MovieMaker

Zahn McClarnon Receives Santa Fe International Film Festival’s Visionary Award

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Dark Winds star Zahn McClarnon received the Visionary Award at the Santa Fe International Film Festival, but George R.R. Martin thinks he deserves much more.Martin, an executive producer on Dark Winds and longtime Santa Fe resident, presented McClarnon the award Saturday night at the festival’s 18th edition.

Following the presentation, fellow Dark Winds executive producer Chris Eyre led a Q&A with McClarnon, where he talked about his life and career, spanning over 30 years. McClarnon, who is also known for his roles in Reservation Dogs, Longmire, and Fargo, reflected on the evolution of Indigenous roles since he began acting, and what it means to be a visionary.

“When I started out in this business, the landscape for Native actors was a bit different. Obviously, we were often stuck in the background, riding on horseback or yipping and yelling in buckskin and fitting into whatever trope and stereotype Hollywood kind of built for us. We were more accessories than we are anchors in the stories, and there weren’t many parts out there that allowed us to be just human beings with flaws and grief and complex lives,” he said.

By Deirdre McCarrick