Dionne Warwick and Danis Goulet are the latest additions to this year’s TIFF Tribute Awards at the Toronto International Film Festival. Warwick, who appears in the TIFF doc Don’t Make Me Over, will receive the Special Tribute Award. Goulet, whose dramatic feature Night Raiders screens as a Gala selection, will be honoured with the TIFF Emerging Talent Award, presented by L’Oréal Paris and supported by MGM. Warwick is a six-time Grammy winning music icon, while Goulet has nearly 20 years as a director under her belt, including the short film Wakening, which screened with TIFF’s 2013 opening night gala The Fifth Estate.
“We are excited to be announcing a music industry icon, alongside an exceptional emerging talent,” said Joana Vicente, TIFF executive director and co-head, in a statement from the festival. “A legend in her own right, Dionne Warwick has been charting firsts her entire career, a six-decade hitmaker with boundless talent, and a tireless activist for LGBTQ+ rights, and Danis Goulet is a visionary filmmaker, using film as a powerful vehicle for Indigenous storytelling and social change.”
“We are thrilled to celebrate Dionne Warwick’s extraordinary career and contributions with the Special Tribute Award and feature her inspiring and incredible story in the TIFF World Premiere of her documentary Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over,” added TIFF artistic director and co-head Cameron Bailey. “As an alumna of TIFF, we’re proud of Danis Goulet’s work and her film Night Raiders that she wrote and directed, staying true to her authentic voice and her passion for storytelling. She has an exciting future ahead and is paving a path for a new generation of filmmakers.” Goulet previously served as a member of TIFF’s programming team.
Warwick’s, directed by Dave Wooley, David Heilbroner, premieres in TIFF’s Special Presentations line-up, while Night Raiders makes its North American premiere in Toronto after bowing at Berlin. This year, the TIFF Tribute Awards broadcast will include the winners for the People’s Choice Awards and the Platform Prize – a first for the festival as it continues to make events more accessible to the public. Previously announced TIFF Tribute Award honourees for this year’s ceremony include Alanis Obomsawin, Denis Villeneuve, and Jessica Chastain.