The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) has named four recipients of this year’s Special Awards for their impact on the Canadian film and television industry.

The awards will be presented on Nov. 5 at the West Coast DGC Awards Gala in Vancouver, where the winners of the DGC Awards for the film and television categories will also be announced. The DGC announced the nominees for the film categories in September, while the nominees for the television categories were announced in August.

Vancouver-raised director Sturla Gunnarsson (pictured) will receive the DGC’s Lifetime Achievement Award. With experience spanning more than 40 years, Gunnarsson has directed numerous features and acclaimed Canadian television series, including the CBC drama The Beachcombers, CBC’s Da Vinci’s Inquest, and the CBC and Pop TV sitcom Schitt’s Creek, among others. His films include Beowulf & Grendel and Rare Birds.

His work has received honours including an Emmy, Genie and Gemini Awards, a Prix Italia, and an Oscar nomination for best documentary feature for his 1981 documentary After the Axe. He has also been nominated for 11 DGC Awards, of which he has won seven.

B.C. filmmaker Allan Harmon will be given the Don Haldane Distinguished Service Award in honour of his 44-year career. He served as a director representative on the DGC BC executive board from 2010 to 2014. Harmon has worked across Canada and the U.S. and joined the national executive board after being elected as DGC BC chairman in 2014, a position he still holds.

Meanwhile, Cheryl Nex, president of Entertainment Partners Canada, will be named a DGC Honorary Life Member, and Brock Skretting, assistant director and Alberta DGC member, will be presented with the DGC Impact Award for his work in leadership and advocacy.

Nex began her career at Entertainment Partners in 1989, and became president in 2006. She has held numerous advisory roles and made a mark with industry policy efforts such as developing regulations for the employment of children in the film and television industry in British Columbia; advocacy for federal and provincial tax credits; and efforts to change the way the government captures employment statistics to accurately reflect the industry.

Skretting helped lead the grassroots non-profit organization Keep Alberta Rolling, which showcases the benefits and potential of the Alberta screen industry and was instrumental in establishing the Alberta Film and Television Tax Credit.

Photo taken from Sturla Gunnarsson’s website