Zahn McClarnon Gets SFIFF Visionary Award — SkimNews
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- Zahn McClarnon will receive the Santa Fe International Film Festival's Visionary Award on October 16 at the Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe, NM.
- Dark Winds, the AMC series where McClarnon plays Lt. Joe Leaphorn and serves as an EP, just wrapped its fifth season and is shot in Santa Fe; McClarnon directed Season 4, episode 2.
- George R.R. Martin and the late Robert Redford executive produce Dark Winds, based on Tony Hillerman's Leaphorn & Chee novels and following two Navajo police officers investigating crimes in the 1970s Southwest.
- McClarnon won a Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Ensemble Cast as Officer Big on FX's Reservation Dogs and voiced Olrox in Netflix's animated series Castlevania: Nocturne.
- SFIFF executive director Liesette Bailey said McClarnon's "authenticity and excitement" and his transition into directing make him an "exemplary" Visionary Award recipient; past honorees include Giancarlo Esposito, Sterlin Harjo, Wes Studi, and Catherine Hardwicke.
Why it matters: McClarnon joins an SFIFF Visionary Award roster that includes Giancarlo Esposito, Sterlin Harjo, and Wes Studi, with festival director Liesette Bailey explicitly citing his move from acting into directing—evidenced by his Season 4, episode 2 Dark Winds credit—as the honor's basis. The award lands as Dark Winds wraps its fifth season.
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