Mary’s Kitchen Crush and its star, Mary Berg, along with Canada’s Drag Race and its hosts and CTV National News with Lisa Laflamme were among the individuals and programs to win during Night 1 of 2021 Canadian Screen Awards Virtual Presentations.
The first portion of the stripped-down celebration focused on News and Documentary, narrated by journalist Ginella Massa, followed by Lifestyle and Reality categories narrated by Canada’s Drag Race Season 1 winner Priyanka.
Here are the winners in Monday’s key categories:
Best News or Information Series CBC News: The Fifth Estate
Best News Anchor, Local Dwight Drummond, CBC News Toronto at 6
Best Local Newscast CityNews at 6
Best News Anchor, National Lisa LaFlamme, CTV National News with Lisa LaFlamme
Best National Newscast CTV National News with Lisa LaFlamme
Best Biography or Arts Documentary Program or Series Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt’s CreekFarewell
Best History Documentary Program or Series Enslaved: The Lost History of the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Best Factual Series You Can’t Ask That
Best Documentary Program Hockey Mom
Best Talk Program or Series CBC News: Power & Politics
Best Performing Arts Program We’re Funny That Way: The Virtual Pride Special
Best Morning Show Breakfast Television
Best Host, Lifestyle Mary Berg, Mary’s Kitchen Crush
Best Host or Presenter, Factual or Reality/Competition Brooke Lynn Hytes, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, Stacey McKenzie, Canada’s Drag Race
Best Lifestyle Program or Series Mary’s Kitchen Crush
Best Reality/Competition Program or Series Canada’s Drag Race
It’s Canadian Screen Awards week and we’re celebrating all week long in a very special way. We’ll feature exclusive interviews with the actors and creative folks who are nominated in the television and web series categories.
First up: Sharron Matthews, nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Drama for Frankie Drake Mysteries, andVanessa Matsui, nominated for Best Lead Performance, Web Program or Series for Ghost BFF.
Sharron Matthews, nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Drama for Frankie Drake Mysteries
How do you feel the Canadian TV industry is faring during these pandemic times? The beginning of the pandemic was…strange, to say the least…but after our first lockdown, I went straight into TWO writers rooms, so we just kept doing what we always do in the arts…creating through adverse times. Artists and arts administrators are used to calamity and since the TV and Film industry doesn’t perform in front of large groups of people, we collectively did some recon, and kept going, kept creating. Then I feel like the TV and Film industry really pulled together and figured out a safe, secure way to physically make TV in the face of great challenges. This is what I love about the arts, it always finds a way to survive and thrive. Shout out to the stage and live theatre makers, who have pivoted and found innovative ways to express themselves and have their work be seen.
How have you fared during these pandemic times? I’m grateful beyond measure that I had Frankie Drake Mysteries and the animated show Rebecca Liddiard (Mary Shaw on Frankie), Carmen Albano (Detention Adventure) and I created with Shaftesbury (Mary and Flo on the Go), to work on from almost the beginning of the pandemic. I spent most of the time up until we went to camera on both Frankie and Mary and Flo, writing and developing scripts for both shows, so I kept myself singularly focused on work … away from the uncertainty of the world around me. I have done my VERY best to stay positive. Some days have been better than others.
Do you think Canadian TV is stronger than ever when it comes to telling our stories? I believe that Canadian writers and creators have become braver in expressing our unique comedic and dramatic voices. With worldwide successes such as Kim’s Convenience, Schitt’s Creek, Workin’ Moms, and even Frankie Drake Mysteries (if I may) it feels like we have realized that we don’t have to morph our visions to fit the gaze of other countries. Stories told from a Canadian perspective with a distinctly Canadian sense of humour or pathos have become sought after, which is thrilling and has laid the groundwork for an exciting and fertile future.
Does an award nomination/win serve as validation for you or is it just a nice nod that you’re on the right track, career or choice-wise? Oh my gosh … I would be lying if I said being nominated by a group of your peer wasn’t validating. It is. It really is. I am thrilled.
What will you wear during the Canadian Screen Awards? I will be watching all the nights with my bubble pal, Mike Bickerton (nominated for his showrunning work on Canada’s Drag Race) and I’m fairly sure we’ll be wearing caftans. Large, billowing caftans. So, basically? We will be dressed in something we bought off the internet.
