Chris Noth to Receive Inaugural Canopy Award at 2017 North Fork TV Festival

The North Fork TV Festival announced today that two-time Golden Globe nominee and SAG Award nominated actor Chris Noth has been named the recipient of the inaugural Canopy Award for this year's festival. Noth will accept the award on Friday, September 8 at the Greenport Theatre in Greenport, NY.

"I'm so honored to be presented with the Canopy Award at this year's North Fork TV Festival," said Chris Noth. "I've lived and worked in New York for years, and I've shot all over New York State and Long Island, so being a part of this particular festival really means a lot to me. I can't wait to see everyone out east this September."

"Having an opportunity to honor actors like Chris Noth has always been part of our vision for the festival," said Noah Doyle, Founder of the North Fork TV Festival, and it is our honor that in just one year we have been recognized by the TV community as a formidable venue for celebrating actors, writers, and industry executives and providing an opportunity to showcase independent creatives."

The North Fork Canopy Award honors a member of the New York creative community whose work embodies the independent spirit of persistence, integrity and collaboration. The influence of this individual generates opportunities and inspires the ambitions of anyone with a story to tell and the diverse collection of people who help tell it.
"We are excited and grateful to have Chris Noth as this year's North Fork Canopy Award honoree," said Artistic Director Jerry Foley. "He is absolutely the perfect person to support and celebrate the explosion of fresh voices in television and content production. Chris' enduring accomplishments in film, theater and television provide motivation and direction to independent storytellers navigating the often frustrating pursuit of giving life to their themes and characters. Beyond his artistic achievements, Chris has also claimed his spot as an iconic New Yorker. His creations of Detective Mike Logan and Mr. Big reflect the dash, grit, humor and ambitions of all of us in this crazy love affair with the world's most confounding metropolis. We couldn't be happier to have Chris with us in Greenport this September."

"It's really great that in one year, the North Fork TV Festival has grown to a caliber that Chris Noth, both a New Yorker and a TV great, is going to join and be honored," said Festival Honorary Chair Bill Persky. "Plus, I've had some questions for Chris Noth about Sex and the City and now I'll get to ask."

Noth has a knack for tackling characters that remain as relevant today as when he first played them. He rose to prominence as "Detective Mike Logan" on the original Law and Order, where he spent five seasons before starring opposite Sarah Jessica Parker as the iconic "Mr. Big" on HBO's groundbreaking series Sex and the City. Noth garnered his first Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy for this role. He continued as "Mr. Big" throughout the series, which launched two blockbuster movies, Sex and the City and Sex and the City 2, in which he also starred. Next came a critically lauded turn as "Peter Florrick" opposite Juliana Margolis on the CBS hit drama The Good Wife. Noth's complex performance earned him a second Golden Globe nod - this one for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, as well as two SAG nominations for Best Ensemble. Most recently, Noth wrapped the NBC series Gone, and is currently shooting the Discovery Channel's miniseries Manhunt, opposite Paul Bettany. He recently starred in the final season of the FX series TYRANT and appeared in a pivotal role in the hit Sundance feature film White Girl for director Elizabeth Wood and starring Morgan Saylor. He also stars in the independent film Chronically Metropolitan with Mary Louise Parker. Other television credits include the TNT original film Bad Apple, in which he not only starred, but also Executive Produced, as well as TNT's epic miniseries Caesar, the TNT telefilm Exiled, and the BBC Series Titanic: Blood and Steel. Additional film credits include Lovelace, with Amanda Seyfried and Peter Sarsgaard; Elsa & Fred, with Christopher Plummer and Marcia Gay Harden; Frankie Go Boom; My One and Only, Mr. 3000, Searching for Paradise, Double Whammy, Cast Away, Texas Funeral, Getting to Know You, The Broken Giant, The Confession, Cold Around the Heart, and Naked in New York.

The 3-day festival will feature an awards night with Artistic Director Jerry Foley presenting the inaugural "Loud Whisper" and "Canopy" Awards, an Opening Night Kick-Off Party at the Castello di Borghese Winery, industry panels, screenings of Independent television pilots and a closing night party at the East End Seaport Museum and Marine Foundation.

Festival passes are available for purchase https://northfork.tv/. Individual tickets will go on sale at a later date.

The North Fork TV Festival's main sponsors for 2017 include Bloomberg Philanthropies, Suffolk County, Hampton Jitney, JetBlue, Castello di Borghese Winery, Noah's Restaurant, Greenport Harbor Brewing Co, Discover Long Island, Times Review Media Group, Long Island Pulse, EHM Long Island Broadcasting, News12, Greenport Village BID, Special Effects Salon, First and South, Peconic Cruise Line, American Beech, Sound View Greenport, Silver Sands Hotel, Gallery Hotel, Townsend Manor Inn, PMK*BNC, Horowitz & Ullmann, Dentons US LLP, VSA Partners, Altice and Special Tea Room.

For more information, including the full list of events and screenings at this year's festival, visithttps://northfork.tv/ and follow @NorthForkTV on Twitter.

ABOUT NORTH FORK TV FESTIVAL The North Fork TV Festival is an affirmation of "the art of content". Celebrating the evolution of TV, the festival aims to elevate and draw attention to independent TV, while bringing together the innovative minds of TV executives, directors, writers and actors alike.

Held in Greenport New York, the annual North Fork TV Festival welcomes creators and embraces opportunities for independent program development. Exciting, innovative voices can be heard from around the globe.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos