Overview

• The Tribute Awards capped the festival’s opening weekend at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York Hotel, raising funds for TIFF talent-development initiatives such as Share Her Journey.
• Guillermo del Toro accepted the Ebert Director Award, praised Canada as a cultural "bastion of hope," echoed Roger Ebert’s empathy credo, and highlighted his new Netflix film Frankenstein.
• Jodie Foster received the Share Her Journey honor and reflected on the industry’s past lack of women in technical and leadership roles while presenting her new film A Private Life at the festival.
• Catherine O’Hara earned the Norman Jewison Career Achievement Award, with the Canadian star recognized for decades of influential comedic work.
• Idris Elba accepted the Impact Media award and urged audiences to "feel" the world’s pain to drive change, as fellow honorees included Channing Tatum, Nina Hoss, Lee Byung Hun, Hikari, Jafar Panahi, Zacharias Kunuk, and Kazu Hiro.