The Toronto International Film Festival has unveiled its first batch of honorees for the 2026 TIFF Tribute Awards, locking in Penélope Cruz, Lee Chang-dong, Rosalind Eleazar, Siân Heder, and Isabelle Huppert for its annual star-studded gala. The event, which officially kicks off the fall awards circuit, is set to take place Sunday, Sept. 13 at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

Oscar winner Penélope Cruz will take home the Special Tribute Award during a packed year. On top of her 2026 releases, such as Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride! and Olivia Wilde’s The Invite, she arrives in Toronto with two festival premieres: Florian Zeller’s Bunker and Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s La Bola Negra. She also has Isabel Coixet’s The Days of Abandonment, and the thriller Day Drinker on her future slate.

On the acting front, the festival is honoring both established stars and rising talent with its Tribute Performer Awards. French icon Isabelle Huppert, a TIFF regular, will be celebrated as she brings Marc Fitoussi’s comedy All About Corinne to the Gala line-up. Meanwhile, Slow Horses standout Rosalind Eleazar earns a Performer nod following her turn opposite Chris Rock in Misty Green.

Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong will receive the Ebert Director Award as he heads to TIFF with his Special Presentations entry Possible Love. 

Rounding out the announced honorees is CODA director Siân Heder, who will receive the Tribute Award in Impact Media. Heder’s latest, the disability rights biopic Being Heumann starring Ruth Madeley and Mark Ruffalo, is slated as this year’s Opening Night Gala Presentation.

The Tribute Awards serve as TIFF’s primary annual fundraiser, generating funds for industry access initiatives and year-round community programming. Expect further honorees to be announced as festival organizers finalize the roster in the coming weeks.