List of Awards
We are excited to celebrate Indigenous achievement in film and media arts with generous support from our partners and individual donors. The imagineNATIVE Awards Presentation showcases the selection of exceptional works from each year’s Festival.
Recognizing and celebrating Indigenous works shows the world the talent our community has. It’s paramount we celebrate stories told from the First Peoples' point of view, not just stories from an outsider’s “first person” point of view.
I will never forget the first time I saw Qaggiq by Zacharias Kunuk, Norman Cohn, and Isuma in 1989. I had never seen anything like it before, never seen with such clarity what it is like to live in the North, never experienced a work that was made with a whole community’s involvement. These were unique voices and as I came to know more Indigenous works and more voices, it was clear they had to be brought into the spotlight. That is what awards do: they shine a light on artists we did not know before. Afterwards, we seek out their next work and tell others. Awards count.
2023 Awards
August Schellenberg Award of Excellence
with support from ACTRA National and Joan Karasevich
$2,500
Jennifer Podemski
Innovation in Storytelling Award
with support from Kent Monkman and the D.R. Sobey Foundation
$7,500
AYKUO
Ayaal Adamov
Animated Short Award
$2,500
Grape Soda in the Parking Lot
Megan Kyak-Monteith, Taqralik Partridge
Documentary Short Award
with support from Blue Ant Media
$2,500
Grape Soda in the Parking Lot
Megan Kyak-Monteith, Taqralik Partridge
Documentary Feature Award
with support from TVO
$5,000
Mamá
Xun Sero
Experimental Audio Award
with support from Meriläinen Müsic Inc.
$1,500
The River
Todd Karehana, Piata Gardiner-Hoskins
Narrative Audio Award
with support from Meriläinen Müsic Inc.
$1,500
Surviving St. Michael’s
Connie Walker
New Artist in Digital + Interactive Award
with support from imagineNATIVE
$1,000
Ancestors’ Gate
Steve Diabo
Digital + Interactive Award
Hill Agency: PURITYdecay
Meagan Byrne
Ełeghàà ; All At Once
Casey Koyczan
Indigenous Language Production Award
with support from the Indigenous Screen Office and Indigenous Media Initiatives
$7,500
The Bull of Cold
Alexander Moruo
New Voice in Storytelling Award
with support from Humber College and CJ Foundation in recognition of Jane Glassco
$5,000
Unborn Biru
Stefany Mendinueta
Sun Jury Award
with support from the Directors Guild of Canada
$2,500
Tautuktavuk (What We See)
Carol Kunnuk, Lucy Tulugarjuk
Moon Jury Award
with support from the Directors Guild of Canada
$2,500
Сu-Ckoo
Lindsay McIntyre
Live Action Short Award
with support from Vtape and Jason Ryle
$7,500
Nigiqtuq (The South Wind)
Lindsay McIntyre
Dramatic Feature Award
with support from Telefilm Canada
$7,500
Hey, Viktor!
Cody Lightning
Jeff Barnaby Award
with support from imagineNATIVE
$2,500
Unborn Biru
Inga Elin Marakatt
Audience Choice Feature Award
with support from Shutterstock
$2,500
Café Daughter
Shelley Niro
Audience Choice Short Award
with support from BMO
$2,500