Last night the Leo Awards presented their gala awards ceremony — the final of three nights celebrating British Columbia’s film and television industry — and the television winners  were dispersed among several shows.
CTV’s whydunnit Motive won best dramatic series, beating out 19-2, Blackstone, Continuum and The Romeo Section.
In performances, Jared Keeso was named best lead performance by a male for 19-2, and Carmen Moore of Blackstone won best lead performance by a female. Lauren Lee Smith of This Life was named best supporting performance by a female, with Osric Chau  best supporting male for Blood and Water.
Jesse McKeown picked up a screenwriting award for 19-2’s “Orphans” episode, while David Frazee won best direction in a dramatic series for The Romeo Section’s “Elephant Faces East.”
Golden Maple Awards Nominees Unveiled
Nominees for the Golden Maple Awards, celebrating Canadian talent in U.S.-airing TV series like HBO’s Silicon Valley and FX’s The Strain, were unveiled Monday.
The awards show for Canadian talent will be presented by the Academy of Canadians in Sports & Entertainment – Los Angeles. The Golden Maple Awards, now in its second year, honour Canadians in the best actor, best actress and newcomer of the year categories for TV series airing in the U.S. during the 12 months to July 1, 2016. Continue reading.Â
Screen Nova Scotia hosted its second annual awards show on Saturday, May 7, Â in front of a sold-out crowd at Casio Nova Scotia. Featuring the ACTRA Awards for Outstanding Performances, the Screen Nova Scotia Awards, the Digital Animators of Nova Scotia Award, and the Film Crew Excellence Award, the event was a celebration of the talent, determination, and passion that are trademarks of the screen-based community in Nova Scotia.
After opening the evening with a live performance, Studio Black! won the award for Best Television Series. The CBC miniseries from Lunenburg-based production company Picture Plant Limited tells African-Nova Scotian folk tales in a style the mixes theatre and studio television.
Local actor/director Cory Bowles hosted the night, and also joined the Studio Black! team on stage to accept their Screen Nova Scotia award, as one of the directors of the series.
North Mountain, a First Nations LGBT thriller, won the Screen Nova Scotia Award for Best Feature Film. It’s the first feature film from writer/director Bretten Hannam.
The theme of the evening was ‘family’ – a gathering of those who built the industry over the past 20 years – with multigenerational presenters taking to the stage to present awards throughout the evening.
Three-time nominee Jackie Torrens took home the ACTRA trophy for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her work on the feature film Across the Line. Mike Mcleod won his second ACTRA award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for the role of the priest in the television series Forgive Me. Director Thom Fitzgerald accepted the award on McLeod’s behalf, as the actor moved to B.C. for work following the elimination of the tax credit last year.
Costumer Deanna Anthony, won the Film Crew Excellence Award, posthumously. An industry veteran, Deanna most recently worked on This Hour Has 22 Minutes and The Lizzie Borden Chronicles, before passing away from cancer at the age of 52.
The full list of award winners:
Best Television Series: Studio Black! (Picture Plant Ltd.) Best Documentary Film: Fanarchy (Ruby Tree Films) Best Short Film: Bound (Daniel Boos) Best Feature Film: North Mountain (Mazeking Pictures & Kingsberg Studios) Best Scene in an Animated Production: Bit By Bit / Animated by Jeff Roach (Huminah Animation)
Outstanding Female Actor in a Leading Role: Jennie Raymond, Sex & Violence Outstanding Male Actor in a Leading Role: Mike Mcleod, Forgive Me Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role: Jackie Torrens, Across The Line Outstanding Male Actor in a Supporting Role: Simon Paul Mutuyimana, Across The Line
Film Crew Excellence Award: Deanna Anthony, Costumer
Calgary-based TV shows nab top prizes at Rosie Awards
Two of Alberta’s highest-profile, Calgary-based television series took home major hardware at the 42nd annual Alberta Film and Television Awards in Calgary Saturday night, although the night was not without a few surprises.
