Entertainment

Buffy Saint-Marie documentary wins International Emmy Award

Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On won an International Emmy Award on Monday. The documentary looking at the singer’s career over six decades was directed by Canadian filmmaker Madison Thomas and nominated in the arts programming category.

Some called for Emmys to rescind nomination after investigation into singer's claims to Indigenous identity

A woman wearing a leather jacket, a beaded necklace and feathers in her hair sings into a microphone.
Canadian activist and musician Buffy Sainte-Marie performs during the 2019 CBC Music Festival in Toronto. (Vanessa Heins/CBC)

Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On won an International Emmy Award on Monday. 

The documentary, which looks at the singer's career over six decades, was directed by Canadian filmmaker Madison Thomas and nominated in the arts programming category. It was the only Canadian nominee this year across 14 categories.

The 51st annual International Emmy Awards took place in New York City on Monday and the awards were announced on social media. 

Earlier this month, some social media users asked the International Emmys to remove the project from the category following an investigation by CBC's The Fifth Estate in October that contradicts the songwriter's claims to Indigenous ancestry.

Sainte-Marie released a public statement before the investigation was released, saying she found the allegations deeply hurtful and that she would continue to claim her Indigenous identity.

The documentary, produced by Eagle Vision, White Pine Pictures and Paquin Entertainment, had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022 and can be streamed on Crave and on PBS in the United States.