The Spirit of Helen Award is a biennial cash award presented in honour of Helen Folkmann, an artist and arts advocate who passed away in 2004. Her creativity, activism, strength and determination inspired and continues to inspire people across Canada, and this award acknowledges an artist, cultural worker or advocate whose contributions to Alberta’s media arts community reflects Helen’s remarkable spirit.

This award is open to all artists and cultural workers in Alberta. Individuals or organizations associated with the Alberta Media Arts community may nominate one candidate per cycle. Recipients are awarded $2000 and celebrated at the biennial AMAAS conference.

2022 Spirit of Helen Award Winner

Niru Bhatia

Statement of nomination by Kevin Allen:

“I’ve never met anyone quite like Niru.

She is single-minded in her passion for filmmaking and acted as a cultural ambassador for Indian cinema in Calgary. Niru has an astounding can-do attitude and manifested the Hidden Gems Film Festival with much verve and delight.

We went to many Hidden Gems presentations over the years. In addition to the movie presentation, there were always stimulating add-ons, like post-film discussions, yummy Indian catering, and mingling events.

Hidden Gem’s pinnacle for me was when Niru convinced the legendary James Ivory, at age 87, to come to Calgary for a retrospective of his early work in December 2015. She had been courting the director for more than three years before he finally accepted the invitation. It is hard to say no to Niru.

There is a lovely resonance in this nomination. Like Niru, Helen Folkmann was a decidedly determined member of the AMAAS community. I enthusiastically nominate Niru for the Spirit of Helen award in 2022.”

About Niru Bhatia
Niru was the driving force behind Calgary’s long-running Hidden Gems Film Festival, recently concluding as a result of the pandemic. The festival focussed on India’s blossoming independent cinema scene and had a devoted audience. Niru writes that:

“Hidden Gems was a catalyst for inspiration, reflection and discourse, presenting the linguistic and regional diversity of India. We discovered that values are universal and common to many cultural communities that coexist in our country. In spite of being an eclectic, art-house festival, we ushered in thousands of people through our turnstiles. Our viewers have often reiterated that they love attending Hidden Gems for the ambiance of a community of like-minded people and for the opportunity to engage in dialogue about films”. Niru Bhatia