Banff World Media Festival draws Hollywood brass and Canadian creators
The 47-year-old industry gathering hosts 1,500 delegates at Fairmont Banff Springs this weekend, featuring Emmy winners and major studio executives.
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The Banff World Media Festival kicks off Sunday with roughly 1,500 industry delegates converging at Fairmont Banff Springs for four days of panel discussions, networking, and deal-making.
The festival brings together decision-makers and creative talent from major studios and networks including Warner Bros. Television, Netflix, CBC, Disney+, HBO, Amazon MGM Studios, TikTok, YouTube, Bell Media, Paramount, A+E Global Media, Roku, and AMC Networks.
Emmy winner Henry Winkler — the Happy Days icon now beloved for his Arrested Development and HBO's Barry roles, plus his viral fly-fishing posts — will be interviewed Monday afternoon by A&E's Sharon Scott.
Sunday's opening panel, Main Character Energy: Canadian Actors Made for the Global Stage, features Kim Coates (Sons of Anarchy), Jack Innanen (Netflix's Big Mistakes), Ksenia Daniela Kharlamova (Heated Rivalry), Anna Lambe (North of North), Jason Priestley (Beverly Hills 90210), and Supinder Wraich (Allegiance).
The Rockie Awards Gala on Tuesday honours Priestley with the Canadian Award of Distinction. Cree and Metis actress Tantoo Cardinal receives the Career Achievement Award for her 50-year career, including work in Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon. Comedian Ken Jeong (Community, The Masked Singer, The Hangover) receives the Sir Peter Ustinov Award. Mae Martin, creator of Netflix hits Wayward and Feel Good, receives the Creative Voice Award.
Succession showrunner Jesse Armstrong delivers Tuesday's keynote. Monday's Showrunner Superpanel features Cape Fear's Nick Antosca, The Pitt's R. Scott Gemmill, Beef's Lee Sung Jin, Damages' Glenn Kessler and Aaron Zelman, Spider Noir's Oren Uziele, and Every Year After's Amy B. Harris.
Full festival passes cost $1,895. Executive Jenn Kuzmyk emphasizes the festival's access advantage: "There is no better event in the world for someone starting in the industry to really get a foothold and understand how the industry works, who the players are — both here at home and around the world." The festival runs June 14–17.