Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi is set to receive the Ebert Director Award at this year’s Toronto Film Festival in September.
Waititi will already be at TIFF this year to debut his upcoming film, Jojo Rabbit, an anti-hate satire in which the director will be portraying a version of Adolf Hitler who appears as the imaginary friend of a young boy. The film starring Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Rebel Wilson, Stephen Merchant, Alfie Allen, Sam Rockwell, and Scarlett Johansson will be released by Fox Searchlight on October 18, 2019.
The Ebert Director Award recognises and honours a filmmaker who have made “outstanding contributions to cinema,” and will be given to Waititi on September 9th during the TIFF Tribute Gala awards event.
“Taika Waititi is the rock star cinema needs right now,” said Toronto artistic director and co-head Cameron Bailey. “His films are full of razor-sharp humour, faultless style and boundless generosity.”
Waititi’s writer-director credits include comedies such as Boy and Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and What We Do in the Shadows with Jemaine Clement. Ultimately, these films paved the way for him to write and direct Thor: Ragnarok for Marvel Studios, in which he rebooted the Thor franchise with his over-the-top comedic style, breathing a sense of fresh air into the character.
During Marvel Studios’ Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic-Con last month, Kevin Feige confirmed Waititi would return to Marvel Studios to direct the fourth film in the Thor franchise, Thor: Love and Thunder. The film which will feature the return of Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster, who will take on the role of Mighty Thor.
TIFF earlier announced that Meryl Streep will receive the TIFF Tribute Actor Award, and Participant Media will receive the TIFF Impact Award, to be accepted by founder and chairman Jeff Skoll and CEO David Linde.
The Toronto Film Festival is set to run 5th – 15th September 2019.
