Tag Archives: Awards

Featured, X Company

Comments and queries for the week of January 27

Orphan Black, Schitt’s Creek, Kim’s Convenience among top TV nominations for 2017 Canadian Screen Awards

X Company belongs in the best drama series list. Of all the Canadian series I watch, I think it was the best last year, followed by Orphan Black and Vikings, the latter of which is now interestingly not in the international category anymore. The comedy category is really strong too this year but I have to give my nod to Kim’s Convenience which is a refreshingly funny and original multi-generational comedy with well-drawn characters. —Alicia

Kim’s Convenience: Ins Choi can take pride in this debut

Honestly, one of the best things CBC has produced in a long time. I haven’t laughed this hard in years. I hope it has a long run. —Fred

Photo gallery: First look at CBC’s Pure

Looks like a mess. The Mennonites involved in drug smuggling were Mexican Mennonites, people ultimately of Dutch origin. They even use a wheel of Mexican Mennonite cheese stuffed with drugs in their promos.

Old Order Mennonites however, are of Swiss/Southern German origin. They don’t even speak the same language as Mexican Mennonites (Pennsylvania Dutch as opposed to Plattdeutsch) and wouldn’t be part of the same communities, as they have very different cultures and rules.

This is like lumping in Italian Canadians from Toronto with some Newfoundlanders because they are both Catholic. —Ivriniel

 

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email Greg.david@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.

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Awards

The 2016 UBCP/ACTRA Awards nominees are announced

From a media release:

With a mission to build the BC star system, each year the UBCP/ACTRA Awards gala honours five members for work done in the past year. This awards show is the only peer-adjudicated performer awards show in BC, lending a strong sense of professional pride to the nominees and winners. The red carpet gala will take place at the Vancouver Playhouse on November 12, 2016.“We are extremely proud to showcase our homegrown talent at the fifth annual UBCP/ACTRA Awards. Each year has been special in its own way and we know that this year we will, once again, experience the feeling of pride we get when we honour the talent here in BC,” says Alvin Sanders, President of UBCP/ACTRA.
The nominees are:

BEST ACTOR

  • Steven Cree Molison: Blackstone (Retribution)
  • Eli Goree: Race
  • Brandon Jay McLaren: Slasher (In the Pride of His Face)
  • Ty Olsson: UnREAL (Savior)
  • Aleks Paunovic: Numb
  • Juan Riedinger: The Romeo Section (Mandate of Heaven)

BEST ACTRESS

  • Priscilla Faia: You Me Her (Cigarettes and Funions and Crap)
  • Crystal Lowe: Signed Sealed Delivered (From Paris with Love)
  • Carmen Moore: Blackstone (Flat Line)
  • Christina Sicoli: Paranormal Solutions Inc. (Happy Endings and New Beginnings)
  • Camille Sullivan: The Birdwatcher

BEST EMERGING PERFORMER

  • Emily Haine: Fargo (The Gift of the Magi)
  • Dejan Loyola: Saving Hope (Goodbye Girl)
  • Julie Lynn Mortensen: Drawing Home
  • Jacob Tremblay: Room
  • Jonathan Whitesell: The 100 (Terms and Conditions)
  • Mayumi Yoshida: The Man in the High Castle (The Illustrated Woman)

BEST VOICE

  • Peter Kelamis: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (The Hooffields and McColts: Big Daddy McColt)
  • Andrea Libman: My Little Pony Friendship is Magic (The One Where
  • Pinkie Pie Knows Pinkie Pie & Fluttershy)
  • Peter New: Littlest Pet Shop (Petnapped!; Sunil)
  • Lee Tockar: Slugterra (Get Pronto!; Pronto)
  • Vincent Tong: Nerds and Monsters (Tickle Stick/Monstarrrghs!; Irwin)

BEST STUNT

  • Leif Havdale: Arrow (Code of Silence)
  • Leif Havdale: The Flash (Legends of Today)
  • Adrian Hein: Arrow (Schism)
  • Stunt Ensemble (Rhys Williams, Leif Havdale): The Candidate
  • Stunt Ensemble (Mike Mitchell, Lauro Chartrand, Dean Choe, Scott Nicholson, Crystal Dalman): X Files (Babylon)

In addition to the five performance awards, two UBCP/ACTRA industry awards will be presented: the Lorena Gale Woman of Distinction Award and the John Juliani Award of Excellence.

The UBCP/ACTRA Awards will be held on Saturday, November 12, 2016 at the Vancouver Playhouse with over 600 industry professionals including UBCP/ACTRA members, press and politicians in attendance.

The Union of British Columbia Performers (UBCP/ACTRA) is an autonomous branch of ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists), the national organization of professional performers working in the English-language recorded media in Canada. ACTRA represents the interests of 22,000 members across Canada – the foundation of Canada’s highly acclaimed professional performing community.

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Awards, Industry News

Screen Nova Scotia announce award winners

From a media release:

Screen Nova Scotia hosted its second annual awards show on Saturday, May 7,  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

(image courtesy of Michael Tompkins)

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Awards, Industry News

Celebrate the Writers: WGC Screenwriting Awards, May 2

From a media release:

The WGC Screenwriting Awards recognize the talented Canadian writers whose scripts spark an entire television and film industry.

