The Reelworld Foundation, the charitable arm of the Reelworld Screen Institute, has selected Canada Media Fund CEO Valerie Creighton as the first recipient of its Reelworld Ally Award.

The award will be presented at a luncheon in Creighton’s honour at Toronto’s Park Hyatt Hotel on April 11.

The honour, announced Feb. 19, will be presented annually to an individual in the Canadian screen industry whose leadership has been instrumental in breaking down barriers and creating inclusion, according to a release.

In announcing the award, Reelworld said in a release Creighton was chosen for her more than 40 years in the Canadian screen industry, during which she has overseen “major industry-wide reforms, established new opportunities for Indigenous and racialized creators and ensured that Canadian storytelling is inclusive of all voices.”

The luncheon will feature a conversation between Creighton and a moderator that will be “finalized in the next couple of weeks,” a Reelworld spokesperson told Playback Daily. Individual tickets are $500, and tables of 10 can be purchased for $5,000, with one seat reserved for an emerging Canadian filmmaker or creator from an Indigenous or racialized background. That seat will be selected by the Reelworld board and staff.

Funds raised will go toward the Reelworld Foundation endowment.

The award is the latest accolade for the Canadian media veteran. Creighton previously received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 2016 and in late 2019, was named as a member of the Order of Canada.

Image courtesy of the Canada Media Fund