Women in Film and Television-Toronto is recognizing the creators of Little Mosque on the Prairie, Water and The Danish Poet with WIFT International Achievement Awards, which will be handed out at a July 18 luncheon as part of the organization’s international summit.

Filmmaker Deepa Mehta will be honored for excellence in film direction for her drama Water, which was nominated for an Oscar in the foreign film category earlier this year. Meanwhile, Academy Award winners Torill Kove and Marcy Page, director and producer, respectively, of the critically acclaimed animated short The Danish Poet, will be feted for excellence in animation.

WIFT is also recognizing the women behind CBC’s hit sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie, handing out awards for television innovation to creator Zarqa Nawaz and executive producer Mary Darling of Regina- and Toronto-based WestWind Pictures.

Helga Stephenson, the former executive director of the Toronto International Film Festival, will receive the award for creative excellence, while Academy Award-winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker (The Departed, Raging Bull) will be feted for excellence in film editing.

‘Women make a substantial contribution to the film and television industry and we hope that our WIFT International Summit award winners will inspire and motivate all those in attendance to achieve their creative potential,’ said WIFT-T executive director Sue Sheridan in a release.

The WIFT International Summit runs July 16-19 in Toronto.