Veteran Canadian producer Bonnie Thompson has been named this year’s recipient of Hot Docs’ Don Haig Award, the documentary festival announced on Tuesday (May 2).

The award honours a Canadian independent producer with a feature-length film at that year’s festival who has an outstanding track record of mentoring emerging Canadian filmmakers and has demonstrated an enduring creative vision and spirit of entrepreneurship.

A jury of independent filmmakers determines the recipient of the award, which comes with a $5,000 prize.

Thompson (pictured) has more than three decades in the Canadian media industry. Initially joining the Edmonton-based Northwest Studio of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) in 1987 as a marketing manager, she subsequently moved up to the roles of associate producer and then producer. Her credits include award-winning feature documentaries such as Gary Burns and Jim Brown’s Radiant City and Alethea Arnaquq-Baril’s Angry Inuk.

After 30-plus years at the NFB, Thompson struck out on her own in 2018 with the independent shingle Dreaming Bird Productions, which is behind the world-premiering feature Echo of Everything at Hot Docs.

“As a producer, it’s been a privilege to experience incredibly diverse worlds and communities and help bring these stories to screens for audiences,” said Thompson in a statement. “It’s especially meaningful to have worked again with filmmaker Cam Christiansen, who has created a striking documentary of stunning images and emotional power in Echo of Everything.”

Previous recipients of the award include Mila Aung-Thwin, Lalita Krishna and Bob Moore.

This story originally appeared in Realscreen

Image courtesy of Hot Docs