From a media release:
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
(image courtesy of Michael Tompkins)