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

with support from Blue Ant Media

$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


with support from imagineNATIVE

$2,500

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

The Roof

Alexander Bocchieri