On May 2, 2016 the screenwriter is in the spotlight at the awards gala, held at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s beautiful Koerner Hall. Host Ryan Belleville brings his sharp wit to the stage in a fast-paced show co-written with This Hour Has 22 Minutes writer Jeremy Woodcock.

Writers from Orphan Black, 19-2, and X Company compete for the best TV Drama Award, to name just one category. Awards will also be handed out for the winning children’s, documentary, feature film, MOW and miniseries, shorts and webseries, TV comedy, and teens and tweens scripts. Close to 150 scripts were nominated, with 24 scripts chosen as finalists, and 32 screenwriters up for awards.

Awards presenters include The F Word screenwriter Elan Mastai, What Would Sal Do? showrunner Andrew De Angelis with star Dylan Taylor, powerhouse couple Sudz Sutherland and Jennifer Holness (Shoot the Messenger), Mohawk Girls showrunner Cynthia Knight, documentary writer Michael McNamara (The Cholesterol Question), and Jessie Gabe, writer of Cas & Dylan.

A full slate of special awards, including the WGC Showrunner Award, the Alex Barris Mentorship Award, and the Sondra Kelly Award will also be presented.

The 2016 WGC Screenwriting Awards mark the 25th anniversary of the Writers Guild of Canada. Join us Monday, May 2, 2016, at the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning’s Koerner Hall.

2016 WGC Screenwriting Awards Finalists

CHILDREN
Numb Chucks, Season 2 “Witless to the Prosecution”
Written by Evan Thaler Hickey

Odd Squad, Season 1 “Puppet Show”
Written by Charles Johnston

Pirate Express, Season 1 “Fountain of Misspent Youth”
Written by David Elver

DOCUMENTARY
Deluged by Data
Written by Josh Freed

Ninth Floor
Written by Mina Shum

FEATURE FILMS
A Christmas Horror Story
Written by James Kee and Sarah Larsen and Doug Taylor and Pascal Trottier

End of Days, Inc.
Written by Christina Ray

The Saver
Written by Wiebke von Carolsfeld

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 Jimmy”
Written by Anita Kapila

Mr. D, Season 4 “Short Stocked”
Written by Marvin Kaye

Schitt’s Creek, Season 1 “The Cabin”
Written by Amanda Walsh

TV DRAMA
19-2, Season 2 “Orphans”
Written by Jesse McKeown

19-2, Season 2 “Property Line”
Written by Nikolijne Troubetzkoy

19-2, Season 2 “School”
Adapted by Bruce M. Smith

Orphan Black, Season 3 “Newer Elements of Our Defense”
Written by Russ Cochrane

X Company, Season 1 “Into the Fire”
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 “Snappo”
Written by Cole Bastedo & Jennifer Siddle

The Stanley Dynamic, Season 1 “The Stanley Grandpa”
Written by Alice Prodanou

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Awards, Industry News, Schitt's Creek

ACTRA Toronto announces 14th annual winners

From a media release:

ACTRA Toronto is proud to announce the winners of the 14th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto.

Outstanding Performance – Female
Catherine O’Hara (Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek, “Wine and Roses” Produced by Not a Real Company)

Outstanding Performance – Male
Christopher Plummer (Zev Guttman in Remember. Produced by Serendipity Point Films)

Outstanding Performance – Voice
Julie Lemieux (Granny Butternut in Numb Chucks, “Tough Love” Produced by 9 Story Media Group)

Tantoo Cardinal presented ACTRA Toronto’s 2016 Award of Excellence to Sarah Gadon.

A special presentation of statuettes was made to ACTRA Toronto’s stunt pioneers: John “Frenchie” Berger, Matt Birman, Shane Cardwell, Shelley Cook, Bobby Hannah, Chris Lamon, Dwayne McLean, Brent Meyer, Branko Racki, Alison Reid, Morris Maurizio Santia, John Stoneham Sr., Anton Tyukodi and Billy E. Williams.

The 14th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto were presented at a live show and gala at The Carlu. The show was hosted by comic Martha Chaves with live music by Salsa Norte.

The 14th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto was sponsored by: DIAMOND: Actra Fraternal Benefit Society. PLATINUM: ACTRA National, Performers’ Rights Society and Recording Artists’ Collecting Society; Bell Media. GOLD: CBC, CMPA, City of Toronto Film, Television and Digital Media Office, Deluxe, In Your Ear Productions, IATSE 873, Rhombus Media, Shaftesbury Films, United Steelworkers. SILVER: Cavalluzzo, Directors Guild of Canada (Ontario), RBC Royal Bank. BRONZE: Addenda Capital, Creative Arts Savings & Credit Union, Don Carmody Film and Television, eOne, Grant Thornton, HUB International, New Real Films, Rolling Picture Company, Serendipity Point Films, Take 5 Productions, Whizbang Films, Writers Guild of Canada.

ACTRA Toronto is the largest organization within ACTRA, representing more than 15,000 of Canada’s 22,000 professional performers working in recorded media in Canada. As an advocate for Canadian culture since 1943, ACTRA is a member-driven union that continues to secure rights and respect for the work of professional performers.

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