Zahn McClarnon Gets Santa Fe Film Fest 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.
- McClarnon plays Lt. Joe Leaphorn on AMC's Dark Winds, which just wrapped its fifth season, and he also serves as an executive producer and directed Season 4, episode 2.
- Dark Winds is executive produced by George R.R. Martin and the late Robert Redford, is based on Tony Hillerman's Leaphorn & Chee novels, and is shot in Santa Fe.
- McClarnon earned a Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Ensemble Cast in a New Scripted Series for playing Officer Big on FX's Reservation Dogs, with additional standout roles in Longmire, Westworld Season 2, Fargo Season 2, Hawkeye, Echo, and voicing Olrox in Netflix's Castlevania: Nocturne.
- Santa Fe Film Festival executive director Liesette Bailey cited McClarnon's authenticity and his entrée into directing as the basis for the honor.
- Previous Visionary Award recipients include Giancarlo Esposito, Sterlin Harjo, Wes Studi, and Catherine Hardwicke.
Why it matters: The award ties the Santa Fe festival's honor directly to a locally filmed series, as Dark Winds shoots in the city and McClarnon now directs episodes there. His selection alongside previous recipients like Sterlin Harjo underscores the festival's pattern of spotlighting performers who successfully cross over behind the camera.
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