The show, hosted by comedian Jebb Fink, took over the Hyatt’s Imperial Ballroom, as hundreds of Alberta’s film and TV workers dressed to the nines and competed in 55 categories for the awards, nicknamed the Rosies. Continue reading.Â
Clement Virgo (The Book of Negroes), Russ Cochrane (Orphan Black) and Amanda Walsh (Schitt’s Creek) were among the winners recognized at the 2016 Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Awards on Monday night in Toronto. Hosted by Elvira Kurt, the WGC event—delivered to a packed Koerner Hall—also celebrated the 25th anniversary of the WGC, which broke away from ACTRA in 1991 to become a guild of independently congregated writers.
“Writers, this is a big night for you,” Kurt joked during her opening monologue. “I look around and I see that the Chuck Taylor’s have been polished, the Spanx have been spanked, spiffy outfits have been borrowed and for some of us the meds we take for social anxiety are almost kicking in.”
“I want to thank all of my fellow finalists, and to all female screenwriters for telling their stories because you inspired me to tell my story,” Walsh said upon winning the TV Comedy category for her Schitt’s Creek script “The Cabin.” Orphan Black writer and co-executive producer Aubrey Nealon accepted Cochrane’s award for Season 3’s “Newer Elements of Our Defense,” while Virgo and The Book of Negroes author Lawrence Hill (pictured above) were on hand to accept the trophy for writing in a Movie of the Week or Miniseries.
Clive Endersby received the Alex Barris Mentorship Award, Penny Gummerson the Sondra Kelly Award, Peter Mohan the Writers Block Award and Frank van Keeken the Showrunner Award, who stunned the crowd by announcing he’d been ousted as showrunner on The Next Step and Lost & Found Music Studios.
Frank van Keeken (Image courtesy of Christina Gapic.)
Here’s the complete list of categories (winners denoted in blue):
CHILDREN Numb Chucks, Season 2 “Witless to the Prosecution†Written by Evan Thaler Hickey
Odd Squad, Season 1 “Puppet Showâ€
Written by Charles Johnston
Pirate Express, Season 1 “Fountain of Misspent Youthâ€
Written by David Elver
DOCUMENTARY Deluged by Data Written by Josh Freed
Ninth Floor
Written by Mina Shum
MOW & MINISERIES The Book of Negroes: Episode 1 Story by Lawrence Hill, Teleplay by Clement Virgo
The Gourmet Detective
Written by Becky Southwell & Dylan Neal
Kept Woman
Written by Doug Barber & James Phillips
SHORTS & WEBSERIES
Bob! The Slob
Written by James Nadler
Goldfish Written by Michael Konyves
TV COMEDY
Mr. D, Season 4 “President Jimmyâ€
Written by Anita Kapila
Mr. D, Season 4 “Short Stockedâ€
Written by Marvin Kaye
Schitt’s Creek, Season 1 “The Cabin†Written by Amanda Walsh
TV DRAMAÂ
19-2, Season 2 “Orphansâ€
Written by Jesse McKeown
19-2, Season 2 “Property Lineâ€
Written by Nikolijne Troubetzkoy
19-2, Season 2 “Schoolâ€
Adapted by Bruce M. Smith
Orphan Black, Season 3 “Newer Elements of Our Defense†Written by Russ Cochrane
X Company, Season 1 “Into the Fireâ€
Written by Mark Ellis & Stephanie Morgenstern
TWEENS & TEENS Some Assembly Required, Season 2 “Rocket with a Pocket†Written by Jennica Harper
Some Assembly Required, Season 2 “Snappoâ€
Written by Cole Bastedo & Jennifer Siddle
The Stanley Dynamic, Season 1 “The Stanley Grandpaâ€
Written by Alice Prodanou
FEATURE FILMS A Christmas Horror Story Written by James Kee and Sarah Larsen and Doug Taylor and Pascal Trottier
