The Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) has named Alanis Obomsawin and Sphere Media among its 2023 Rockies Gala recipients.

The festival announced the first of its gala honourees on Thursday (May 25), who will be recognized in-person on June 13 at the festival in Banff, Alta. The event will be hosted by comedian Craig Robinson (The Office, Hot Tub Time Machine).

Other recipients include World of Wonder’s Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters) and Garcelle Beauvais (The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills).

Additionally, Anishinaabe and Ashkenazi filmmaker Jennifer Podemski (Little Bird) will receive the Creative Voice Award, which will be presented virtually on June 11 during the Indigenous Screen Summit.

Prolific Abekani filmmaker Obomsawin will receive the Career Achievement award, which recognizes an individual who has made a significant contribution to the screen industry in their lifetime. Past recipients include Dan Rather, Christine Baranski and Larry King.

Obomsawin has created more than 50 works with the National Film Board of Canada, including the 1994 documentary Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, about the Oka Crisis in Quebec.

Montreal- and Toronto-based prodco Sphere Media, led by CEO Bruno Dubé, will be honoured with the Innovative Producer Award, which “recognizes the entrepreneurial excellence and achievements” of an indie producer. Recent recipients are Eagle Vision, Sinking Ship Entertainment and Wattpad Studios. Sphere Media has produced award-winning Canadian dramas and comedies, including CBC’s Sort Of and The Porter and CTV’s Transplant.

The Award of Excellence will be given to multi-hyphenate talent Horgan to honour her body of work, including Prime Video’s Catastrophe and Apple TV+’s Bad Sisters, both of which she co-created, starred in and executive produced. Past recipients include Paul Feig, Jeremy Podeswa and Eugene Levy.

Horgan is also slated as a Summit Series keynote speaker at the festival.

World of Wonder co-founders Bailey and Barbato will receive the Impact Award, given to an individual or group that has made an “impactful contribution to screen-based entertainment.” The production company is behind the Drag Race reality franchise, which has expanded in multiple countries and regions, including Canada. Recent recipients include Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria and Justin Simien for the Netflix series Dear White People.

The Inclusion Award will be presented to Beauvais of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. The honour recognizes an individual’s achievements in championing diversity in media, and with past recipients including Vivica A. Fox, Danielle Brooks and LeVar Burton.

Additional awards to be announced for the Rockies Gala include the Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award, the Grand Jury Prize, and Program of the Year.

BANFF runs from June 11 to 14. The winners of the Rockie Awards International Program Competition will be announced on June 12 in a ceremony co-hosted by Crystle Lightning and MC RedCloud.

Pictured (L-R): Alanis Obamsawin, Bruno Dubé, Fenton Bailey (top), Randy Barbato, Sharon Horgan and Garcelle Beauvais (bottom)