Colman Domingo

Source: Paul Romo

Colman Domingo

Toronto International Film festival (TIFF) will present Colman Domingo with the TIFF Tribute Performer Award on September 10.

The award “recognizes an overall body of exceptional work” and is one of seven being handed out at the fifth annual TIFF Tribute Awards gala at Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

In light of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, now in its 46th day, TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey has told Screen that following conversations with SAG-AFTRA, actor tributees will be allowed discuss the body of their work on stage but not latest films by struck companies.

Domingo’s new film Sing Sing from Black Bear Pictures will get its world premiere at TIFF and is about a prison theatre troupe that puts on a play and based on the actual arts rehabilitation programme established at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Greg Kwedar directed and Black Bear-backed Elevation Pictures will distribute the drama in Canada.

Domingo’s career spans more than 30 years and includes Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Lincoln, Fear The Walking Dead, Candyman, and Netflix’s awards season hopeful Rustin, which will play TIFF after premiering at Telluride this week.

Among prior recipients of the TIFF Tribute Performer Award are Brendan Fraser and the ensemble cast of My Policeman in 2022; Jessica Chastain and Benedict Cumberbatch in 2021; and Kate Winslet and Anthony Hopkins in 2020.

“Colman Domingo’s performances are a masterclass in the art of storytelling,” said TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey. “Domingo’s presence, on stage and on screen, is a gift to audiences, and his work continues to resonate, leaving an indelible impact. He is a true visionary in the world of performance, and we’re excited to honour him this year.”

This year’s TIFF Tribute Award honourees are: Domingo, Andy Lau for the Special Tribute Award; Carolina Markowicz, for the TIFF Emerging Talent Award; Lukasz Zal for the TIFF Variety Artisan Award; Shawn Levy for the Norman Jewison Career Achievement Award; Pedro Almodóvar for the Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media; and Spike Lee for the TIFF Ebert Director Award.

The Tribute Awards gala raised $1.3m in 2022 and this year will support the Viola Desmond Cinema campaign, which launched through the Every Story Fund in 2022.