Jessica Chastain to Receive TIFF Tribute Actor Award

Oscar-nominated actress Jessica Chastain will receive the TIFF Tribute Actor Award at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival. 

The TIFF Tribute Awards honor will be given to Chastain as her latest movie, „The Eyes of Tammy Faye”, the Tammy Faye Bakker biopic from Fox Searchlight, receives a world premiere during TIFF’s 46th edition.

“Jessica has brought to life such strong and inspiring roles for women, from the films that have screened at TIFF such as „The Debt”, „Take Shelter”, „The Martian”, „Crimson Peak” and „Molly’s Game” to the upcoming world premiere of „The Eyes of Tammy Faye” at the festival — she is one of the most respected actors of her generation,”

– Joana Vicente, executive director and co-head of TIFF, said in a statement on Thursday.

Chastain’s latest project, “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” chronicles the extraordinary rise, fall, and redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker. In the 1970s and ‘80s, Tammy Faye and her husband, Jim Bakker, rose from humble beginnings to create the world’s largest religious broadcasting network and theme park and were celebrated for their message of love, acceptance, and prosperity.

It was not long before financial problems, scheming rivals and scandal toppled their carefully constructed empire. Chastain stars as the televangelist, while Andrew Garfield portrays Bakker.

While Faye was noted for her singing and her embrace of people from all walks of life — most notably her work with the LGBTQ+ community during the height of the AIDS crisis — the couple’s empire fell following the revelation of financial improprieties and a rape allegation leveled against Bakker.

Previous recipients of the TIFF Tribute Actor Award include Meryl Streep, Joaquin Phoenix, Kate Winslet, and Sir Anthony Hopkins. TIFF recently announced that award-winning documentary filmmaker, writer, singer, and activist Alanis Obomsawin will be honored with the Jeff Skoll Award in impact media this year, and French Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve will receive the Ebert Director Award.

Additional TIFF Tribute Award recipients will be announced in the coming weeks. In 2015, the actress filmed Ridley Scott’s “The Martian” in Hungary, which earned the cast seven Oscar nominations.

The Toronto Film Festival is set to run from Sept. 9 to 18.

Source: HollywoodReporter, Variety