List of Awards

We are excited to celebrate Indigenous achievement in film + 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.

Cynthia Lickers-Sage, imagineNATIVE Co-Founder

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.

Lisa Steele, Founder and Artistic Director, Vtape

2022 AWARD WINNERS

Innovation in Storytelling Award

with support from Kent Monkman and Sobeys
$7,500

The Original Shareholder Experience

Petyr Xyst

Animated Short Award

with support from Blue Ant Media
$2,500

SEK BUY

William Cayapur Delgado

Documentary Short Award

with support from TVO
$5,000

First Time Home

Noemi Librado-Sanchez, Esmirna Librado, Esmeralda Ventura, Heriberto Ventura

Documentary Feature Award

with support from CBC
$5,000

Šaamšiǩ – Great Grandmothers Hat

Anstein Mikkelsen, Harry Johansen

Narrative Audio Award

$7,500

Stolen: The Search for Jermain

Connie Walker

New Artist in Digital + Interactive

Award

with support from Indigenous Screen Office

$2,000

Mikiwam

Keara & Caeleigh Lightning

Digital + Interactive Award

with support from Indigenous Screen Office

$2,500

This is Not a Ceremony

Colin Van Loon

Indigenous Language Production Awards

with support from Indigenous Media Initiatives and Cineplex
$7,500

Məca

Ritchie Norman Hemphill

New Voice in Storytelling Award

with support from Humber College
$2,500

Proowa (Yucca)

Stefany Mendinueta

Sun Jury Award

with support from DGC
$2,500

Night

Ahmad Saleh

Moon Jury Award

with support from DGC
$2,500

Kikino Kids

Barry Bilinsky

Live Action Short Award

with support from Vtape and Jason Ryle
$7,500

Rose

Roxann Karonhiarokwas Whitebean

Dramatic Feature Award

with support from Telefilm Canada
$7,500

We Are Still Here

Danielle MacLean, Beck Cole, Richard Curtis, Chantelle Burgoyne, Tracey Rigney, Dena Curtis, Tim Worrall, Renae Maihi, Miki Magasiva, Mario Gaoa

The August Schellenberg Award of Excellence

with support from ACTRA
$2,500

Gary Farmer

Experimental Audio Award