# Banff World Media Festival

Founded in 1979, the Banff World Media Festival (formerly known as the Banff World Television Festival) is an international media event held in the Canadian Rockies at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The festival is concerned with world television and digital content and its creation and development, and is owned and operated by Brunico Communications.
As well as honouring excellence in international television, professionals from around the world participate in seminars, master classes, and pitching opportunities. Film directors, screenwriters, and producers from PBS, BBC, NHK, Arte, Channel 4, ABC, Sony Pictures, HBO, CBC, NFB, SBS, and many other broadcasters and production companies attend the annual event.
The festival provides a global platform for industry members to discuss and debate, and explore current issues, challenges and trends.

## The Rockie Awards

The festival features an international program competition, the Banff Rockie Awards. Past winners include PBS for The Hobart Shakespeareans and No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, ICP for Aaron Cohen's Debt, BBC and HBO for The Children of Beslan, NHK for Children Full of Life, BBC and WGBH for Bleak House, and Arte for Fellini: I'm a Born Liar.
The awards ceremony also bestows the Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award. Past recipients of the award include John Cleese, Dame Edna, Bob Newhart, Martin Short, Tracey Ullman, Kelsey Grammer, Ricky Gervais, Craig Ferguson, Shane Smith, Brent Butt, and Suroosh Alvi. Jan Randall was music director and Composer for the awards from 1995 to 2007.

### The Rockies Program Competition

The Rockie Awards is Banff’s program celebrating television and digital content from around the world. Television and digital programs are considered for a Rockie Award, presented at a ceremony each year at Banff. With participation from more than 40 countries annually, including an industry jury of more than 350 professionals working in entertainment and media around the world, the Rockie Awards is one of the world’s largest program competitions of its kind.

### The Rockies Special Achievement Awards

Each year, prolific members of the media and entertainment industry are recognized for their accomplishments in the past year via the Special Achievement Awards, given out at the Rockie Awards Gala. These are given out at the discretion of the Banff Foundation Board.

#### Past Special Achievement Award Winners

Company of Distinction
| 2013 | CBS |
| 2014 | Lionsgate |
| 2015 | A+E Networks |
| 2016 | HBO |
| 2017 | ABC Television Group |
| 2018 | NBC Universal |
The Impact Award presented by The Hollywood Reporter
| 2013 | Julia Louis-Dreyfus |
| 2017 | Anthony Anderson for Black-ish |
| 2018 | The Good Doctor |
| 2019 | Justin Simien |
| 2021 | ARRAY |
| 2022 | Bela Bajaria |
| 2023 | Fenton Bailey + Randy Barbato for World of Wonder |
Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award
| 1992 | John Candy (Inaugural) |
| 1993 | Winston Rekert & Danny Virtue |
| 1994 | Eugene Levy |
| 1995 | Tantoo Cardinal |
| 1996 | Steve Smith |
| 1997 | Barry Humphries |
| 1998 | Bob Newhart |
| 1999 | Martin Short |
| 2000 | Tracey Ullman |
| 2001 | Kelsey Grammer |
| 2002 | John Cleese |
| 2003 | Rick Mercer |
| 2006 | Guy A. Lepage |
| 2008 | Brent Butt |
| 2009 | Mark McKinney |
| 2010 | Ricky Gervais |
| 2011 | James Burrows |
| 2012 | Chuck Lorre |
| 2013 | Craig Ferguson |
| 2014 | Nathan Lane |
| 2015 | Kathryn Hahn |
| 2016 | Russell Peters |
| 2018 | Sean Hayes |
| 2019 | Bill Hader |
| 2021 | Kenan Thompson |
| 2022 | Ana Gasteyer |
| 2023 | Craig Robinson |
Award of Excellence in Digital Innovation
| 2011 | Netflix |
| 2012 | Google |
| 2013 | Vice Media |
| 2014 | Electus |
| 2015 | Amazon Studios |
Lifetime Achievement Award
| 1988 | Jeremy Isaacs |
| 1998 | John Mortimer |
| 2001 | Rock Demers |
| 2002 | Bernard Pivot |
| 2003 | David Attenborough |
| 2004 | James Burrows |
| 2005 | Peter McGhee |
| 2006 | Sheila Nevins |
| 2009 | Trina McQueen |
| 2010 | William Shatner |
| 2011 | Ed Asner |
| 2012 | Larry King |
| 2013 | Christine Baranski |
| 2014 | Dan Rather |
Award of Excellence
| 1982 | Norman Campbell |
| 1983 | Gregory Peck |
| 1984 | Dinah Shore |
| 1985 | Laurence Olivier |
| 1986 | Lorne Green |
| 1987 | Ed Asner |
| 1988 | Peter Ustinov |
| 1989 | David Suzuki |
| 1990 | Bea Arthur |
| 1991 | Walter Cronkite |
| 1992 | Barbara Frum |
| 1993 | Peter Jennings |
| 1994 | William Shatner |
| 1995 | Frédéric Back |
| 1996 | Steven Bochco |
| 1997 | Diane English |
| 1998 | Don Hewitt |
| 1999 | David E. Kelley |
| 2000 | Dick Wolf |
| 2001 | Norman Jewison |
| 2002 | Gary David Goldberg |
| 2003 | David Chase |
| 2004 | Gordon Pinsent |
| 2006 | David Shore |
| 2007 | Carol Mendelsohn |
| 2008 | Sofia Milos |
| 2009 | Victor Garber |
| 2010 | Nigel Lythgoe |
| 2011 | Eugene Levy |
| 2014 | Henry Winkler |
| 2015 | Katheryn Winnick |
| 2017 | Kenny Ortega |
| 2018 | Jeremy Podeswa |
| 2019 | Paul Feig |
| 2023 | Sharon Horgan |
Canadian Award of Distinction
| 2006 | Paul Haggis |
| 2007 | Colm Feore |
| 2008 | Kim Cattrall |
| 2009 | Paul Gross |
| 2010 | Eric McCormack |
| 2011 | Howie Mandel |
| 2012 | Jeanne Beker |
| 2013 | Will Arnett |
| 2014 | Alan Thicke |
| 2015 | Gerry Dee |
| 2016 | Jay Baruchel |
| 2017 | Just For Laughs |
| 2018 | Sheila Hockin |
| 2019 | Kristin Kreuk |
| 2020 | Baroness von Sketch Show |
| 2021 | Simu Liu |
| 2022 | Jean-Marc Vallee |
Showrunner of the Year
| 2014 | Clyde Phillios |
| 2015 | Jill Soloway |
| 2016 | Damon Lindelof |
| 2017 | John Ridley |
| 2018 | Moira Walley-Beckett |
| 2019 | Jed Mercurio |
| 2022 | Jonathan Lisco, Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson |
Program of the Year
| 2013 | NCIS |
| 2014 | Nashville |
| 2016 | Making a Murderer |
| 2017 | The Handmaid's Tale |
| 2018 | This is Us |
| 2019 | Surviving R. Kelly |
| 2021 | It's a Sin |
| 2022 | Sort Of |
| 2023 | The Last of Us |
Buffalo Rock Award
| 2023 | Star Trek |
Creative Voice Award
| 2022 | Rose Matafeo |
| 2023 | Jennifer Podemski |