TIFF To Laud Pedro Almodóvar & Spike Lee At Tribute Awards

Oscar winning filmmakers Pedro Almodóvar and Spike Lee are getting feted at this year’s TIFF Tribute Awards.

Almodóvar will receive the Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media presented by Participant, while Lee will be bestowed with the TIFF Ebert Director Award. The fifth annual Tribute Awards ceremony presented by Bulgari will take place on Sunday, Sept. 10 during the 48th edition of the fest at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

The TIFF Tribute Awards in its short run have already served as an awards-season bellwether, with past honourees including Michelle Yeoh, Brendan Fraser, Jessica Chastain, Roger Deakins, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Joaquin Phoenix, Taika Waititi, and Chloé Zhao who all went on to receive Oscar wins.

“It’s a true thrill to acknowledge Pedro Almodóvar as the distinguished recipient of the Jeff Skoll Impact Media Award for 2023,” stated TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey. “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.”

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The Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media presented by Participant recognizes leadership in creating a union
between social impact and cinema. Past recipients honored in the category include Buffy Sainte-Marie in 2022, Alanis Obomsawin in 2021 and Mira Nair in 2020.

“The TIFF Ebert Director Award recognizes filmmakers who have exemplified greatness in their career,”
added Bailey. “A foremost storyteller of our era, Spike’s body of work from She’s Gotta Have It, to Do the Right Thing to Mo’ Better Blues, to his most recent film at TIFF 2021, American Utopia, Spike has inspired
audiences and made a lasting impact on the art of filmmaking.”

Named after iconic film critic Roger Ebert, the Award has gone to celebrated visionaries such as Martin
Scorsese, Claire Denis, Ava DuVernay, Wim Wenders, and the late Agnès Varda. Past recipients who received the Award since the TIFF Tribute Awards were introduced include Sam Mendes (2022) Denis Villeneuve (2021), Zhao (2020), and Waititi (2019).

The Awards night serves as TIFF’s largest annual fundraiser, having raised $1.3 million in 2022.This year, the Tribute Awards gala will support the Viola Desmond Cinema campaign, which was launched through the Every Story Fund in 2022.

Almodóvar won a 2003 original screenplay Oscar for Habla Con Ella, while his 2000 feature, All About My Mother, won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Lee won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for BlacKkKlansman.

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