re honoured to welcome these exceptional artists to Toronto for the seventh annual Tribute Awards,” said Bailey. “We’re also delighted to welcome back Brendan Fraser, our 2022 Tribute Performer Award recipient, as this year’s Honorary Chair, a beloved artist and past honouree whose warmth, generosity, and passion for storytelling truly embody the spirit of our Festival.”

“I’m honoured to return to Toronto once again and to the TIFF Tribute Awards, this time not as a recipient, but as this year’s Honorary Chair,” said Fraser. “TIFF has been meaningful to me and to be in this role during the Festival’s landmark 50th edition is a privilege. TIFF continues to champion the kind of bold storytelling that brings people together, and I’m thrilled to celebrate this year’s Tribute recipients.”

The TIFF Tribute Awards gala is TIFF’s largest annual fundraiser and a world-class celebration of cinematic excellence. Proceeds support TIFF’s 50th anniversary campaign, Transform Together, advancing TIFF’s talent development, honouring visionary artists, and deepening community impact. Presented in partnership with Rolex, with support from RBC, Don Julio, and Fairmont Royal York.

2025 TIFF Tribute Awards Honourees

Guillermo del Toro — TIFF Ebert Director Award, presented by The Tory Family

Guillermo del Toro is attending the Festival with a Gala Presentation of his anticipated live-action feature, Frankenstein. His relationship with TIFF started with his debut feature Cronos (TIFF ’93) and continued throughout the years with Mimic (TIFF ’97), The Devil’s Backbone (TIFF ’01), Pan’s Labyrinth (TIFF ’06), and his People’s Choice Award–winning The Shape of Water (TIFF ’17), which was nominated for 13 Academy Awards and won four, including Best Picture and Best Director. Demonstrating his ongoing commitment to Canadian cinema, del Toro curated a TIFF Cinematheque series celebrating Canadian horror earlier this month and was recently honoured with a ceremonial key to the City of Toronto. Named after legendary film critic Roger Ebert, the honour previously known as the Golden Thumb Award has gone to celebrated visionaries such as Martin Scorsese, Claire Denis, Ava DuVernay, Wim Wenders, and the late Agnès Varda. Becoming part of the Tribute event in 2019, past recipients include Mike Leigh (2024), Spike Lee (2023), Sam Mendes (2022), Denis Villeneuve (2021), Chloé Zhao (2020), and Taika Waititi (2019).

Jodie Foster – TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award, presented by Joanna Griffiths and the Women of Knix

In a career spanning over 50 years, Jodie Foster is one of the most critically acclaimed actresses of her generation. Her powerful performance in Nyad, which earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Academy Awards, had its World Premiere at TIFF ’23. She now makes her return to the Festival (following The Brave One at TIFF ’07) with Rebecca Zlotowski’s Private Life, a French psychological mystery in which she plays a therapist. A groundbreaker both on and off the screen, Foster has not only built a legacy of complex, powerful performances, including her Oscar-winning roles in The Accused and The Silence of the Lambs, but has also championed women filmmakers throughout her directing career, with films like Little Man Tate and Home for the Holidays, among others. The TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award is presented by Joanna Griffiths and the Women of Knix; and is inspired by TIFF’s Share Her Journey initiative, created to address gender parity in the film industry, to champion women at every stage of their creative journey, and to shine a spotlight on women creators making a significant difference in the industry. Past recipients are Cate Blanchett (2024), Patricia Arquette (2023), and Michelle Yeoh (2022).

HIKARI — TIFF Emerging Talent Award, presented by Amazon MGM Studios

Writer, director, and producer HIKARI makes her second appearance at TIFF with the World Premiere of her sophomore feature Rental Family, starring Tribute chair Brendan Fraser. Her debut feature 37 Seconds (TIFF ’19) received the Panorama Audience Award and the CICAE Award at the 69th Berlinale, among other international accolades. Having directed for both film and television, her recent credits include Beef and Tokyo Vice. Presented by Amazon MGM Studios, this award is in the spirit of Torontonian Mary Pickford, the groundbreaking actor, producer, and co-founder of United Artists, whose impact continues today. Past recipients include Durga Chew-Bose (2024), Carolina Markowicz (2023), Sally El Hosaini (2022), Danis Goulet (2021), Tracey Deer (2020), and Mati Diop (2019).

Lee Byung Hun — TIFF Special Tribute Award

A global sensation, Lee Byung Hun has achieved massive success across film and television in both South Korea and Hollywood. Before breaking out internationally, he starred in Joint Security Area and A Bittersweet Life, and went on to Korean blockbusters and global hits like Squid Game, G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra, Red 2, Terminator Genisys, and The Magnificent Seven. This is Byung Hun’s second appearance at TIFF and his second collaboration with Park Chan-wook. He was last in Toronto for the premiere of Concrete Utopia (TIFF ’23) and participated in an In Conversation with… series. This award is presented to an individual who has made an extraordinary and unique contribution to the world of film, leaving a lasting legacy through their dedication and artistry. Previous recipients include Zhao Tao (2024), Andy Lau (2023), Dionne Warwick (2021), and David Foster (2019).

Brendan Fraser — TIFF Honorary Chair

Brendan Fraser’s nuanced performances and compelling role choices have earned him widespread acclaim. He starred in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale (TIFF ’22) and garnered multiple honours, including an Academy Award for Best Actor, a Critics’ Choice Movie Award, and a SAG Award. In HIKARI’s Rental Family, Fraser plays a man hired by a company that provides rental family services, where people are employed to act as stand-ins for friends or relatives. Fraser will next appear in Anthony Maras’ Pressure, portraying Dwight D. Eisenhower, and in 2026, he’ll lend his voice to Tubi’s adult animated comedy Breaking Bear. His other recent work includes Steven Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move, Doom Patrol, Line of Descent, The Secret of Karma, The Poison Rose, Trust, and Condor. Additional credits include Brothers, Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, The Affair, and The Field, among many others.

Film Announcement

TIFF will present the North American Premiere of Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice, in which Byung Hun stars, as part of the Gala Presentations programme:

No Other Choice | Park Chan-wook | South Korea | Elevation Pictures

North American Premiere | Gala

New this year, Rolex has signed on as the exclusive Presenting Partner of the 2025 TIFF Tribute Awards. RBC, one of TIFF’s long-time Major Sponsors, is a new Supporting Partner. Don Julio and Fairmont Royal York are returning once again as Supporting Partners.

Rolex in Cinema

Rolex celebrates human achievement, recognizing the journey marked by milestones and emotions that culminate in defining moments, determined by a path followed, not just an award. For more than half a century, Rolex has partnered with some of the world’s most talented artists and leading cultural institutions to celebrate excellence and promote the transfer of artistic heritage, creating a link between the past, present, and future. Through the Rolex Perpetual Arts Initiative, a broad portfolio of arts that extends through architecture, cinema, dance, literature, music, theatre, and visual arts, the company confirms its long-term commitment to global culture. In all these endeavours, Rolex supports distinction in the arts and the transmission of knowledge to future generations, who in turn pass on the world’s cultural legacy.

The 50th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, presented by Rogers, runs September 4–14, 2025. Stay tuned for more TIFF announcements.