Grammy Award–winning music icon and activist Dionne Warwick will be honored with the Special Tribute Award, and Night Raiders director and Saskatchewan-born Cree/Métis filmmaker Danis Goulet will receive this year’s TIFF Emerging Talent Award at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival.
Dave Wooley and David Heilbroner’s documentary Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over will have its World Premiere in the TIFF Docs program, and Goulet’s Night Raiders will screen as a Gala Presentation for its North American premiere during the Festival. Don’t Make Me Over is an inspiring documentary portrait that chronicles the iconic singer’s fascinating six-decade career in both music and Black and LGBTQ activism. Night Raiders is set in a post-apocalyptic future, where the state removes children from their families and trains them to be soldiers at a boarding school. The film will be released in theatres across Canada this fall.
“We are excited to be announcing a music industry icon, alongside an exceptional emerging talent,” said Joana Vicente, Executive Director and Co-Head, TIFF. “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 Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director and Co-Head, TIFF. “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.”
The 2021 TIFF Tribute Awards air on Saturday, September 18 at 7 pm ET / 8 pm AT on CTV, CTV.ca and the CTV app to Canadian audiences, on the final day of the 46th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. The show will be streamed to global audiences by Variety. This year, TIFF’s People’s Choice Award and the Platform Jury Prize will be announced live during the broadcast event.
The 46th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 9–18, 2021.