Michele Maheux Announced as Winner of the 2019 Technicolor Clyde Gilmour Award

The Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) is pleased to announce long-serving unsung hero of the Toronto International Film Festival, Michèle Maheux, as the recipient of this year's Technicolor Clyde Gilmour Award.

The TFCA thanks Technicolor Creative Services for enabling the Technicolor Clyde Gilmour Award recipient to give $50,000 in services to a filmmaker of their choosing. Maheux will announce her designate in the days to come.

"This is very humbling for me as you all have been such a huge part of my career," the former TIFF Publicist, Festival Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director said in response to the news.

In 2018, the woman who has been called "the engine that kept TIFF running," announced her departure after 30 years, staying for one last festival this year to assist the executive team in its transition. An unparalleled image strategist, Maheux wore her passion for film on her sleeve, as was evident to anyone present at her many onstage TIFF film introductions. Her 40 years in the culture field have included work with the Canadian Film Institute library, and a key organizational role in the creation of the festival's jewel, the TIFF Bell Lightbox.

"After more than a generation of setting the tone for one of the world's great film festivals, it is exactly the right time to present Michèle with an award that recognizes one of the most stellar careers in Canada's film industry," said Peter Howell, President, TFCA. "Those of us who've seen her work up close know her as an in-house mentor at TIFF, and an invaluable friend to us in our work covering film, in every position she's held."

The Technicolor Clyde Gilmour Award recognizes a Canadian industry figure who has made a substantial and outstanding contribution to the advancement and/or history of Canadian cinema. This includes, but is not limited to, writers, directors, producers, distributors, actors, academics, cinematographers and technicians. Those who can viably be seen as forwarding Canadian cinema and culture through their work are eligible. In the spirit of the pay-it-forward nature of the award, the recipient names an emerging filmmaker to receive $50,000 in services from Technicolor Creative Services.

The Toronto Film Critics Association will announce the majority of its 2019 awards on December 9, 2019, including the Stella Artois Jay Scott Prize for an emerging artist, which carries a $10,000 cash prize and the RBC Emerging Critic Award, with a $1,000 cash prize. The TFCA will also name the three finalists for the coveted Rogers Best Canadian Film Award, by far Canada's richest film prize at $100,000, with $5,000 going to each of two runners-up. The winner will be announced at the 23rd annual TFCA Awards, a gala dinner held at The Omni King Edward Hotel Toronto on Thursday, January 9, 2020.

The TFCA is extremely grateful to founding sponsor Rogers Communications for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award, to returning sponsors Labatt's for the Stella Artois Jay Scott Prize for an emerging artist, to Technicolor for the Technicolor Clyde Gilmour Award, and to Cineplex Entertainment for the Cineplex cocktail reception. The TFCA thanks Air Canada as the official airline sponsor and RBC for the Emerging Critic Award. The TFCA also thanks champagne sponsor Perrier-Jouët, The Globe and Mail, Zoomer Magazine and TAXI Toronto.

Under the TFCA's guidelines, contenders eligible for the awards include films released in Toronto in 2018 as well as films that qualify for the 2019 Academy Awards and have a Toronto release scheduled by the end of February 2019.

The Toronto Film Critics Association was established in 1997 and is comprised of Toronto-based journalists and broadcasters who specialize in film criticism and commentary. All major dailies, weeklies and a variety of other print, electronic and web outlets are represented. Members of the TFCA also participate in the Federation of International Film Critics (FIPRESCI). As such, they have sat on juries at festivals in Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto, Montreal, Miami, Palm Springs, Chicago, Pusan, Moscow, Amsterdam, London and Vienna, among others.

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