The winning season

Filmmaker Cathy Henkel (seen here celebrating an earlier success in New York) has added another award to her impressive list of achievements.

Local filmmaker Cathy Henkel has won the inaugural Honorary Award at the Byron Bay International Film Festival.

“Cathy has shown outstanding achievement as a writer, director and producer of documentary films,” NSW Minister for the Arts Virginia Judge said. “A filmmaker since 1988, she has made films that tell stories about the environment, deeply personal stories and even a film about a famous comic actor.

“One of her most successful projects was The Man Who Stole My Mother’s Face – a powerful story about Cathy’s search for justice for her mother, who was brutally raped in South Africa.”

This film received critical acclaim, winning Best Documentary at the Australian IF Awards and at New York’s Film Festival in 2004.

Some of her other films are Walking Through A Minefield, Losing Layla, Spike Milligan: I Told You I Was Ill and The Burning Season.

Congrats Cathy.