The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is returning its annual Tribute Awards to its original in-person gala fundraiser event after two years of broadcasts on CTV.

The format change was announced Monday (Aug. 8), with the main cast of the world premiere film My Policeman set to receive the first-ever TIFF Tribute Award for Performance, which replaces the Actor Award as a gender-neutral category.

The ensemble cast, which includes Harry Styles, Emma Corrin, Rupert Everett, Gina McKee, Linus Roache and David Dawson, is one of two winners to be selected for the category.

The TIFF Tribute Awards were established in 2019 as a star-studded gala ceremony, with Meryl Streep, Joaquin Phoenix, Taika Waititi and David Foster among the inaugural honourees.

They were reimagined as an awards ceremony broadcast in 2020 when the festival went virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic, produced by Bell Media Studios. Last year’s broadcast was a hybrid affair, with some pre-recorded elements as well as live portions featuring masked attendees at an in-person gathering. This year’s awards show will not be broadcast, Playback understands.

The fourth annual TIFF Tribute Awards will take place on Sept. 11 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, with additional honourees to be announced at a later date. The 47th edition of TIFF runs from Sept. 8 to 18.

The awards have helped further establish TIFF as an awards buzz builder and “awards-season bellwether,” according to a news release, with previous winners such as Phoenix, Waititi, Jessica Chastain, Roger Deakins, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Chloé Zhao going on to Oscar glory.

Image courtesy of TIFF