What will you eat/drink/snack on during the Canadian Screen Awards? I’m a Hamilton girl forever, so I’m not too fancy. Chips and wine. I’m a simple gal.
Is there someone who served as a mentor when you were starting out in this industry that you’d give a special shout-out to in your acceptance speech if given the chance? If I had the chance to give an acceptance speech, the first person I would thank is the indomitable Christina Jennings, head of Shaftesbury and producer of Frankie Drake Mysteries. She’s been a supportive force in my life since the day I started on Frankie. Since then, she’s answered every question I have asked about writing and producing, encouraging me to not have limits when it comes to creating. She sets an example not just for female producers but for producers in general, about how to be tenacious and think big. She’s taught me to give pause, time and energy to ideas that spark the soul, because if they don’t work out … there is a good chance those ideas may lead to greater, more fulfillable ideas. Christina leaves no piece of energy or innovation wasted. THANK YOU, CHRISTINA!!!
Vanessa Matsui, nominated for Best Lead Performance, Web Program or Series for Ghost BFF
Congratulations on your Canadian Screen Award nomination! Thank you!!
How do you feel the Canadian web series industry is faring during these pandemic times? Shooting, in general, is challenging right now, so indie filmmaking is particularly challenging because so much of your budget is going to COVID precautions. Which I completely understand and appreciate. Also, I think we are going to see a surge of creations post-pandemic. Especially during that first wave, I’ve heard that so many writers and creators, myself included, finally had the time to write that thing that they’ve been wanting to write. So there may be some unintended POSITIVE consequences to shutting down the industry for a season.
How have you fared during these pandemic times? Ha! Well, it’s been a roller coaster, to say the least. I feel like each wave came with its own challenges. I’m a mom, so losing my ‘village’ has frankly been traumatic. And I’m a lucky one! I have a home and a partner and I was able to go back to work relatively quickly compared to so many. But in some ways, I’m incredibly grateful for these times. I’m a different person now and I look back on pre-pandemic Vanessa as almost a child. It hasn’t been easy, but I’m definitely a better, more me person now.
Do you think Canadian web series is stronger than ever when it comes to telling our stories? Yes! There are so many incredible web series right now that I’m such a big fan of. Band Ladies and Bit Playas come to mind immediately.
Does an award nomination/win serve as validation for you or is it just a nice nod that you’re on the right track, career or choice-wise? It’s a really nice nod. I’m so happy that Kaniehtiio [Horn], Jean [Yoon], and Angela [Asher] were also nominated. I think four actresses being nominated for one show is just fabulous.
What will you wear during the Canadian Screen Awards? Ha! Sweatpants. Sorry, not sorry.
What will you eat/drink/snack on during the Canadian Screen Awards? Pizza and wine!
Is there someone who served as a mentor when you were starting out in this industry that you’d give a special shout-out to in your acceptance speech if given the chance? An early supporter of Ghost BFF was Ana Serrano. I don’t think this show would have gotten as far as it did without her initial support. Also, my late acting teacher, Jacqueline McClintock, who always encouraged me to write and create my own work. She is in my heart whenever I step onto set.
Last year, the pandemic played havoc with the Canadian Screen Awards. Originally scheduled for the last week of March in Toronto with the usual in-person fan and industry events capped off by a gala, it was all delayed, ultimately going virtual last May.
Now the Canadian Screen Awards are back and, once again, being handed out virtually. But, with a year of experience at this sort of thing, Beth Janson, CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, says the Academy is ready to deliver.
Congratulations on another Canadian Screen Awards. You all have become veterans now because you’ve had a year of the pandemic under your belt to pull this off again. Beth Janson: Yes. I know. It’s not really an expertise I would have chosen. But we are excited that we have done everything, start to finish, virtually, this year. So it’s been very, very strange, but successful. So, we’re happy about that.
