TIFF Honors Guillermo del Toro, Jodie Foster, HIKARI, and Lee Byung Hun at 2025 Tribute Awards

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Aug 1

L-R: 2025 TIFF Tribute Award recipients Guillermo del Toro, Jodie Foster, HIKARI, Lee Byung Hun, and Brendan Fraser, Honorary Chair of the annual awards gala.

The Toronto International Film Festival kicks off its 50th edition with a global slate of trailblazing honorees

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has unveiled the first four recipients of its 2025 Tribute Awards, and the lineup is nothing short of monumental. Legendary Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, boundary-pushing icon Jodie Foster, emerging Japanese filmmaker HIKARI, and global screen sensation Lee Byung Hun will be honored at this year’s seventh annual ceremony. The gala event, TIFF’s largest annual fundraiser and a marquee moment on the awards season calendar, will take place Sunday, September 7, at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

Oscar winner Brendan Fraser, a TIFF favorite since his triumphant return with The Whale, returns to the stage this year—this time as Honorary Chair of the Tribute Awards. Fraser will also be in attendance with the world premiere of HIKARI’s Rental Family, where he plays a man for hire in Japan’s underground emotional services industry.

2025 Honourees

Guillermo del Toro: TIFF Ebert Director Award

Fresh off curating a TIFF Cinematheque series on Canadian horror, del Toro returns to the festival with a Gala Presentation of his highly anticipated Frankenstein. From Cronos to Pan’s Labyrinth to his Oscar-winning The Shape of Water, del Toro’s deep ties to TIFF span decades. The Ebert Director Award, named after legendary critic Roger Ebert, has previously been awarded to visionary auteurs such as Martin Scorsese, Denis Villeneuve, and Spike Lee. Del Toro’s newest recognition arrives as he continues to blend myth, magic, and modern social commentary into bold new cinematic forms.

Jodie Foster: Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award

Foster will be celebrated for her five-decade legacy of complex, courageous storytelling—both in front of and behind the camera. The two-time Oscar winner earned critical acclaim last year for her supporting turn in Nyad, and returns to TIFF this fall in Private Life, a French-language psychological mystery directed by Rebecca Zlotowski. The Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award, presented by Joanna Griffiths and the Women of Knix, is dedicated to women advancing equity and creativity in film. Past honorees include Michelle Yeoh and Cate Blanchett, making Foster’s recognition a rightful continuation of excellence.

HIKARI: TIFF Emerging Talent Award

Japanese writer-director HIKARI returns to TIFF with her second feature, Rental Family, starring Brendan Fraser. HIKARI previously broke out with 37 Seconds in 2019, which received the Panorama Audience Award at Berlinale. She’s since directed episodes of Tokyo Vice and Beef, and her work continues to spotlight hybrid cultural identities and nuanced emotional worlds. This year’s Emerging Talent Award, presented by Amazon MGM Studios, positions HIKARI among a growing list of international auteurs with breakout potential.

Lee Byung Hun: TIFF Special Tribute Award

With a career spanning Korean cinema, Hollywood blockbusters, and international acclaim, Lee Byung Hun receives the TIFF Special Tribute Award. He’ll attend the festival with No Other Choice, his second collaboration with Park Chan-wook, screening as a Gala Presentation. From Squid Game to A Bittersweet Life, Lee has long represented the global face of South Korean acting excellence. This award recognizes artists whose careers have reshaped cinema on a global scale.

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Brendan Fraser: TIFF Honorary Chair

Brendan Fraser returns to TIFF in 2025 as Honorary Chair, marking another milestone in his celebrated comeback. Fraser won the 2022 TIFF Tribute Performer Award for The Whale, a role that earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor and reignited global acclaim for his emotionally raw performance.

This year, Fraser stars in Rental Family, the latest film from 37 Seconds director HIKARI, which premieres as a Gala Presentation. He also appears as Dwight D. Eisenhower in the upcoming historical drama Pressure and lends his voice to Breaking Bear, a new adult animated series debuting on Tubi in 2026.

His return as Honorary Chair not only reflects TIFF’s continued recognition of Fraser’s artistic evolution, but also celebrates his longstanding connection to the festival as a performer and now as an ambassador.

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:

Celebrating 50 Years of TIFF

This year marks the 50th edition of TIFF, presented by Rogers. As the festival prepares for its September 4–14 run, the Tribute Awards signal the start of awards season and a celebration of global cinema’s past, present, and future. Rolex joins this year as the exclusive Presenting Partner of the 2025 Tribute Awards, with support from RBC, Don Julio, and Fairmont Royal York.