Focus on Colorado

Hall of Fame winners

Donna Dewey and Stephanie Two Eagles with their awards

The Hall of Fame Award, originally established in 2006 by the Colorado Film Commission, recognizes and honors individuals for their extraordinary work in feature films, television, cable, commercials, still photography, interactive media or video game design. These exemplary individuals merit recognition for their long-term service, accomplishments and leadership, and vision in these industries. The first winner of the award was photographer John Fielder.

The induction ceremony was hosted by Lt. Governor Barbara O'Brien and took place on Sunday, March 7, during the Denver Film Society's Party with Oscar® at the Museum of Contemporary Art.

The individuals were chosen through a process that included an advisory committee selection and nomination followed by voting among their peers and leaders in the industry.

Donna Dewey

Donna Dewey is an Academy Award winning filmmaker who has been writing, producing and directing documentaries, commercials, series, industrials, and theatrical films for over twenty years. Dewey's documentary, A Story of Healing, filmed in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam, won the 1997 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. Her film, Chiefs, won the documentary competition at Robert DeNiro's Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, and received a national broadcast on the PBS series, Independent Lens. Dewey also co-produced Reading Your Rights, which garnered an Emmy nomination.

Dewey's numerous documentaries have been broadcast and distributed by PBS. Her films have been invited to and have won awards in film festivals around the world, including Russia, Italy, France, and Spain, as well as numerous festivals in the United States. In 1984, Dewey and her business partner Rock Obenchain formed Dewey-Obenchain Films. The company has a reputation for high quality commercial work backed by numerous awards, including Clio nominations, Tellys, and Alphies. Dewey has collaborated on four feature-length screenplays with her mentor, the late British director Jack Clayton (who is best known for directing Room at the Top, The Innocents, The Pumpkin Eater, The Great Gatsby, and Momento Mori). She has also produced several narrative feature films including Skills Like This and Looking For Sunday. Skills Like This was the Audience Award Winner at the 2007 South by Southwest Film Festival

Dewey is a member of the Independent Feature Project, International Documentary Association, Colorado Film/Video Association, New York Women in Film, serves on the Board of Directors of the Denver Film Society, was named 2000 Colorado Businesswoman of the Year, is a 2004 Girl Scout Woman of Distinction, has served on the Colorado Governor's Film Commission Advisory Board, and has been appointed by Denver's Mayor John Hickenlooper to serve as Chair of the Denver Commission on Cultural Affairs.

Stephanie Two Eagles

Stephanie Two Eagles has been involved in more film, television and commercial productions that probably anyone in the history of the Colorado film industry. She joined the Colorado Film Commission in 1978 as a student intern and was subsequently hired. She has worked on thousands of projects as location/marketing specialist.

In 1991, she created Colorado Camera Ready, a two-day certification program for communities wanting to attract production to their areas. Over 200 community representatives throughout Colorado have been trained to establish and operate local film offices through the Camera Ready seminars.

Two Eagles was asked to manage the Colorado Film Commission in December 2000. In March 2003, funding for the Colorado Film Commission was eliminated due to a state budget deficit.

In August 2004, Two Eagles retired after 26 years with the Colorado Film Commission. She served on the Boards of Directors of Association of Film Commissioners International, the Denver Film Society, and the Colorado Film and Video Association, as well as on advisory boards for the Colorado Film School, the Digital Animation Program at the University of Colorado at Denver and the Art Institute of Colorado.

Since her retirement from the Film Commission Two Eagles has joined the ranks of Colorado's film producers. She has help to produce two short films Her Life Is My Teacher and One Story.