‘Uncompromising’ Indigenous filmmaker Jeff Barnaby dies at 46
Awards: Best Canadian Film at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards, in 2013; Best Actor for “Uncompromising” at the Toronto Film Festival, in 2012; Best Director for “Uncompromising” at the Vancouver International Film Festival, in 2012; best writer for “Uncompromising” at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival.
Indigenous filmmaker Jeff Barnaby, with producer Michael Green, right, photographed with director Jonathan Demme, left, and the cast of “Uncompromising.” (Brett Ruskin/CBC)
Jeff Barnaby, whose career included stints on stage and screen as well as producing and directing dozens of films, including the critically acclaimed “Uncompromising,” died Tuesday. He was 46.
Barnaby died of undisclosed causes at a Toronto hospital, according to his longtime agent, Michael Green, who said Barnaby had suffered a stroke last June.
“He had a wonderful life, and he always had a smile on his face, and he was a very caring and generous man,” Green said in an interview.
Indigenous filmmaker Jeff Barnaby, with producer Michael Green, photographed with director Jonathan Demme, left, and the cast of “Uncompromising.” (Brett Ruskin/CBC)
Awards: Best Canadian Film at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards, in 2013; Best Actor for “Uncompromising” at the Toronto Film Festival, in 2012; Best Director for “Uncompromising” at the Vancouver International Film Festival, in 2012; Best writer for “Uncompromising” at the Toronto Film Festival, in 2012.
Barnaby’s most well-known film was “Uncompromising,” his first feature directorial effort. The drama featured actors like Michael Gambon, Susan Sarandon and Matthew McConaughey and also had a cameo by former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The story was based on Barnaby’s work as a musician, and the film won numerous awards, ranging from the Grand Jury prize at Sundance to the Canadian Screen Directors Guild Award and the Golden Reel Award for Best Director. He also had the support of a number of Aboriginal