TORONTO - The Documentary Organization of Canada says filmmaker Michelle Latimer has agreed to return an award presented to her earlier this month.
The organization says it requested Latimer relinquish its BMO-DOC Vanguard Award after her claims of Indigenous identity were called into question last week.
The DOC Institute bestows its Vanguard award on a mid-career filmmaker who “embodies creativity, social consciousness and leadership.” The award included $40,000 of in-kind production services and a $1,000 cash prize.
As recently as a few weeks ago, Latimer was regarded as one of this year's breakout Canadian filmmakers, partly on the rise of “Inconvenient Indian,” a documentary that won two awards at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
But a recent CBC investigation challenged Latimer's claims she was of Algonquin, Metis, and French heritage, from the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg and Maniwaki area in Quebec, and raised issues over her self-identification.
The filmmaker has said she “made a mistake” in naming Kitigan Zibi as her family's community before verifying the linkage.
(The Canadian Press)
