Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award – Theatre

Director: Martin Talbot
Producer: Marc Bertrand

Synopsis
A window onto the world of a theatre giant, and an opportunity to discover the man behind the words. Michel Marc Bouchard discusses his youth and talks candidly about what has motivated him over the years to speak out and share his concerns, which resonate here at home and across the globe.

About Martin Talbot
Martin Talbot is a multitalented director and screenwriter with a film and television career spanning more than 30 years. Whether working in documentary or fiction, he employs a distinctive style—a rare, skilful blend of humour, sensitivity and carefully crafted visuals. He made his mark on the small screen with the comedy series Les Parent. His feature film Henri Henri was a hit with audiences and has won a number of awards.

Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award – Classical Music

Director: Renée Blanchar
Producer: Christine Aubé

Synopsis
Sharing Lyric Art showcases the unique talent of soprano Rosemarie Landry, C.M. Her love of song and the French language has not only taken her on travels around the world—it’s also given her opportunities to share her passion with younger generations in every corner of the globe.

About Renée Blanchar
Acadian filmmaker Renée Blanchar studied directing at La Fémis in Paris and has since gone on to play a pioneering role for women in television and film. She helmed five seasons of the TV series Belle-Baie, wrote and directed the series Le Monde de Gabrielle Roy, and made a dozen or so award-winning documentaries. Her films are notable for their powerful subjects and her unique talent for conveying the humanity of her protagonists.

Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award – Popular Music

Director: Clark Johnson
Producer: Kate Vollum

Synopsis
Raised in the wings of the theatre, it is perhaps no surprise that Molly Johnson was destined to become one of Canada’s greatest voices. Directed by Molly’s brother—acclaimed actor and director Clark Johnson—Molly Movie is as much a tribute to Molly’s singer-songwriter career as it is a testament to the communities she supports and the philanthropic work that drives her.

About Clark Johnson
Clark Johnson is an American actor and director. He has directed and performed in the series Homicide: Life on the Street, The Wire and Homeland, as well as the Amazon comedy Alpha House. Clark has also directed episodes of Sleeper Cell, The Walking Dead, The Shield, Memphis Beat and Lights Out. His feature film directing credits include S.W.A.T. (2003) and The Sentinel (2006). His 2020 film, Percy (starring Christopher Walken), was shot in Manitoba, Canada.

Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award – Dance

Director: Yung Chang
Producer: Maral Mohammadian

Synopsis
After a lifetime in ballet—and honours including Officer of the Order of Canada, Dance Hall of Fame inductee and now, a Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award—dancer, choreographer and professional breadmaker James Kudelka wonders, “What’s this all about?” Kudelka reflects on his relationship with ballet as a subversive art and an approach to life, examining his artistic practice as it changes in time and form.

About Yung Chang
Yung Chang is the award-winning director of the feature documentaries Up the Yangtze (2007), China Heavyweight (2012), The Fruit Hunters (2013), This Is Not a Movie (2019) and Wuhan Wuhan (2021). Yung is an alumnus of the 2018 TIFF Writers’ Studio and the 2015 Sundance Institute Screenwriters and Directors Labs, where he developed his feature script Eggplant, slated for production in 2024. He is adapting Souvankham Thammavongsa’s How to Pronounce Knife into a limited series.

Lifetime Artistic Achievement Award – Popular Music

Director: Laura O’Grady
Producer: Chehala Leonard

Synopsis
k.d. lang shares her perspective on preferring silence and listening to making noise as one of the 2023 recipients of the GGPAA for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. A musician, 2SLGBTQI+ activist, daughter and icon, lang transcends categorization. Here, she delves into the essence and significance of musical expression, examining its emotional impact on both the performer and the audience.

About Laura O’Grady
Over her 25-year career, Laura O’Grady has produced, written or directed hundreds of hours of factual, documentary and immersive content. Her films have screened at Hot Docs (Cafe-Nation, Eviction Notice) and won or been nominated for numerous AMPIA and Canadian Screen Awards (Queer Hutterite, Gross Indecency: The Everett Klippert Story, The Former Life of Amber Valley). In 2018, Laura launched the boutique production house Snapshot Studios, where she directed the award-winning documentaries Undetectable and Francheska: Prairie Queen.

Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Performing Arts

Director: Roxann Whitebean
Producer: Amanda Roy

Synopsis
In this unconventional portrait of John Kim Bell, he reflects on his formative years, which brought him to Broadway and influenced him to become the first Indigenous person in North America to lead a classical orchestra. After spending a lifetime amplifying the voices of Indigenous Peoples through the arts, he elaborates on his trailblazing work, including founding the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, known today as Indspire.

About Roxann Whitebean
Roxann Karonhiarokwas Whitebean is a media artist who hails from the Mohawk Territories of Kahnawà:ke and Akwesasne. Her work can be seen on the CBC, Paramount +, CBS, APTN, TVO Kids and PBS, as well as at film festivals around the world. Roxann’s latest projects as a writer and director are the short film Rose, the docuseries Pulse and the documentary Two Horn. Her work as a television writer includes SkyMed and season four of Diggstown.

National Arts Centre Award

Director: Kathleen Jayme
Producer: Shirley Vercruysse

Synopsis
Paul Sun-Hyung Lee shares his love of family, acting and toys in this special episode of his Funboxing Sundays YouTube show. Okay, see you!

About Kathleen Jayme
Kathleen Jayme is an award-winning Filipina-Canadian filmmaker based in Vancouver. Her breakthrough documentary, Finding Big Country, won two awards at the 2018 Vancouver International Film Festival. Her first feature doc, The Grizzlie Truth, and I’m Just Here for the Riot, a documentary she co-directed for the ESPN series 30 for 30, were released in 2023. Kathleen is a graduate of UBC’s Film Production Program and the winner of Telefilm Canada’s Pitch This! competition at TIFF 2019.