Canadian Screen Awards



The Canadian Screen Awards (French: Les prix Écrans canadiens ) are awards given annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media productions. The new awards were first presented in 2013 as the result of a merger of the Gemini Awards and Genie Awards—the Academy's previous awards presentations for television and film productions.

They are widely considered to be the most prestigious award for Canadian entertainers and filmmakers, often referred to as the equivalent of the Oscars and Emmy Awards in the United States, the BAFTA Awards in the United Kingdom, the AACTA Awards in Australia and the IFTA Awards in Ireland.

History
In April 2012, the Academy announced that it would merge the Gemini Awards and the Genie Awards into a new awards show that would better recognize Canadian accomplishments in film, television, and digital media. On September 4, 2012, the Academy announced that the new ceremony would be known as the Canadian Screen Awards, reflecting the multi-platform nature of the presentation's expanded scope and how Canadians consume media content. The inaugural ceremony, hosted by comedian Martin Short and broadcast by CBC Television, was on March 3, 2013.

Name
To date, the Academy has not announced an official short form nickname for the awards, such as "Oscar" for the Academy Awards. Numerous Canadian television and film critics and other figures have suggested potential nicknames, including the straightforward abbreviation "Screenies"; tributes to film and television legends including "Candys" in memory of actor John Candy, "Pickfords" in honour of actress Mary Pickford and "Normans" in honour of director Norman Jewison; "Angels" as a descriptive reference to the CSA trophy's "wings"; and "Gemininies" as a portmanteau of the awards' former names.

The Academy itself invited suggestions from viewers via social media, with CEO Helga Stephenson suggesting that the board would consider the suggestions and potentially announce a naming choice in time for the 2014 ceremony. No formal nickname has been announced to date, although numerous media outlets have settled on the informal designation "Screenies".

At the 4th Canadian Screen Awards in 2016, host Norm Macdonald called in his opening monologue for the awards to be named the Candys; several presenters and winners followed his lead throughout the evening, referring to the award as "The Candy" in their presentation announcements or acceptance speeches, and John Candy's former SCTV colleagues Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara both endorsed Macdonald's proposal in the press room. The nickname has still not been officially adopted by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, although the Academy's social media division immediately adopted the hashtag #TheCandys alongside the official #CdnScreen16, and Academy chair Martin Katz personally endorsed it in a follow-up interview with the Toronto Star. Macdonald had not sought input from the Academy itself prior to his monologue, although he ran the idea past the ceremony's broadcast producer Barry Avrich.

Awards categories
The Canadian Screen Awards has 134 categories in total. There are 24 film categories, 100 television categories, and 10 digital media categories. As with the Genie Awards, all Canadian films, regardless of language, are eligible to receive awards in the film categories. However, as with the Gemini Awards, only English-language productions are eligible for television categories: the Academy continues to hold the Prix Gémeaux, a separate ceremony honouring French-language television productions.

Film

 * Best Motion Picture
 * Best Direction
 * Best Actor
 * Best Actress
 * Best Supporting Actor
 * Best Supporting Actress
 * Best Screenplay (Original & Adapted)
 * Best Art Direction/Production Design
 * Best Cinematography
 * Best Costume Design
 * Best Editing


 * Best Overall Sound
 * Best Sound Editing
 * Best Original Score
 * Best Original Song
 * Best Make‐Up
 * Best Visual Effects
 * Best Feature Length Documentary
 * Best Short Documentary
 * Best Live Action Short
 * Best Animated Short
 * Best Cinematography in a Documentary
 * Best Editing in a Documentary

Television

 * Best Dramatic Series
 * Best Comedy Series
 * Best Animated Program or Series
 * Best Biography or Arts Documentary Program or Series
 * Best Children's or Youth Fiction Program or Series
 * Best Children's or Youth Non-Fiction Program or Series
 * Best Documentary Program
 * Best Factual Program or Series
 * Best History Documentary Program or Series
 * Best Lifestyle Program or Series
 * Best Live Entertainment Special
 * Best Music Program or Series
 * Best National Newscast
 * Best Local Newscast
 * Best News or Information Series
 * Best News or Information Program
 * Best News Special
 * Best News or Information Segment
 * Best Reportage, National
 * Best Reportage, Local
 * Best Performing Arts Program
 * Best Pre-School Program or Series
 * Best Reality/Competition Program or Series
 * Best Science or Nature Documentary Program or Series
 * Best Live Sports Event
 * Best Sports Program or Series
 * Best Sports Feature Segment
 * Best Sports Opening/Tease
 * Best Talk Program or Series
 * Best TV Movie or Limited Series
 * Best Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series
 * Donald Brittain Award for Best Social/Political Documentary Program


