Zahn McClarnon will receive the Santa Fe International Film Festival’s Visionary Award on October 16, 2026. The Dark Winds star will be honored at the Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with the event scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. local time.
The evening will also include a conversation led by director and producer Chris Eyre, whose work includes Smoke Signals and Dark Winds. After the discussion, the festival will screen Dark Winds season four, episode two — McClarnon’s directorial debut.
More than the lead role in Dark Winds
McClarnon plays Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn in the AMC crime drama and also serves as an executive producer. The series adapts Tony Hillerman’s novels, following Navajo police officers investigating crimes in the American Southwest during the 1970s. It is filmed in Santa Fe.
His earlier television work includes Officer Big in Reservation Dogs, Officer Mathias in Longmire, Akecheta in the second season of Westworld and Hanzee Dent in Fargo’s second season. The award program brings that acting career together with his work behind the camera.
When the festival takes place
The 2026 Santa Fe International Film Festival runs October 14–19. McClarnon’s ceremony falls on Friday, October 16; Pam Grier will receive the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award the following evening, October 17, also at the Lensic.
