Getting ready for the Canadian Screen Awards
By Jerrison Oracion, Senior Columnist
Canadian film and television last year showed that Canada has a place on the international stage of the entertainment world. There were a lot of great films that you might have seen in a movie theatre, film festival, or art house theatre. A lot of shows were so successful that they were shown internationally.
All that great Canadian content in 2017 will be recognized in the Canadian Screen Awards this year, unofficially called the “Candys.” The nominations of the Canadian Screen Awards this year were announced on January 16 by Kim’s Convenience star Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Sarain Fox, and Karine Vanasse.
The nominations for Best Film are The Ravenous, Never Steady, Never Still, Maudie, The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches, It’s the Heart that Dies Last, The Breadwinner, and Ava. Never Steady, Never Still and Ava have the most nominations, with eight each.
BC films have a lot of nominations this year, such as Kathleen Hepburn’s award-winning first film Never Steady, Never Still, which received three awards in the Vancouver International Film Festival last year, including the Sea to Sky Award. The film, which is about a woman named Judy (Shirley Henderson) who struggles with Parkinson’s Disease, also has a nomination for Best Actress thanks to Henderson, who plays the role very well.
The other film with the most nominations is Sadaf Foroughi’s first film Ava, which follows a teenager in Tehran and depicts day-to-day life in Iran.
Other BC films in the running in different categories are Adventures in Public School (formerly Public Schooled) for Best Original Screenplay for Kyle Rideout and Brian Epstein’s script, and Mina Shum’s most recent film Meditation Park for Best Actor for Tzi Ma, who plays the character Bing. I thought they could have also given a nomination for Cheng Pei-Pei, who is very funny in Meditation Park. Indian Horse is also nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Sladen Peltier.
In drama, Anne has the most nominations—and the most nominations of all categories—with 13 nominations, including Best Drama and Best Actress in a Drama for Amybeth McNulty for her portrayal of Anne Shirley Cuthbert.
In comedy, Kim’s Convenience has the most nominations with 12, including Best Comedy. Almost every actor in the show was nominated except for Simu Liu, who plays Jung, and who had a few great scenes this season. Also, Nicole Power, who plays Jung’s boss Shannon at the Handy Car and Truck Rental, is nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy.
In miniseries, Cardinal has the most nominations with 12, including Best Miniseries, and because of its success it is now a full show. Alias Grace is also up for Best Miniseries with 11 nominations and it is also nominated for Best Actress in a Miniseries for Sarah Gadon.
In variety, The Baroness von Sketch Show and Rick Mercer Report both received the most nominations with eight each, including Best Sketch Show.
You can still watch the nominated films and shows, and now that Netflix is a sponsor of the Canadian Screen Awards, most of them are available through the streaming service. The Canadian Screen Awards ceremony airs March 11 on CBC, though this year’s host has yet to be announced.
