Upon accepting her Toronto International Film Festival Tribute Performer Award, Nightbitch star Amy Adams gave an emotional shoutout to her daughter in the audience.
“You make me not only a better mother, but a better person,” she said. “Every day you challenge me.”
The sweet words, spoken to her 14-year-old daughter Aviana, who made her official red carpet debut last night amid the world premiere of Nightbitch in TIFF, also coincided with the theme of Adams’ forthcoming feature, about a suburban stay-at-home mom at her wit’s end, who finds herself surely and bizarrely transforming into a canine.
The awardee added in her speech that the film is “about motherhood, about parenthood, about isolation, identity and transformation and relationships and community.”
“It is such an honor,” she continued. “I get to be here tonight with a wonderful team of collaborators.” The six-time Oscar nominee gave credit to Matthew Greenfield of Searchlight Pictures, along with her team of six “strong” female producers. She also gave a shoutout to “fearless novelist” Rachel Yoder, whose debut bestseller serves is the source material for the adaptation, co-star Mary Holland and director Marielle Heller.
“When I got this material, when I had the opportunity to read the book, there was no one else that I could envision bringing to life the material in the personal and thoughtful way that Marielle has done,” Adams continued. “Her talented tone, her bold approach gave me the courage to dive into this ferocious material. Marielle you challenge us with topics that seem taboo but are universal. You’re my kind of bitch, Marielle.”
Denis Villeneuve presented Adams, with whom he previously worked on the acclaimed sci-fi Arrival, with the honor.
Natalie Sitek contributed to this report.