Cate Blanchett thanked Knix, the underwear maker, for sponsoring her TIFF Tribute Award on Sunday night time, which was ironic as a result of the Elizabeth and Carol actress apparently went bottomless to the glittering competition occasion.

“I’m not truly carrying any underwear,” Blanchett revealed, jokingly or not, whereas carrying an extended social gathering gown on stage on the Royal York Lodge. “As Michelle Obama says, after I go low, you go excessive,” she added throughout a freestyle acceptance speech with out using a teleprompter or her cellphone.

On a extra severe observe, Blanchett paid tribute to fellow girls actors. “We have now to maintain asking questions that open locked doorways and understanding our price – our price creatively in addition to financially – as better inclusivity on our units results in much less homogenous and extra vibrant storytelling,” she mentioned.

“I believe homogeneity is the enemy of the whole lot we make,” Blanchett, additionally the star of Tár and Blue Jasmine, added. Blanchett’s tribute award coincides with the Oscar winner starring in Canadian director Man Maddin’s Rumors, which has a North American premiere in Toronto, and Alfonso Cuarón’s Disclaimer, a TV sequence screening as a part of TIFF’s Primetime program.

The gala dinner fundraiser for TIFF’s philanthropic efforts — and an occasional harbinger of Oscar recognition — is held annually at Fairmont Royal York Lodge. Among the many different passionate tributes on Sunday night time, Angelina Jolie obtained the TIFF Tribute Award in Affect Media whereas bringing her newest movie, With out Blood, to Toronto for a world premiere.

And whereas introducing Jolie, Salma Hayek Pinault admitted to stage fright. “I’m so emotional, and it’s not even my award,” the With out Blood star mentioned earlier than heaping reward on Jolie. When accepting her award, Jolie lamented not doing sufficient to guard human rights worldwide, whereas searching for unity by means of her movies and artwork.

“In a world stuffed with damaged commitments, it typically appears that energy and management and enterprise matter greater than defending the delicate cloth of human rights,” Jolie, who in addition to making movies about struggle lately has additionally been a longtime human rights activist, mentioned. Jolie on Sunday additionally launched a non-public screening of Netflix’s Maria, by which she stars as opera legend Maria Callas, after a world premiere in Venice.

Oscar-nominated actor Amy Adams was overcome with emotion when selecting up the TIFF Tribute Performer Award after being launched by Arrival director Denis Villeneuve, a local French speaker who talked up his improved use of the English language when bringing her on stage. In addition to thanking Villeneuve for being at her aspect on stage, Adams gave a call-out to her daughter Aviana, 14, for attending her first ever awards present the place her mom figured among the many trophy winners.

“I’m actually honored to be right here tonight among the many activist, the artists and the visionaries who’ve impressed me, each on display and off, for I’m not going to say how lengthy, however for a very long time,” Adams added from the Royal York Lodge stage.

Emmy-winning actor Jharrel Jerome, at TIFF together with his newest film, Unstoppable, picked up a TIFF Tribute Award. “This story is one thing I’ve believed in, and I needed to see it by means of, and bro have a look at us now,” Jerome informed filmmaker William Goldenberg, a veteran editor making his directorial debut, with whom he labored for 5 years to get Unstoppable made.

Zhao Tao, who obtained a particular tribute award partly as a longtime performing muse for Chinese language auteur Jia Zhangke’, informed the awards fest her honor was well timed. “TIFF is giving me encouragement after I wanted it most. Because of Toronto on your generosity.” Tao mentioned. Proceeds from the Tribute Awards go in direction of the competition’s TIFF Each Story Fund, which inspires range, fairness and inclusion in filmmaking.

Viggo Mortensen helped introduce David Cronenberg to simply accept the Norman Jewison Profession Achievement Award, and whereas doing so decried the Canadian director for by no means being nominated, a lot much less profitable an Academy Award for his physique of labor. “That’s really outstanding and to me an astounding reality, however I don’t assume he cares a lot about that,” Mortensen mentioned of Cronenberg’s Oscar ambitions.

Cronenberg is at TIFF this 12 months for the North American premiere of his newest movie, The Shrouds, which bowed in Cannes.  “Simply need to let you understand, I believe I ought to inform you, I’m precisely the identical age as Joe Biden,” he revealed.

Elsewhere, Canadian director Durga Chew-Bose accepted the TIFF Rising Expertise Award. She delivered to TIFF the Chloë Sevigny-starring adaptation of Françoise Sagan’s basic novel Bonjour Tristesse for a world premiere.

Chew-Bose famous that her father died two days earlier than she began capturing her film. “I used to be named after a woman in a film, and now I’ve made a film, one thing my father maybe all the time knew would occur,” she mentioned.

French songwriting and composing duo Camille Dalmais and Clément Ducol got here on stage on the Royal York Lodge to simply accept the TIFF Artisan Award for composing the soundtrack for Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez. And in one other poignant second, Ducol devoted his TIFF honor to his personal late father, who was additionally a composer, for giving his son “the inspiration whereas he was alive and large power after he was gone.”

Mike Leigh was toasted together with his personal Tribute Award as he returned to TIFF with the world premiere of Exhausting Truths. “This a triple particular honor. I’ve misplaced depend of the occasions I’ve been at TIFF. It’s a fantastic viewers competition, which is why I prefer it significantly,” Leigh mentioned.