The Whistler Film Festival announced today (November 23) that it will be paying tribute to two Canadian talents: actor/writer/renaissance man Alan Thicke and filmmaker Deepa Mehta. 

Ontario-born Thicke will receive the Canadian Icon award and arrives in Whistler for an on-stage conversation on December 2. 

Probably most well-known for his role as Jason Seaver on the U.S. TV sitcom Growing Pains, Thicke also maintained a second career as a songwriter for, among others, Anne Murray, Bobby Darin, Johnny Cash, and his own son, Robin. 

Thicke was also the composer behind several TV theme songs, including The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes, and has hosted TV game shows, talk shows, special events, and beauty pageants, in addition to his appearances on numerous TV series, including jPod and The Bold the Beautiful. 

He stars in Chris Craddock's offbeat comedy It's Not My Fault and I Don't Care Anyway, which receives its Canadian premiere at the festival on December 2.

Meanwhile, Deepa Mehta will be honoured with the Trailerblazer Award on December 3. Her latest film, Anatomy of Violence, is a docudrama about the gang rape of a student in India that was previousy examined in Leslee Udwin's 2015 BBC doc, Daughter of India.

Anatomy of Vioence screens on December 3.

Attending Brit filmmaker John Madden will receive the Maverick Award for Directing, and brings his latest, Miss Sloane, starring Jessica Chastain, to Whistler for its Canadian premiere on December 1 (with subsequent screenings on December 2 and 4). Prior to the first screening, Madden will take part in an onstage conversation.

Among the other guests and honorees lined up for this year's WFF: Jacob Tierney (Lovesick)​, Tammy Gillis (Menorca), ​Michael Cram (The Space Between Us)​, Duane Howard​ (The Sun at Midnight), Scott Bellis​ and Kendall Cross (Grand Unified Theory), Matt Baram​ (The Death and Life of Carl Naardlinger), Grace Lynn Kung and Raoul Bhaneja (Miss Sloane), Mark Jude Sullivan and Alex McKenna (Bear With Us), and Jake Croker and Teagan Vincze​ (An American Dream: The Education of William Bowman).

In the Rising Stars category, expect to see Agam Darshi and Michael Eklund (Chokeslam) and Taylor Hickson (Hunting Pignut) mingling with festival attendees, along with actor/musician Charlie Kerr (Lost Solace and An American Dream: The Education of William Bowman). Kerr will also perform an acoustic set with JPNSGRLS in WFF’s Music Showcase.

The Whistler Film Festival takes place from Wednesday (November 30) to December 5.