Banff reveals 2018 Rockie winners

Organisers of the 39th Banff World Media Festival have revealed the winners of next month’s annual Rockie Awards, to be hosted by Trial & Error star Kristin Chenoweth.

Jeremy Podeswa

The Award of Excellence in 2018 will go to director Jeremy Podeswa, who is behind shows including Here & Now, Game of Thrones and Six Feet Under.

Podeswa has directed for the likes of HBO, Showtime, Starz, AMC, FX and TNT and the award acknowledges achievement through a body of work over an extended period.

This year’s A+E Inclusion Award will be presented to Emmy-winning journalist Elizabeth Vargas. Vargas is the first US network evening news anchor of Puerto Rican and Irish-American heritage.

She recently inked an overall production and first-look development deal with A+E Networks and will also be the face of the A&E network’s new journalistic banner A&E Investigates.

Sheila Hockin will receive this year’s Canadian Award of Distinction at June’s Gala Ceremony. She has executive produced shows including The Tudors, The Borgias, Vikings, Penny Dreadful and, most recently, The Handmaid’s Tale.

The Innovative Producer Award will be collected by New Metric Media, a film, television and new media production company based in Ontario. Past recipients include Wolf + Rabbit, Don Carmody and MarbleMedia.

Additional awards to be announced on the night include The Hollywood Reporter Impact Award, The Grand Jury Prize and Programme of the Year.

This year’s Company of Distinction Award will be handed to NBCUniversal (NBCU), as announced in January.

The chairs of NBCU’s entertainment and global distribution divisions will deliver keynotes.

The 2018 Rockies Gala will take place on Tuesday June 12 at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Alberta.