Two More TIFF Tributes Have Been Announced

The Toronto International Film Festival this morning revealed two additional honorees for next month. TIFF has announced that Jharrel Jerome will be getting the TIFF Tribute Performer Award, while Zhao Tao will be receiving the TIFF Special Tribute Award. The ceremony will take place on September 8th. More below.

Here is the press release:

TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey is delighted to announce additional honourees who will be receiving TIFF Tribute Awards at this year’s Festival: American award-winning actor and rapper Jharrel Jerome will receive the TIFF Tribute Performer Award; and award-winning actor Zhao Tao will be presented with the TIFF Special Tribute Award. Honouring the film industry’s outstanding contributors and their achievements, the TIFF Tribute Awards gala will take place on Sunday, September 8, at Fairmont Royal York Hotel. 

“From Moonlight to Unstoppable, Jharrel Jerome’s depth, strength, and vulnerability on screen have made him one of his generation’s finest actors. It’s an honour to recognize his outstanding body of work with the TIFF Tribute Performer Award,” said Bailey. “In her collaborations with director Jia Zhang-Ke, the TIFF Special Tribute honouree Zhao Tao has captured the complexity and significance of China’s galvanizing change. Hers is a signature face of our 21st century, and her work in Caught by the Tides stands with her very best.”

Following his unforgettable performances in When They See Us and Moonlight(TIFF ’16), Jerome returns to the Festival for the World Premiere presentation of William Goldenberg’s Unstoppable: The Anthony Robles Story, delivering yet another outstanding, heartfelt performance portraying wrestler Anthony Robles. Past recipients of the TIFF Tribute Performer Award are Colman Domingo and Vicky Krieps in 2023; Brendan Fraser and the ensemble cast of My Policeman in 2022; Jessica Chastain and Benedict Cumberbatch in 2021; Kate Winslet and Sir Anthony Hopkins in 2020; and Meryl Streep and Joaquin Phoenix in 2019.

Tao has captivated audiences worldwide. She was ranked eighth among the 25 greatest actors of the 21st century by the New York Times in 2020. Her collaborations with director Jia Zhang-Ke have produced iconic films such as Still Life and Mountains May Depart (TIFF ’15). She returns to the Festival for the North American Premiere of Caught by the Tides, where she takes centre stage in a powerful performance as Qiaoqiao. Previous recipients of the Special Tribute Award include Andy Lau in 2023, Dionne Warwick in 2021, and David Foster in 2019.

Jerome and Tao join the previously announced list of TIFF Tribute honourees: Amy Adams, Cate Blanchett, David Cronenberg, Mike Leigh, Durga Chew-Bose, Clément Ducol, and Camille. Sandra Oh serves as this year’s inaugural Honorary Chair. The Tribute Awards gala is TIFF’s largest fundraiser, with proceeds from the gala going towards TIFF’s Every Story Fund, which champions diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in film.