The 2017 Toronto International Film Festival (held September 8–18) will see the world premiere of “Empire of Light,” and Mendes will receive the festival’s Ebert Director Award. Martin Scorsese, Claire Denis, Ava DuVernay, Wim Wenders, and the late Agnès Varda are some previous honorees. In 1999, Mendes made his TIFF directing debut with “American Beauty.” At the 72nd Academy Awards, Mendes and “American Beauty” secured eight nominations with five victories, including Best Picture and Best Director.
“Director Sam Mendes brought his meticulous and lyrical vision of the film to Toronto from his first appearance at TIFF with ‘American Beauty,’” stated TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey in the announcement of the Ebert Director Award. We are honoured to present him with this year’s TIFF Ebert Director Award in recognition of his distinctive voice and body of work.
Mendes and co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns’ war epic “1917” received the filmmaker nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay at the 92nd Academy Awards in 2020. In every category, Mendes came in second to Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite.” The first film solely written and directed by Mendes is “Empire of Light.” For the occasion, he works with Oscar-winning director of photography Roger Deakins once more. Prior to this, the two worked together on “1917” and “Skyfall.”
The “Empire of Light” premieres on December 9. the trailer is below:
