IGNITE Conversation with Gale Anne Hurd

Gale Anne Hurd is the founder of Valhalla Entertainment, most recently known for the global cultural phenomenon, Emmy Award-winning and record shattering TV series The Walking Dead and it's multiple spin offs including Fear The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead, Dead City, The Walking Dead, Daryl Dixon and The Ones Who Live. Gale's extensive producing credits include a range of Academy award-winning films with Aliens notably earning 7 nominations and two wins. Her additional Academy Award-winning works include The Abyss, The Ghost and the Darkness, Armageddon and Terminator 2 Judgement Day, which was recently added to the National Film Registry by the US Library of Congress. Some of her additional studio credits include Tremors, The Relic, Aeon Flux, Ang Lee's The Incredible Hulk, Alien Nation, and Sundance Award winner The Water Dance, among many others. Additional Valhalla TV credits include Amazon Prime Videos, Law sci-fi limited series Hunters, and two seasons of Falling Water on the USA Network. On the film side, Valhalla produced the feature film Hellfest for Lionsgate, which is currently streaming on Netflix, and Mankiller, which chronicles the life of the late Wilma Mankiller, the first woman elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. Man Killer was produced in partnership with with Nebraska's own Vision Maker Media. Most recently, Valhalla produced Tribeca Film Festival's spotlight documentary The YouTube Effect, which shines light on the spread of misinformation and the algorithms that manipulate public perception. Gale's honours include the 2022 Lucano Film Festival's Best independent Producer award, the Cartier Award from the Deauville American Film Festival Women in Films Crystal Award, the Producer Guild's David O Selznick Best Feature Film Producer Award, the Visual Effects Society's Lifetime Achievement Award and most recently award the 2020 and most recently the 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Online Film Critics Association.