News TIFF Announces Their First Four Tribute Award Honorees for 2025

This morning, the Toronto International Film Festival began announcing their first group who will be receiving TIFF Tribute Awards this year. For 2025, Brendan Fraser will serve as the Honorary Chair. As for the honorees Guillermo del Toro will receive the TIFF Ebert Director Award, Jodie Foster will receive the TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award, HIKARI will receive the TIFF Emerging Talent Award, and Lee Byung Hun is the recipient of a TIFF Special Tribute Award. You can find out more below.

Brendan Fraser announced as Honorary Chair for the annual awards gala taking place on Sunday, September 7Rolex signs on as the exclusive Presenting Partner of this year’s Tribute AwardsA series of black and white portrait photographs showing five people in casual attire against neutral backgrounds.

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.

TORONTO – 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.”