Honour bestowed annually in celebration of International Women’s Day
Toronto, ON (March 6, 2019) — This year, Canadian performers are shining the spotlight on Newfoundland-based ACTRA member Noreen Golfman by naming her the 2019 ACTRA National Woman of the Year. ACTRA bestows this honour annually on an ACTRA member who excels in both her artistic and advocacy achievements.
“Noreen Golfman has helped lay the groundwork to advance gender equity in our recorded media industries,” said ACTRA National President David Sparrow. “From her passionate and powerful work on behalf of female actors, writers, producers and directors, to her support of culture in Canada, this year Canadian performers are happy to be celebrating Noreen.”
“I am honoured to be recognized by my national union ACTRA,” said Noreen Golfman upon being named Woman of the Year. “In receiving this honour, I must also acknowledge the vibrant Newfoundland and Labrador entertainment industry and, especially, the women who co-created the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival. This year we’re celebrating 30 years of labour and love.”
Noreen Golfman is vice-chair of the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation, co-chair of the Business and the Arts Newfoundland Labrador and chair of the board of the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. She is also the founding director and chair of the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival (SJIWFF), which is one of the longest-running women’s film festivals in the world. An ACTRA member since 1992, Noreen is also a cultural writer, reviewer and performer for such media outlets as CBC Radio and Television. Noreen played ‘Ariel Flint’ on the long-running CBC Radio comedy The Great Eastern for which she won the Broadcasting Corporation Newfoundland Award. She has received several other awards, including the Women in Film and Television Atlantic’s WAVE Award (2014) and the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council’s Arts NL Hall of Honour Award (2013). The ACTRA Newfoundland/Labrador Branch also recognized Noreen’s contribution and achievements by naming her its Woman of the Year in 2017.
The ACTRA National Woman of the Year Award is bestowed annually on an ACTRA member who uses her passion to support ACTRA members and women within the audiovisual industry as a whole. Noreen joins past recipients Shirley Douglas, Tantoo Cardinal, Sandi Ross, Mary Walsh, Jean Freeman, Amanda Tapping, Catherine Joell MacKinnon, Tina Keeper and Rita Shelton Deverell.
About ACTRA:
ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) is the national union of professional performers working in the English-language recorded media in Canada. ACTRA represents the interests of over 25,000 members across the country – the foundation of Canada’s highly acclaimed professional performing community.
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Media Contact:
Carol Taverner, Public Relations Officer, ACTRA National, tel: 416.644.1519, ctaverner@actra.ca