# Helen Mirren's toast to two farm girls

> At TIFF's Tribute Awards, Helen Mirren turned a trophy into a thank-you note to Dolly Parton and Gloria Steinem.
- Title: Helen Mirren's toast to two farm girls · Vanity Fair
- Summary: At TIFF's Tribute Awards, Helen Mirren turned a trophy into a thank-you note to Dolly Parton and Gloria Steinem. Culture changes when someone refuses to…
- Keywords: tiff, helen mirren, awards season, film festivals, seth rogen, Helen, Mirren's, toast, two, farm, girls, Vanity Fair
- Source: Vanity Fair — https://vanityfair.com/story/tiff-tribute-awards-2026
- Author: John Ross
- Published: 2026-09-14T14:26:09.42+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: tiff, helen mirren, awards season, film festivals, seth rogen
## Ten honorees, one night
The eighth TIFF Tribute Awards filled the Fairmont Royal York on a Sunday, handing prizes to 10 industry names including Seth Rogen, Isabelle Huppert and Helen Mirren.
## A launchpad, not a victory lap
The ceremony doubles as a festival fundraiser and one of the first stops on the awards season trail. For Penelope Cruz and Lee Chang-dong, it may be the first speech of many.
## Rogen saw it coming
Accepting the Norman Jewison Career Achievement Award, Seth Rogen said the honor was not exactly a surprise, and he had the room laughing before he finished the sentence.

> As soon as I heard there was an award with the word Jew in the title, I knew it was gonna come my way one day.
## How he found indie film
Rogen credited a Canadian TV program, The Drambuie Showcase Revue, for his introduction to independent cinema, then admitted his teenage motive for watching had nothing to do with cinema.
## Lee let the lie ride
The Possible Love director, fresh off Venice's Grand Jury Prize, confessed he once let Bela Tarr believe he was the younger filmmaker on a TIFF jury. He is a year older.

> I didn't bother to correct him. I just pretended to be the younger filmmaker.
## Cruz made them guess
Cruz thanked five directors, then teased the crowd about the one still missing. The answer was obvious, and she said it anyway: Pedro Almodovar.

> You are really present in all of my decisions and everything I do in my life.
## What women couldn't do
Mirren set the scene from her early teens. No house of your own, no credit card of your own, no birth control unless you could prove a wedding was coming.

> You couldn't buy a house on your own if you're a woman.
## Two farm girls changed it
Mirren dedicated her Groundbreaker award to Dolly Parton and Gloria Steinem, who moved the culture in opposite styles and got the room to its feet.

> It is so hard to change culture, but these two women did it in their very different ways.
## Key takeaway

Culture changes when someone refuses to accept the rules they were handed, and humor works as well as anger.