Behind every award is a story. A story of the person receiving it, how it came about, and the values of the organization behind it. The Forest City Film Festival (FCFF), now entering its second decade, recognizes that truth, and begins a new era by introducing the Impact Award. Formerly known as the Lifetime Achievement in Entertainment Award, it is dedicated to celebrating artists who have had a lasting impact on audiences beyond a singular body of work, and have touched communities worldwide.
This year, the honour is to be presented by FCFF with the support of the Good Foundation, a private Canadian foundation devoted to enriching local communities through dedicated support of the arts and culture. FCFF is deeply grateful for their partnership in bringing this milestone recognition to life.
The Forest City Film Festival Impact Award
The decision to evolve the award’s name stemmed from a desire to celebrate enduring influence rather than just career length. While the Lifetime Achievement Award previously recognized legends like Victor Garber (2024) and David Shore (2025), the new title places a sharper focus on how an artist’s body of work continues to resonate long after the screen goes dark.
Executive Director Ethan Hickey explains how the decision came to be, stating:
“We really looked at our mission, what this award meant to the festival and what it meant to the recipient getting it each year. We always came back to the impact that this recipient had on London as a city, Canada as a country, and on the film industry across the world.”
The Power of Story: 2026 Honouree Emma Donoghue
It is for that very reason that FCFF is deeply honoured to present the 2026 inaugural Impact Award to the highly prolific Emma Donoghue.
Born in Dublin and based in London Ontario since 1998, Emma Donoghue has become one of Canada’s most celebrated voices with a career spanning across literature, film, theatre, and television. A masterclass in storytelling, her work has an emotional intensity that explores the complexities and multifaceted nature of people, and she has developed a reputation for creating compelling characters who resonate with audiences of all backgrounds and cultures.
Be it through novel, play, or screenplay, Donoghue has consistently shown that her stories are timeless and her impact is everlasting. Her highly acclaimed works Hood and The Pull of the Stars as well as her screen adaptations The Wonder (2022) and H is for Hawk (2025) exemplify that truth- not to mention her Academy Award nomination for her novel-turned screenplay Room (2015) from which most audiences came to know her through.
Beyond her impressive catalog of works, visiting Donoghue’s own website reveals a storyteller with a refreshingly down-to-earth humor. Readers learn that her move to London, Ontario in 1998 was sparked quite simply by “love of a Canadian” (her partner, Chris Roulston), that she settled for literature over ballet at age eight so she could “eat more cake,” and that she writes for hours at a treadmill desk in her front room. While she proudly holds joint Irish and Canadian citizenship, her journey from Dublin to Southwestern Ontario has given the local arts community a world-class talent who embraces Canada as a diverse, welcoming creative home.
For FCFF, honouring Donoghue is also a remarkable full-circle moment. In 2016, Room served as the very first film ever screened at the inaugural Forest City Film Festival, with Emma in attendance.
A decade later, as she prepares to write the highly anticipated screen adaptation of Ava Reid’s Lady Macbeth, her homecoming as our inaugural Impact Award recipient brings ten years of festival history right back to where it all began.
Celebrate With Us At The Forest City Film Festival Gala
The Impact Award is set to be presented on Thursday, October 15th during the Forest City Film Festival Gala powered by London Hydro which marks the official kickoff to the 2026 Forest City Film Festival.
The gala will be a celebration of the new award as well as Emma Donoghue, and will bring together filmmakers, artists and community members alike to kickstart the next stage of the festival’s life. The Impact Award is a reminder of all the hard work that has been done so far and a promise for more to come, and as the festival looks ahead, it will continue to recognize and celebrate storytellers who influence and inspire communities with their voices.
