2011 Playback Canadian Film & TV Hall of Fame honorees

From a media release:

Announcing the 2011 honorees for Playback’s Canadian Film and Television Hall of Fame in partnership with CBC

Now in its fifth year, Playback’s Canadian Film and Television Hall of Fame is proud to announce its six newest honorees. The inductees will be celebrated at a gala taking place on SEPTEMBER 15TH AT THE GLENN GOULD STUDIO in Toronto hosted by Colin Mochrie and Art Hindle. The gala will also recognize the recipients of Playback’s annual 10 to Watch as well as this year’s Panavision Award winner Adam Barken, and the winner of the Playback Outstanding Achievement Award, Allan Hawco.

The inductees, nominated by the industry and selected by a panel of senior film and television executives, are as follows:

FRÉDÉRIC BACK
• An internationally-recognized, award-winning animator, Back’s credits include two Oscar wins for Best Animated Short, The Man Who Planted Trees and Crac.

TANTOO CARDINAL
• A Gemini-winning actress and member of the Order of Canada, Cardinal has 80 screen credits to her name, amassed over a 35-year plus career, including star turns in Dances with Wolves, Legends of the Fall and North of 60.

DENIS HÉROUX
• One of Canada’s most successful indie filmmakers, Héroux also forged an international producing career, co-founding Alliance Entertainment. As a producer he’s a two-time Genie winner – Les Plouffe and The Bad Boy – and the producer of Atlantic City, which was nominated for a Best-Picture Oscar in 1980.

PIERRE JUNEAU
• A life-long champion of Canadian content, Juneau is largely credited with helping build a permanent domestic market for film and television. Juneau was the first chairman of the CRTC and one-time president of the CBC.

GILBERT ROZON
• Rozon founded the Just for Laughs festival in 1983, launching one of the most recognized brands in comedy and giving a platform to one of Canada’s most beloved exports – the comedian.

ROGER ABBOTT (posthumous)
• Comedian, writer and a Royal Canadian Air Farce founding member, he’s known for parodies of Jean Chretien, The Queen Mother, Yasser Arafat and Leonard Cohen among others. Abbott is a winner of a Gemini Humanitarian award, 15 ACTRA awards and a Juno. He passed away this year at the age of 64 after a 14-year battle with leukemia.

The Playback Outstanding Achievement Award is presented to a Canadian too young to be inducted to the Hall of Fame (based on the length of their career) whose success and accomplishments this year really stood out. The winner is ALLAN HAWCO, who is best known as the star, writer, producer and creator of the CBC smash hit The Republic of Doyle.

While the Hall of Fame gala honours the founders of the Canadian film and television industry, it also shines a light on some the country’s rising stars via Playback’s hotly contested 10 TO WATCH. The list is chosen by Playback in consultation with the industry at large. Those being recognized include:

GEOFF ASHENHURST (Editor, Defendor)
• Toronto-based Ashenhurst made a splash editing the TIFF darling Defendor and went on to cut Beginner’s Guide To Endings and co-edit The Whistleblower. He is currently working on the Samuel L. Jackson feature Samaritan.

RYAN BELLEVILLE & JASON BELLEVILLE (Screenwriters and producers, Almost Heroes)
• Accomplished writers and producers, the Calgary-raised Belleville brothers are co-creators of the Showcase series Almost Heroes. Jason has worked on over 90 episodes of television, and was the showrunner of CBC’s international family hit Little Mosque on the Prairie. Ryan is the winner of a Canadian Comedy award and a Phil Hartman Award.

ANDRE DUPUIS & SCOTT WILSON (Producers, Departures)
• Creators of the hit travelogue series Departures, which garnered a worldwide audience for its unvarnished approach, Wilson and Dupuis are credited with modernizing the genre. The duo’s new travel series is set to premiere in January, 2012 on OLN.

JENN ENGELS (Comedy writer, InSecurity)
• A talented comedy writer, Engels was twice nominated for a Gemini during her three-season run on Less Than Kind. She is currently working on season two of the CBC spy farce InSecurity.

SARAH GADON (Actor, A Dangerous Method)
• The Toronto-based actor has already amassed 41 credits, getting her first gig at age eleven. In the past two years she has worked on Jim Sheridan’s Dream House, Mary Harron’s The Moth Diaries and two David Cronenberg films, A Dangerous Method and Cosmopolis.

LINDSAY GEORGE (Cinematographer, A Night for Dying Tigers)
• An award-winning cinematographer, the Vancouver-based George has worked on over 14 projects in the last five years including 2010’s feature film A Night for Dying Tigers, which premiered at TIFF.

LARYSA KONDRACKI (Director, The Whistleblower)
• Kondracki is the director of the acclaimed feature film The Whistleblower, which debuted at TIFF last year. The Whistleblower has since secured international distribution and acclaim, and Kondracki has found herself jetting around the world attending premieres.

ANTHONY LEO & ANDREW ROSEN (Producers, Todd & The Book of Pure Evil)
• Since founding Aircraft Pictures, Leo and Rosen have nurtured two TV series into multiple seasons. Todd & The Book of Pure Evil garnered eight nominations at this year’s Geminis and just wrapped its second season, while What’s Up Warthogs will be entering its sophomore year.

JEFF TOYNE (Orchestrator, District 9 /Composer, Dirty Girl)
• A sought after orchestrator, Toyne has worked on such mega hits as District 9, Fast Five and Battle Los Angeles. Now he’s broken into the composer ranks, his true passion, and is currently working on his first feature, the indie film Dirty Girl.

NATHAN VELLA (Game producer, Critter Crunch)
• Vella founded independent game studio Capy Games and quickly landed licensing deals with Cars and American Idol. Capy’s first original IP was the critically acclaimed Critter Crunch.

The Panavision Award is given to one of the previous year’s Ten to Watch honourees whose career trajectory most impressed the jury. The winner this year is ADAM BARKEN. After being named a 10 to Watch for his writing on Flashpoint and Rookie Blue, Barken has gone on to expand his remit receiving both writer and producer credits on the Gemini-nominated Rookie Blue while still contributing to Flashpoint, which received 17 Gemini nominations this year.

The Hall of Fame inductees, Playback Outstanding Achievement Award and Panavision Award are selected by a jury of film and TV executives. The jury includes: Slawko Klymkiw, Executive Director CFC; Kirstine Stewart, Executive Vice President English Services, CBC; David Paperny, President, Paperny Films; Art Hindle, National Councillor, ACTRA; Kevin Tierney, President, Park Ex Pictures; Michael Donovan, Chairman & CEO, DHX; Michèle Maheux, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer, TIFF; Maria Topalovich, Executive Director, Screen Composers Guild of Canada. In order to be considered for inclusion in the Hall of Fame, candidates must have a minimum of 25 years dedicated commitment to Canadian film and television. They will have made significant contributions to the film and television industry at home, or enhanced Canada’s reputation abroad. And they will have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to establishing, developing and maintaining the highest standards of excellence.