TORONTO, August 25, 2026 – The Toronto International Film Festival announced the final group of 2026 TIFF Tribute Awards honourees on August 25. Chinese actor and producer Fan Bingbing will receive the TIFF Special Tribute Award and will come to Toronto during this year’s festival with her new film, Diary of a Mad Old Man.
This year’s TIFF Tribute Awards gala will be held on September 13 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. In addition to Fan, Helen Mirren, Seth Rogen, Adam Pietkiewicz and Bassam Tariq will also receive different awards. Together with previously announced honourees including Penélope Cruz, Lee Chang-dong and Isabelle Huppert, this year’s main Tribute Awards lineup has now been fully revealed.
Fan will receive the Special Tribute Award in recognition of her years of work in Asian and international cinema. This year, Wayne Wang’s new film Diary of a Mad Old Man, in which Fan appears, has also been selected for TIFF’s Gala Presentations and will hold its world premiere in Toronto.
According to the current schedule, the film’s first screening will take place at 9:30 p.m. on September 18 at Roy Thomson Hall. A second screening is scheduled for the morning of September 20 at Scotiabank Theatre. Public ticket sales for general audiences will begin at noon on August 31.
The TIFF Tribute Awards are also one of the festival’s annual fundraising events. TIFF says proceeds from the gala will help expand public access to cinema, while supporting film talent development, industry growth and community programs. TIFF is also working with community organizations across the Greater Toronto Area to provide film screenings and cultural events for residents from different backgrounds.
The film industry is also an important part of Toronto’s cultural economy. According to the City of Toronto’s film sector planning documents released this year, film and television production in the city can generate up to $2.6 billion in direct spending each year and support about 40,000 related jobs. The City is also advancing its 2025–2030 screen industry development plan, with the goal of continuing to attract productions and train local film talent.
For Toronto’s Chinese-speaking audiences, this year’s festival offers not only Fan Bingbing’s TIFF Special Tribute Award recognition, but also the chance to see her new film during the festival. As TIFF approaches in September, more screenings, red carpet events and public programs are expected to follow.（LJI by Yuanyuan）
