From a media release:
The Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) is proud to announce this year’s exciting lineup of the Rockies Gala recipients. The intimate and glitzy in-person awards show will take place at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada on Tuesday, June 13th at 6:30pm MT.
Hosting the Festival’s flagship honours is actor, singer, musician and comedian Craig Robinson. Executive Producer and star of Peacock’s Killing It, Robinson is best known for his portrayal of ‘Darryl Philbin’ in The Office and has starred in films including Knocked Up, This is the End, Hot Tub Time Machine, Hot Tub Time Machine 2, Morris from America, Tragedy Girls, Dolemite is my Name!, Timmy Failure, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, Songbird, and The Bad Guys. He also starred in his own sitcom, Mr. Robinson, as well as Ghosted and hosted The Masked Dancer. Headlining venues and festivals across the country, Robinson does both solo acts and full sets with his band, “The Nasty Delicious.”
Rockies Gala Awards to be bestowed include:
INCLUSION AWARD: Garcelle Beauvais (The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills)
Presented by A+E Networks, the Inclusion Award recognizes an individual whose efforts and vision in media champion and reflect the diversity of the world in which we live.
Past honourees include: Danielle Brooks, LeVar Burton, Jonathan Murray, Elizabeth Vargas and Vivica A. Fox.
CAREER ACHIEVEMENT: Alanis Obomsawin (Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, Rocks at Whiskey Trench, The People of the Kattawapiskak River)
The Career Achievement award recognizes the extraordinary career of someone that has had a significant impact on the screen-based industries.
Past honourees include: Dan Rather, Christine Baranski, Larry King, Ed Asner, William Shatner, James Burrows and David Attenborough.
IMPACT AWARD: Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, World of Wonder
Presented by The Hollywood Reporter, this award is bestowed annually to an individual or group that has made a significant and impactful contribution to screen-based entertainment.
Past honourees include: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Shore, accepting on behalf of The Good Doctor; Anthony Anderson, accepting on behalf of black-ish; Justin Simien accepting on behalf of Dear White People, and Bela Bajaria.
INNOVATIVE PRODUCER AWARD: Sphere Media
Presented by Lionsgate, the Innovative Producer Award recognizes the entrepreneurial excellence and achievements of an independent producer in TV/digital media.
Past honourees include: Sinking Ship Entertainment, Wattpad Studios, Scott Brothers Entertainment, New Metric Media, Wolf + Rabbit, Don Carmody, marblemedia and Eagle Vision.
AWARD OF EXCELLENCE: Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters, Catastrophe)
Presented by Variety, The Award of Excellence acknowledges exceptional achievement through a body of work over an extended period of time.
Past honourees include: Paul Feig, Jeremy Podeswa, Kenny Ortega, Eugene Levy, Carol Mendelsohn and David E. Kelley.
Separately, the coveted CREATIVE VOICE AWARD which is bestowed on an executive or creative talent that has created outstanding work that breaks through, inspiring and connecting global audiences will be presented virtually to Jennifer Podemski (Future History, Little Bird, Empire of Dirt, above) on Sunday June 11th as part of this year’s prestigious Indigenous Screen Summit, which honours and celebrates the talents and contributions of First Nations, Inuit and Métis storytellers and creators within the screen industries.
Additional awards to be presented at the Rockies Gala ceremony in person on Tuesday June 13th include:
SIR PETER USTINOV COMEDY AWARD: The award recognizes a creative talent who has made an outstanding comedic contribution to the media industry.
Past honourees include: Kenan Thompson, Sean Hayes, John Cleese, Tracey Ullman, Bob Newhart, Tantoo Cardinal, John Candy, Bill Hader and Ana Gasteyer.
PROGRAM OF THE YEAR: The Program of the Year award is presented to an outstanding, acclaimed, ground-breaking, and/or highly rated program from within the last calendar year that not only has earned critical and audience success, but which also is provocative and has made an impact beyond the entertainment industry.
Past recipients include: It’s a Sin, This is Us, Handmaid’s Tale, Making a Murderer and Surviving R. Kelly.
GRAND JURY PRIZE: The Grand Jury Prize is chosen by the esteemed Rockie Awards International Program Competition Grand Jury, including: Mo Abudu (CEO, EbonyLife Media), Alice Dickens-Koblin (SVP, Head of Unscripted Programming, Starz), Peter Gal (Chief Creative Officer, Television, DreamWorks Animation), Cynthia Kennedy (VP, Distribution, Incendo & Quebecor Content), Mark Linsey (Managing Director, Scripted, BBC Studios), Jacqueline Sacerio (EVP, Co-Head of Scripted Development, eOne), Beatrice Springborn (President, UCP & Universal International Studios). The Grand Jury’s deliberations focus on the highest scoring projects as scored by the global jury, comprising more than 150 senior industry professionals. Past recipients of the Grand Jury Prize include: I May Destroy You, Fleabag, Big Little Lies, Planet Earth II, Sharp Objects and Help.
In addition, the Rockie Awards International Program Competition, featuring 141 nominees from 29 countries across 27 categories, will take place the evening before the Rockies Gala on Monday June 12th at 5:30pm MT. This year’s competition will be co-hosted by Crystle Lightning and MC RedCloud.
