Kate Winslet & Anthony Hopkins dedicate their awards to front-line workers fighting COVID

This year's Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was heavily scaled back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All actors received their awards via virtual events and their speeches were prerecorded and premiered in an empty theatre as part of the TIFF event. This year, Kate Winslet and Anthony Hopkins were also honoured with awards. Both Kate and Anthony dedicated their accolades to the healthcare personnel and other frontline workers who were acting as the first line of defence during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Anthony Hopkins and Kate Winslet honour frontline workers during this year's TIFF Awards

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Dedicating Tribute Awards to frontline workers of the COVID-19 pandemic, actor Anthony Hopkins stated that his award was dedicated to all the first responders all over the world. Anthony Hopkins was not the only actor to honour the workers during this year's event. Even actor Kate Winslet paid respect to all the healthcare workers who were working tirelessly during the pandemic. 

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After receiving her Tribute Award, Kate Winslet stated that she felt very odd, as she did not feel like she deserved the accolade. Kate Winslet then mentioned that giving applause to anyone other than the frontline workers who were fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic was decidedly out of place. Both actors gave their acceptance speech in a prerecorded message, as they were unable to join the function in person due to the pandemic. 

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Moreover, this year's TIFF event was much smaller in scale. Only people who are from the city of Toronto are allowed to visit the event in person. Other safety measures have also been taken to prevent the spread of the virus. Kate Winslet also thanked the organisers of TIFF for continuing the event even during the pandemic. She praised the organisers for keeping the "poignancy of storytelling alive" with the powerful medium of film even during a global pandemic. 

Chloe Zhao and Mira Nair were two filmmakers who also won this year's TIFF Tribute Award. The Tribute Award is given to those who have distinguished achievements in the field of cinema. The TIFF event will end on September 21, 2020. 

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[Promo Source: @kate.winslet.official and @anthonyhopkins Instagram]