Cindy Abbott Letro interviews an actor with Western New York roots – Gary Farmer. Framer was the 2026 recipient of the Buffalo International Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Farmer is an actor and musician, born on Six Nations of the Grand River, Ohsweken, Ontario. He grew up in both Niagara Falls and Buffalo, NY, graduating from Lafayette High School, then Genesee Community College and Syracuse University, then on to Toronto where his interest in acting was nurtured.
He is widely recognized as a forerunner in the development of Indigenous media in Canada and was the founding director of an urban Indian radio network, Aboriginal Voices Radio Network. He also published Aboriginal Voices Magazine from 1993 – 2003.
Gary began performing on stage, working in theater from 1975 – 1987 in Canada. Winning Dora Mavor for best new play in 1989 for Tomson Highway’s, Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing.
Gary has been nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards for Best Supporting Male in the films: Powwow Highway (1989), Dead Man (1995) which won the 1996 European Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, and Smoke Signals (1998).
He has also directed several popular short films, both independent and for television, and was the executive producer and a director of the APTN entertainment series Buffalo Tracks.
Recent credits include series regular on Resident Alien, Reservation Dogs, The English, Our Flag Means Death, The Curse. Independent films: Quantum Cowboys, Blood Quantum, Hey Viktor!, Ghost Dog, First Cow, Major Barbara. Classics: The Score, Tales from the Crypt, Demon Knight, Miami Vice. Upcoming: The Lowdown, Margie Claus, An Enemy of the People, How We Stand.
Gary Farmer and the Troublemakers album, Fool For Love, won Best Americana Album at the 2023 New Mexico Music Awards. “Sing That Song” reached #5 on the Top 40 and Gary’s new single, “Beautiful Morning,” topped the charts at #1 on the Indigenous Music Countdown.
Gary is in the studio recording a new album to be released in the Fall of 2026.