Emma Donoghue donates $20K to imagineNATIVE

The Room author and screenwriter won the $20,000 as part of the Golden Box Office Award and promptly donated it to imagineNATIVE.

emma donoghue imaginenativeHot on the heels of Room‘s impressive nine-“Candy” haul on Sunday night, screenplay writer Emma Donoghue has donated $20,000 to imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival.

The Irish-Canadian author and screenwriter won the $20,000 as part of the Golden Box Office Award on Monday, and shortly after donated it to imagineNATIVE.

The donation is the largest single contribution in imagineNATIVE’s 17-year history. The money will go toward supporting the organization’s various programs, with a focus on imagineNATIVE’s mentorship and professional development programs.

The Golden Box Office Award is presented to the Canadian director or screenwriter of an English-language Canadian feature film with the highest domestic box-office sales. Donoghue was presented with the award at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto on Monday.

The news caps a busy few days for Donoghue, who won the Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards for Room, which is based on a novel of the same name which she also authored.

Pictured L to R: imagineNATIVE executive director Jason Ryle, Room screenwriter Emma Donoghue and community sponsorship Audrey Rochette at the Golden Box Office Awards. Photo credit: imagineNATIVE.