Sandi Ross Awards
The Sandi Ross Awards celebrate an individual and a company who incorporate diversity and inclusion in their work. Originally conceived by the ACTRA Toronto Diversity Committee under the leadership of Co-Chairs Sedina Fiati and Farah Merani as the #SharetheScreen Awards, the awards were re-named in honour of Sandi Ross who passed away just before their first presentation in 2016.
Sandi Ross was the first woman and person of colour to be president of ACTRA Toronto and was the founder of ACTRA Toronto’s first diverse talent directory, Into the Mainstream. The directory continues online at Diversity.ACTRAonline.ca, and is a useful tool for producers and casting directors to cast inclusively.
ACTRA Toronto’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee advocates on behalf of ACTRA Toronto’s self-identified physically and culturally diverse performers and calls for a more inclusive media industry.
Video: Sandi Ross clip from the 1997 ACTRA Toronto archives.
2022 Sandi Ross Awards
The 2022 Sandi Ross Awards honoured Award-winning writer, producer and television/radio host Amanda Parris and Toronto-based entertainment agency Jesse Griffiths Casting Inc.
Read the press release
The 2022 Sandi Ross Awards were live streamed on at 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday, February 17, 2023, on the ACTRA Toronto YouTube Channel. During the one hour broadcast, ACTRA Toronto Diversity & Inclusion Committee Co-Chairs Janet Rose Nguyen and Chattrisse Dolabaille hosted a discussion with the winners about their own experiences and how to advocate for increased diversity and inclusion.
2021 Sandi Ross Awards
The 2021 Sandi Ross Awards honoured Beans writer-director Tracey Deer and comedy troupe, Tallboyz II Men: Vance Banzo, Guled Abdi, Franco Nguyen and Tim Blair for their immense contributions to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion in the film and television industry.
Read the press release
During the one hour broadcast, ACTRA Toronto Diversity & Inclusion Committee Co-Chairs Janet Rose Nguyen and Chattrisse Dolabaille hosted a discussion with the winners about pursuing a creative career, what advice that they would have given to their younger selves, how to advocate for more diversity and inclusion while integrating activism into art and what’s up next for all of them.
2020 Sandi Ross Awards
The 2020 Sandi Ross Awards Awards were live streamed on Sunday, March 21, 2021 at 8pm on ACTRA Toronto’s YouTube channel.
During the one hour show, hosted by ACTRA Toronto Diversity & Inclusion Committee Co-Chairs, Lisa Michelle Cornelius and Samora Smallwood, awards were presented to Winnifred Jong , creator/director of Tokens, Jessica Meya and Louis Taylor, co-founders of Working the Scene in Colour. The awards presentation was followed by a round table discussion.