 * Best Direction in a Dramatic Series
 * Best Direction in a Dramatic Program or Limited Series
 * Best Direction in a Comedy Program or Series
 * Best Direction in an Animated Program or Series
 * Best Direction in a Children's or Youth Program or Series
 * Best Direction in a Documentary or Factual Series
 * Best Direction in a Documentary Program
 * Best Direction in a Lifestyle or Information Program or Series
 * Best Direction in a Live Sporting Event
 * Best Direction in a Reality/Competition Program or Series
 * Best Direction in a Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series
 * Best Achievement in Casting
 * Best Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role
 * Best Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role
 * Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Limited Series
 * Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Limited Series
 * Best Supporting Actor in a Dramatic Program or Series
 * Best Supporting Actress in a Dramatic Program or Series
 * Best Guest Performance in a Dramatic Series
 * Best Actor in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role
 * Best Actress in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role
 * Best Supporting or Guest Actor in a Comedic Series
 * Best Supporting or Guest Actress in a Comedic Series
 * Best Performance in an Animated Program or Series
 * Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series
 * Best Performance in a Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series (Individual or Ensemble)
 * Best Host in a Lifestyle, Talk or Entertainment News Program or Series
 * Best Host in a Variety or Reality/Competition Program or Series
 * Best Host or Interviewer in a News or Information Program or Series
 * Best News Anchor, National
 * Best News Anchor, Local
 * Best Sports Analyst
 * Best Sports Host
 * Best Sports Play-by-Play Announcer


 * Best Writing in a Dramatic Series
 * Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Limited Series
 * Best Writing in a Comedy Program or Series
 * Best Writing in an Animated Program or Series
 * Best Writing in a Children's or Youth Program or Series
 * Best Writing in a Documentary Program or Series
 * Best Writing in a Factual Program or Series
 * Best Writing in a Lifestyle or Reality/Competition Program or Series
 * Best Writing in a Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series
 * Barbara Sears Award for Best Editorial Research
 * Barbara Sears Award for Best Visual Research
 * Best Production Design/Art Direction in a Fiction Program or Series
 * Best Production Design/Art Direction in a Non-Fiction Program or Series
 * Best Photography in a Dramatic Program or Series
 * Best Photography in a Comedy Program or Series
 * Best Photography in a Documentary Program or Factual Series
 * Best Photography in a Lifestyle or Reality/Competition Program or Series
 * Best Photography in a News or Information Program, Series or Segment
 * Best Photography in a Variety Program or Series
 * Best Costume Design
 * Best Picture Editing in a Dramatic Program or Series
 * Best Picture Editing in a Comedy Program or Series
 * Best Picture Editing in a Documentary Program or Series
 * Best Picture Editing in a Factual Program or Series
 * Best Picture Editing in a Reality/Competition Program or Series
 * Best Picture Editing in a Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series
 * Best Sound in a Comedy or Dramatic Program or Series
 * Best Sound in a Non-Fiction Program or Series
 * Best Sound in a Variety or Animated Program or Series
 * Best Original Music for a Non-Fiction Program or Series
 * Best Original Music Score for a Series
 * Best Original Music Score for a Program
 * Best Make-up
 * Best Visual Effects

Digital Media

 * Best Cross-Platform Project – Children’s and Youth
 * Best Cross-Platform Project – Fiction
 * Best Cross-Platform Project – Non-Fiction
 * Best Immersive Experience
 * Best Original Interactive Production Produced for Digital Media
 * Best Original Program or Series Produced for Digital Media – Fiction
 * Best Original Program or Series Produced for Digital Media – Non-Fiction
 * Best Direction in a Program or Series Produced for Digital Media
 * Best Actor in a Program or Series Produced for Digital Media
 * Best Actress in a Program or Series Produced for Digital Media
 * Social Innovator Award

Special Awards

 * Academy Achievement Award
 * Best First Feature
 * Board of Directors’ Tribute
 * Digital Media Trailblazing Award
 * Diversity Award
 * Earle Grey Award
 * Fan Choice Award
 * Golden Screen Award


 * Gordon Sinclair Award
 * Humanitarian Award
 * Icon Award
 * Legacy Award
 * Lifetime Achievement Award
 * Margaret Collier Award
 * Outstanding Technical Achievement Award