In all seriousness you have had more than a year to plan for this, whereas, last year, you had moving targets all the time. How did you tackle things this year? Did things go more smoothly, what were some things that you decided you wanted to do this year that maybe you weren’t able to do last year? Yes, last year was very much, a not ideal scenario. This year, we really were able to take more time to think about the creative behind the shows. We hired a creative producer. It’s all original music in our shows. I think it allowed us to take more care with the details. We’re still not having a Zoom acceptance speech award show because, despite everything we’ve seen this whole quarantine or pandemic, we don’t feel like that makes for a very exciting viewing experience.
We still are focusing on the content, so we’re taking more time. We’re playing clips. So much of our awards is about discoverability. And even people who are in our industry sometimes don’t realize the breadth of what’s out there. We’re able to sort of let them breathe more and sort of have it be more of a creative exercise, than a panic exercise.
Is focusing on the creative side of it maybe one of the positives of this situation? I certainly think that it will change the way we do our shows once we’re back in person because it really is something that resonates. Our model before this was huge events. I mean, we had four galas before and the broadcast was 1,500 people. The galas before were up to 1,000 people. It’s going to be different when we’re able to gather again, and I think that’s going to be OK. I think it’s made us better and stronger for sure.
I was talking to someone recently who complained about the length of the U.S. awards shows. I said, ‘Folks could take a note from the Canadian Screen Awards,’ because you run a tight ship for that gala. It’s an hour long, in the traditional sense when it was on TV, giving out the top awards, and get in and get out. Well, thank you for saying that, first of all. That’s really, really nice to hear. I think that when you do confine yourself, you have to get creative about how you’re doing things, and every single moment counts. Right?
I think award shows are going to get better after this pandemic, just in general. I know that ratings have been going down, and everyone’s questioning award shows in general in the industry. It’s got some new, fresh energy into the production. Even though the Oscars were not successful, in the viewership it certainly was a completely different show than what we’re used to. And I think that’s good, because you had to make these massive changes, and now you can take what worked there and take the best parts of the big, live show and combine them.
Let’s get into some of the trends. Blood Quantum, 10 nominations. Only in a country like Canada, can you have a zombie horror movie, starring an Indigenous cast and written by someone who is Indigenous, can you have that. I love that about this country. Yes, me too. You’ll also see that Possessor was also in the mix there. And it’s nice that our members are honouring genre film because we have a huge, long, successful history in that genre. I thought it was really, really great that it was being acknowledged. It’s really exciting that the work that’s nominated this year is probably the most audience-friendly fare that I’ve seen in a long time. It’s good to see because I want as many people to see these films as possible, so I get excited when it’s mixed up, and you have very different films in the mix. It’s not all sort of similar stories.
Looking at the television categories, and Schitt’s Creek with 21 nominations, Canada’s Drag Race has seven nominations. You can’t help but be proud of the storytelling. Our industry really has a responsibility, a unique responsibility, and an opportunity to contribute to diversity and equity. And I think the direction is really positive. I think there’s a lot more work to do.
But, especially when we’re talking about our industry, what we produce and who we empower to tell the story shape the way so much of the country and the general public perceives experience. It’s really important. You can see it, even in the time that I’ve been here, these programs that seek to fund gender parity. Now we’re moving into funding more diverse creators. It has an impact. I hope that it’s systemic, but I think we’re sort of looking at the right ways to change.
What do you want people to experience during this week of celebrations for the Canadian Screen Awards? I want everyone to have at least one moment of discovery when they’re watching the show, like, ‘Huh, that looks really interesting,’ and to seek it out.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television (the Canadian Academy) announced today the nominees for the 2021 Canadian Screen Awards in 141 film, television, and digital media categories. The awards will be presented as a seven-part genre-based series of presentations streamed live on Academy.ca — as well as the Canadian Academy Twitter and YouTube channels — from Monday, May 17, 2021, through Thursday, May 20, 2021.
The sixth and final season of Schitt’s Creek leads both the television and overall Canadian Screen Award nominations with 21, followed by Cardinal: Until The Night and Trickster with 15 nominations each. In film, Jeff Barnaby’s Blood Quantum tops nominations with 10, while Deepa Mehta’s Funny Boy sees nine and Charles Officer’s Akilla’s Escape eight. Bit Playas leads digital media nominations with six, Hey Lady! with five, and both Avocado Toast the series and Ghost BFF with four.
