This year, the Vancouver International Film Festival will present its VIFF Industry Builder Award to the creator of the Vancouver-shot X-Files, Chris Carter.

He'll be presented with the award at a Greater Vancouver Board of Trade luncheon on October 7. This is the second year the award will be presented. Last year, the inaugural award was presented to Lionsgate Entertainment founder Frank Guistra. 

The paranormal investigation TV series, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, spawned two feature films as well as a 2016 TV mini-series. In addition, it helped establish Vancouver as one of the major film centres in North America.  

At the event, Carter will open the Sustainable Production Forum at the Vancouver International Film Centre, where he will be a keynote speaker on the importance and future of sustainable production.

This one-day event will focus on Vancouver as a destination for sustainable screen-based industry production.

The forum will include sustainability executives from Warner Brothers, 20^th Century Fox, and NBC Universal; leaders from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the World Bank's Connect4Climate group; Creative BC on their Reel Green initiative; and the Vancouver Economic Commission.

This will all be a part of VIFF's Impact program, which includes the Radcliffe Foundation Refugee Crisis Awareness Short Film Competition. Films in the competition address the global refugee crisis with the aim to inspire Canadians to take action. The winner of the $20,000 prize will be announced prior to VIFF's opening gala on September 29.

VIFF's Impact film series offers documentaries about issues such as insects as a solution for global food supply (Bugs), a hidden nuclear accident at a U.S. missile complex (Command and Control), and innovations that could reduce carbon emissions to zero (Power to Change: The Energy Rebellion).

The 2016 Vancouver International Film Festival runs from September 29 to October 14.