Jason Priestley (‘Beverly Hills 90210’), Ken Jeong (‘Community’), Mae Martin (‘Wayward’) and Tantu Cardinal (‘Killers of the Flower Moon’) have been named the winners of this year’s Rocky Awards Gala at the Banff World Media Festival.
In addition, Banff World Media Festival has announced this year’s biggest performers who will be joining the Showrunner Super Panel, hosted by Variety’s Michael Schneider.
At the Rocky Awards ceremony, Priestley will receive the Canadian Award of Excellence, presented by the Canadian Media Foundation (CMF/FMC) and MadeNous to “a Canadian whose work exemplifies outstanding achievement in the entertainment industry.” Previous winners include Stephen James, Simu Liu, Eric McCormack, Kim Cattrall, Sheila Hockin and Jean-Marc Vallée.
Martin will receive the Creative Voices Award, which is given to “an executive or creative talent who has produced groundbreaking work and outstanding work that inspires and connects audiences around the world.” Past recipients include Renee Elise Goldsberry, Rose Matafeo, and Jennifer Podemski.
Chung will be awarded the Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award, which recognizes “people who have made outstanding comedic contributions to the media industry.” Past recipients include Tom Green, Kenan Thompson, Sean Hayes, John Cleese, Tracy Ullman, Bob Newhart, Tantu Cardinal, John Candy, Bill Hader, Anna Gasteyer, and Craig T. Robinson.
Cardinal will also be presented with the Career Achievement Award, which is given to “an individual who has made a significant impact on the screen industry through extraordinary accomplishments.” Past winners include Alanis Obomsawin, Dan Rather, Christine Baranski, Larry King, Ed Asner, William Shatner, James Burrows, and David Attenborough.
“Rocky Award winners represent the best of creativity and global influence in our industry,” said Banff Executive Director Jen Kuzmic. “From iconic performances to bold and original storytelling, Tantu, Jason, May and Ken have each shaped the cultural conversation in meaningful ways.”
Winners, along with program contest prizes, will be awarded on Tuesday, June 16th at 6:00 PM (Montana). Alana Harkin (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee) will host. See the full list of candidates here.
This year’s super panel of showrunners includes Nick Antosca (Cape Fear, The Act), R. Scott Gemmill (The Pit, JAG, ER, NCIS: Los Angeles), Amy B. Harris (Every Year After, Sex and the City, The Comeback), Sung-Jin Lee (Beef), and Glenn Kessler. (“Damages,” “Bloodlines,” “Memories of a Murderer”), Oren Uziel (“Into the Spider-Man,” “Lost City,” “22 Jump Street”), and Aaron Zelman (“Law & Order,” “Damages,” “Bloodlines,” “Memories of a Murderer”).
“The Showrunner Super Panel brings together some of the most exciting creative talent working in television today,” said Banff Head of Programming Pam Silverstein. “These are the storytellers behind the shows that audiences around the world watch and talk about. This session is a rare opportunity to hear directly from them how they create, guide and continue to push the boundaries of storytelling in a rapidly evolving industry.”
The 47th annual Banff World Media Festival will be held from June 14th to June 17th at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The city of Banff previously announced that Ginny Howe, the Netflix executive who took over as head of scripted series for the U.S. and Canada in August, has been added as a keynote speaker for this year’s Banff World Media Festival, along with “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong. Spain will be a “country of honor” in 2026.
