Streep shines at the first Tribute Gala
The evening gave guests a rare chance to dine with Hollywood notables and rising film stars
Meryl Streep serenaded the room with a Joni Mitchell tribute, sweetly warbling “Oh Can-a-daa,” as she accepted an acting award Monday night at the inaugural TIFF Tribute Gala at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.
Streep, at the Toronto International Film Festival for the North American premiere of director Steven Soderbergh’s The Laundromat, referenced Mitchell’s much-loved classic “A Case of You,” before cracking a joke about the Jumbotron-sized screens flanking the stage.
She then turned serious, urging the audience to be mindful, explaining for the past decade she has chosen the roles she takes on by asking herself, “Does this help or does this hurt?”
Streep set the tone for the first Tribute Gala: a mix of humour and serious reflection from stars and filmmakers about what inspires their work.
The evening gave some 500 guests a rare chance to sit down to supper with Hollywood notables and rising stars in a room dotted with celebrities, moviemakers and industry luminaries. They dined on arugula and buffalo mozzarella salad, coffee-rubbed beef tenderloin and a three-tiered dessert platter filled with fancy sweets.
The clink of silverware on china was occasionally annoying as people spoke and it was hard to get a good view of the podium from tables like mine at the far side of the room but, as Streep pointed out, the big screens made it easy to see the stars close up.
My dinner tablemates included Frankie director Ira Sachs and that film’s star, celebrated French actress Isabelle Huppert, along with up-and-coming French filmmaker Mati Diop, who was presented with the TIFF Mary Pickford Award for an emerging female talent in the film industry.
New Zealand actor-director Taika Waititi, at TIFF with satirical comedy Jojo Rabbit, was at the table beside me. Later, he accepted the TIFF Ebert Director Award — named for the legendary late film critic Roger Ebert — in typical humour, with a bizarrely entertaining, off-the-cuff speech.
The six tribute recipients were chosen by TIFF.
All of them have films at the festival, which continues until Sept. 15. With so
many A-listers in town and dozens of films screening daily from morning to midnight, the ongoing festival buzz added to the proceedings. Would some of these acceptance speeches be repeated during awards season?
There’s Oscar talk around Joker star Joaquin Phoenix, who was also feted with a TIFF Tribute Actor Award. He drew a big laugh when he confessed he was puzzled about why he was getting the award and from whom. Not that it mattered. “I said: ‘I’m in. Let’s do it.’ ”
Presenters included Roma star Yalitza Aparicio, Oscarwinning director Guillermo del Toro and actor Willem Dafoe, at the festival with The Lighthouse. Recipients were introduced with a clip reel of their work.
Phoenix admitted he felt emotional while watching the scenes from his films. They reminded him of the debt he owed to people who helped him build his craft and career. Among them was his older brother, the late actor River Phoenix. He said River brought home a video of Raging Bull and made his younger sibling watch it repeatedly, insisting it would inspire his return to acting. “He didn’t ask me, he told me,” Phoenix said. “And I am indebted to him for that because acting has given me such an incredible life.” Meanwhile, guests got a chance to see promising performers in the early stages of their careers, as Toronto’s Stephan James ( If Beale Street Could Talk) and TIFF Rising Stars alumni introduced this year’s crop of new Canadian and international talent being showcased during the festival.
British cinematographer Roger Deakins, whose latest film The Goldfinch premiered at TIFF, was modest as he received the TIFF Variety Artisan Award. The heavy statuette is a gold-coloured rectangle (there were a few jokes about its heft) in a shape inspired by the window of a projection booth.
As the evening kicked off, guests nibbled hors d’oeuvres and sipped pre-dinner cocktails, then crowded around the red carpet in the adjoining ballroom for stargazing. Streep was the one everyone wanted to see, but she and her Laundromatcostars Antonio Banderas and Gary Oldman — who also presented her award — were running late. They were busy doing introduction duties at the movie’s North American premiere.
Participant Media was honoured with the TIFF Impact Award for its dedication to making entertainment that inspires social change. Peyangki, the young Bhutanese monk featured in Participant’s TIFF documentary Sing Me A Song, posed for photographers.
Producer David Foster, subject of the documentary David Foster: Off the Record, which also premiered at TIFF Monday, proudly underlined his Canadian roots, then sat at the piano to play a few of his big hits originally recorded by Céline Dion and Whitney Houston.