Gary Farmer Honoured by imagineNATIVE
by Staff Editors
(September 28, 2022 – Toronto, ON) The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival has announced that actor and musician Gary Farmer will receive the 2022 August Schellenberg Award of Excellence, supported by ACTRA National, a generous donation from Joan Karasevich Schellenberg, and individual donors.
The August Schellenberg Award of Excellence (the “Augie”) is an annual prize that recognizes significant professional and personal achievement by an Indigenous actor, of any gender, from Turtle Island. Gary Farmer will receive his award at the imagineNATIVE Awards Presentation on Saturday, October 22, 2022 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Gary Farmer was born in Ohsweken, Ontario, into the Cayuga Nation and the Wolf Clan of the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois Confederacy. His career has spanned more than four decades and is widely recognized as a pioneer in the development of First Nations media in Canada. He is the founding director of the urban, Indian radio network Aboriginal Voices Radio Network. He has been nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards for Best Supporting Male.
Recent credits include Resident Alien, as a series regular, for NBC Universal/Syfy Network, Reservation Dogs for FX/Hulu and the independent films Cowboys, Border House Reach, First Cow, Blood Quantum, and The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw.
The August Schellenberg Award of Excellence was launched in partnership with Joan Karasevich Schellenberg to honour her late husband, actor August (Augie) Schellenberg, and the spirit of his work. This annual award is presented to gifted Indigenous actors based on the longevity and impact of their careers, as well as their professionalism and involvement in mentorship and community work. Past Augie recipients include Tantoo Cardinal in 2015, Tom Jackson in 2016, Tina Keeper in 2017, Michael Greyeyes in 2018, Michelle Thrush in 2019, Lorne Cardinal in 2020, and Dr. Shirley Cheechoo in 2021.
The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is the world’s largest Indigenous festival showcasing film, video, audio, and digital + interactive media made by Indigenous screen-content creators. The Festival presents compelling and distinctive works from Canada and around the globe, reflecting the diversity of Indigenous nations and illustrating the vitality and dynamism of Indigenous arts, perspectives, and cultures in contemporary media.
Also see: Gary Farmer’s filmography.
SOURCE: imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
