TV & Film News – Tom Green, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee among BANFF Rockies honourees

Tom Green, actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, and Lionsgate Television Group chairman Kevin Beggs, are among those set to be recognized at the Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) Rockies Gala Awards. Green is this year’s winner of the Sir Peter Ustinov Comedy Award, recognizing a creative talent who has made an outstanding comedic contribution to the media industry, while Sun-Hyung Lee is being awarded the Canadian Award of Distinction, presented to a Canadian whose body of work exemplifies outstanding achievement in the entertainment industry. Beggs, who in addition to serving as Chairman & Chief Creative Officer of Lionsgate Television, serves as Chair of the Board of the BANFF Television Festival Foundation, will receive the Award of Excellence. Montreal’s Attraction is the recipient of this year’s Innovative Producer Award. Read more here. 

The 28th annual WGC Screenwriting Awards were announced on May 13 at Koerner Hall in Toronto. Among this year’s winners were Lienne Sawatsky, Pinecone and Pony (Children’s); Enuka Okuma, Workin’ Moms, (Comedy Series); Zoe Hopkins, Little Bird (Drama Series); and Marie Clements, Bones of Crows (MOW & Miniseries). Special awards were presented to Meredith Vuchnich, winner of the Sondra Kelly Award; Ben Joseph, winner of the Alex Barris Mentorship Award; and Alex Levine, who was awarded the Denis McGrath Award for Service to the WGC. Mark Haroun, showrunner and executive producer of Heartland, received the Showrunner Award.

Screen Nova Scotia hosted its 10th anniversary awards gala on Saturday. The Screen Nova Scotia Award for Best Feature Film went to The Queen of My Dreams from writer/director Fawzia Mirza and producers Marc Tetreault and Jason Levangie (Shut Up & Colour Pictures) and Andria Wilson (Baby Daal Productions). The third season of Bell Fibe TV1 series Vollies from Canadian Content Studios was crowned the winner of Best Scripted Television Series. The cast (Jonathan Torrens, Mary Austin, Brian George, and James Faulkner) also took home the inaugural ACTRA Maritimes Award for Series Ensemble. The Best Unscripted Television Series Award went to That Sex Show from Ocean Entertainment. Locally filmed TV series proved to be a showcase for N.S. talent, with Kristin Howell (Moonshine) and Shelley Thompson (Sullivan’s Crossing) both taking home ACTRA Maritimes trophies for Outstanding Performances. Find the full list of winners here.

The Guild of Music Supervisors, Canada (GMSC) and Canadian Music Week (CMW) have unveiled the nominees for the 2024 Canadian Sync Awards on Monday, June 3 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto. Heather Gardner and Telan Wong of Vapor Music/Long Division lead with seven nominations, followed by Cody Partridge of Pear Tree Music Supervision, and Jody Colero of The Wilders with five nominations each. The Canadian Sync Awards celebrates the craft of music supervision in filmed media in Canada with the presentation of 18 awards, including the inaugural GMSC Impact Award honouring Patrick Watson. 

Future of Film Showcase (FOFS) is expanding its industry programming for its 11th installment with the all new FOFS Pitch Competition, co-presented by POV. Designed to support Canadian filmmakers in the early stages of their careers, the competition will offer one winner a grand prize valued at $55,000 to support the development of their short film. Six emerging Canadian filmmakers will each be allocated 10 minutes to pitch to a panel of judges. The finalists are: Adrien Benson (Project: Wifi), Aisha Evelyna (Project: Mothballs), Kathleen Burgess (Project: Eleanor), Micaela Robertson (Project: No Grand Notions), Victor Oly (Project: Living With Ron), and Yvette Sin (Project: Pulp). The winner will be announced June 23 during the festival’s award ceremony at the Paradise Theatre in Toronto.

Canada Media Fund (CMF) and Manitoba Film & Music have announced a new joint program to fund documentaries at the early stages of development through the Predevelopment Program for Documentary Productions. Manitoba-based producers will be able to secure up to $25,000 in funding toward a new documentary project’s eligible costs.

Red Sky Performance is launching Aki Creators, a platform dedicated to accelerating Indigenous content globally. The streaming platform is now available at akicreators.com and through the Red Sky Performance website with a subscription-based model. The streaming platform will host Indigenous art of all mediums including dance, film, TV, talks and digital projects, with launch partners including Isuma, Rugged Media, and V-Tape. 

My Friend Omar: the Battle of a Seasonal Worker is now airing on CBC Gem and ICI Tou.TV. Christian De la Cortina and Frank Baylis, who have been working together on film projects for over 20 years, joined forces to produce a documentary portraying the harsh reality faced by thousands of temporary workers in Canada. The film traces abuses endured by Wilson Omar Mendez, a Guatemalan seasonal worker employed on a Quebec farm.