The ninth annual Canadian Screen Awards will be a showcase of the Canadian content that got us through a very precarious year, and will honour the creators who brought unique stories to our screens and into our lives. Each presentation will be narrated by a notable Canadian and will focus heavily on the nominated works. The awards will culminate in the Canadian Screen Awards main event — featuring a curated selection of prominent awards — streaming live on Thursday, May 20, 2021 at 8:00 PM ET. More details will be announced in the coming weeks.
The presentations will also honour the 2020 Special Award recipients, a group of eleven esteemed Canadians including Earle Grey Award recipient Tina Keeper, Radius Award (presented by MADE | NOUS) recipient Dan Levy, Lifetime Achievement Award recipient David Suzuki, and Academy Icon Award recipient Alex Trebek.
The schedule for the 2021 Canadian Screen Awards is as follows:
Monday, May 17 7:00 PM ET – Canadian Screen Awards – News & Documentary, Presented by CBC
8:00 PM ET – CTV presents the Canadian Screen Awards – Lifestyle & Reality
Tuesday, May 18 7:00 PM ET – Canadian Screen Awards – Children’s & Animation, Presented by Shaw Rocket Fund
8:00 PM ET – Canadian Screen Awards – Digital & Immersive, Presented with the participation of the Independent Production Fund
Wednesday, May 19 7:00 PM ET – CTV presents the Canadian Screen Awards – Creative Arts & Performance
Thursday, May 20 7:00 PM ET – Canadian Screen Awards – Cinematic Arts, Presented by Telefilm Canada, Supported by Cineplex
8:00 PM ET – Canadian Screen Awards
The 2021 nominations were chosen by members of the Canadian Academy and by nominating juries, conducted virtually with representatives from the film, television, and digital media industries. The membership will now cast their votes between Tuesday, March 30, 2021 and Friday, April 16, 2021 to determine the winners.
The 2021 Canadian Screen Awards for Sports will be handed out in July 2021, with nominees to be announced in June 2021.
For a full list of 2021 Canadian Screen Awards nominees, please visit Academy.ca/nominees.
Cardinal, Kim’s Convenience, Schitt’s Creek and Baroness Von Sketch Show were among those who captured trophies during Night 2 of 2020 Canadian Screen Awards Virtual Presentations.
The Canadian Screen Awards, originally scheduled to air in March, moved online and was streamed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Wednesday’s online ceremony celebrated Crafts in Scripted Programs, narrated by Evany Rosen and Kayla Lorette, and Scripted Programs and Performance, presented by Eric McCormack.
Here are the winners in Wednesday’s key categories:
Best Writing, Web Program or Series
Wendy Litner, How to Buy a Baby
Best Writing, TV Movie
Christina Welsh, Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey
Best Writing, Variety or Sketch Comedy Baroness Von Sketch Show
Best Writing, Comedy
Jared Keeso and Jacob Tierney, Letterkenny
Best Writing, Drama Series
Patrick Tarr, Noelle Carbone and Aaron Bala, Cardinal
Best Guest Performance, Drama Series
Dalmar Abuzeid, Anne with an E
Best Guest Performance, Comedy
Amanda Brugel, Kim’s Convenience
Best Supporting Actress, Drama
Kristen Thomson, Cardinal
Best Supporting Actor, Drama
Thom Allison, Killjoys
Best Supporting Actress, Comedy
Emily Hampshire, Schitt’s Creek
Best Supporting Actor, Comedy
Andrew Phung, Kim’s Convenience
Best Supporting Performance, Web Program or Series
Emma Hunter, How to Buy a Baby
Best Lead Performance, Web Program or Series
Emily Hampshire, Save Me
Best Web Program or Series, Fiction Save Me
Best Lead Performance, TV Movie
Kate Drummond, Nowhere to Be Found
Best Lead Actress, Drama Series
Karine Vanasse, Cardinal
Best Lead Actor, Drama Series
Billy Campbell, Cardinal
Best Lead Actress, Comedy
Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek
Best Lead Actor, Comedy
Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Golden Screen Award for TV Drama or Comedy Murdoch Mysteries and Private Eyes
Best Sketch Comedy Show & Ensemble Performance Baroness Von Sketch Show
Best TV Movie Believe Me: The Abduction of Lisa McVey
