Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize over 4,000 Canadian film industry and television industry professionals. The mandate of the Academy is to honour outstanding achievements, to heighten public awareness and increase audience attendance and appreciation of Canadian film and television productions, to provide critically needed high-quality professional development programs, conferences and publications.

Background
As of 2012, the Academy’s primary national awards program is the Canadian Screen Awards, which were announced in 2012 as a replacement for the formerly distinct Genie Award and Gemini Award ceremonies. The Prix Gémeaux for French-language television remains a separate awards program.

The current chief executive officer is Beth Janson, and the chair of the board is Martin Katz. The organization's previous CEO was Helga Stephenson, who announced that she was stepping down in April 2016.

Milestones

 * 1979 - The Academy of Canadian Cinema is established
 * 1980 - The Etrog is renamed the Genie Award
 * 1980 - The 1st Genie Awards ceremony is held
 * 1985 - The organization is renamed the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television
 * 1986 - The Gemini Award statuette is unveiled
 * 1987 - The 1st Prix Gémeaux ceremony is held
 * 1993 - The Claude Jutra Award is established to recognize first time directors
 * 1995 - The Academy's official website, academy.ca, goes online
 * 2003 - Digital Media Awards are introduced at the 2010 Gemini Awards
 * 2008 - The Prix Gémeaux ceremony is webcast
 * 2012 - Academy announces the merger of its Gemini and Genie Awards programs into the Canadian Screen Awards