Toronto Film Festival Dailies

Photo credit: Riccardo Vimercati

Cameron Bailey, CEO of TIFF, is delighted to announce that Academy award–winning actor, women’s rights activist, and entrepreneur Patricia Arquette will receive the TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award presented by Bulgari during the 48th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. Arquette is the final honouree to be announced ahead of the 2023 TIFF Tribute Awards, taking place Sunday, September 10 at Fairmont Royal York Hotel, presented by Bulgari.

The TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award, presented by Bulgari, recognizes a woman who is a leader in the film industry and has made a positive impact on women throughout their career. The award is inspired by TIFF’s Share Her Journey initiative, created to address gender parity in the film industry, to champion women at every stage of their creative journey, and to shine a spotlight on women creators making a significant difference in the industry. Academy award–winning actor Michelle Yeoh was honoured at last year’s Awards.

“We take great pride in recognizing Patricia Arquette’s remarkable contributions both in front of and behind the camera, as exemplified by the Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award and the premiere of her directorial debut, Gonzo Girl, at the Festival,” said Bailey. “Being one of Hollywood’s most audacious talents, Patricia consistently challenges conventions and elevates the discourse on salary equity for women through her influential platform.”

Her career has spanned genres and decades in film and television, from her breakout role in Tony Scott’s True Romance, to her memorable performances in Tim Burton’s Ed Wood, David Lynch’s Lost Highway, and Richard Linklater’s Boyhood. Arquette returns to the Festival with her directorial debut Gonzo Girl, starring Willem Dafoe and Camila Morrone, based on Cheryl Della Pietra’s semi-autobiographical novel chronicling her time as Hunter S. Thompson’s personal assistant.

The Tribute Awards gala is TIFF’s largest annual fundraiser, having raised $1.3 million in 2022, and is presented by Bulgari, sharing their commitment to arts and culture along with TIFF. This year, the Tribute Awards gala will support the Viola Desmond Cinema campaign, which was launched through the Every Story Fund in 2022. For more information, visit tiff.net/tribute.

TIFF Tribute Honourees at the 2023 Awards

Pedro Almodóvar, Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media presented by Participant
Patricia Arquette, TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award 
Colman Domingo, TIFF Tribute Performer Award 
Vicky Krieps, TIFF Tribute Performer Award
*Andy Lau, Special Tribute Award
Spike Lee, TIFF Ebert Director Award
Shawn Levy, Norman Jewison Career Achievement Award presented by The Budman Family
Carolina Markowicz, TIFF Emerging Talent Award presented by MGM Studios
Łukasz Żal, TIFF Variety Artisan Award

*Lau will be honoured in a special presentation on September 15 at Roy Thomson Hall.

The TIFF Tribute Awards have served as an awards-season bellwether, with past honourees such as Jessica Chastain, Roger Deakins, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Joaquin Phoenix, Taika Waititi, and Chloé Zhao going on to win awards on the international stage. The TIFF Tribute Awards honour the film industry’s outstanding contributors and their achievements, recognizing leading industry members, acting talent, directorial expertise, new talent, and a below-the-line artist and creator. 

Patricia Arquette bio
Patricia Arquette is a fourth-generation actor and first-time feature film director with Gonzo Girl, which will make its World Premiere at TIFF this year. She received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2015 for her work in Boyhood, the critically acclaimed, 12-year project from Richard Linklater, for which she also won the Golden Globe, BAFTA, SAG, New York Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics, and Independent Spirit awards.

Arquette has worked with a stellar list of directors, acting in critically acclaimed films including Sean Penn’s The Indian Runner, Tony Scott’s True Romance, Martin Scorsese’s Bringing Out the Dead, David Lynch’s Lost Highway, Tim Burton’s Ed Wood, John Madden’s Ethan Frome, David O. Russell’s Flirting With Disaster, and Michael Gondry’s Human Nature.

Arquette developed, produced, and currently stars in the half-hour dramedy High Desert for Apple TV+, along with the streamer’s recent, Emmy-nominated hit Severance from director Ben Stiller. Stiller previously directed Arquette in Showtime’s 2018 miniseries Escape at Dannemora, which won her the Golden Globe, SAG, and Critics’ Choice awards for Best Actress in a Limited Television Series. Other recent works include the critically acclaimed series The Act for Hulu, for which she won an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

The granddaughter of comedian Cliff Arquette (best known for his television personality “Charlie Weaver”), Arquette comes from a family ensconced in the entertainment industry. Her father was actor Lewis Arquette, and her siblings ― Rosanna, Richmond, David, and her late sister ― are all actors.

For images and more information, see tiff.net/press.