Recap of the 2018 Canadian Screen Awards
By Jerrison Oracion, Senior Columnist
Canada has a lot of unique stories told through film and television. These stories are diverse and talk about different aspects of Canadian life. Last year, a lot of these stories were shown around the world and they were recognized in the 2018 Canadian Screen Awards.
The award show this year was hosted by The Beaverton’s Emma Hunter and Murdoch Mysteries’ Jonny Harris. They were so good at hosting it this year that I think both should host it again next year. Hunter did a segment called This Time Next Year where she predicted Canadian content in the future, and in another part Harris read the acceptance speeches from some of the people who did not get an award.
In film, Maudie won Best Film, and every other award for which it was nominated, sweeping the show with seven awards. It also won Best Actress for Sally Hawkins and Best Supporting Actor for Ethan Hawke.
Ava received two awards including the First Feature Film Award and Best Supporting Actress for Bahar Nourian. Nabil Rajo won Best Actor for Boost, and it is a film to watch for when it becomes more widely available.
In comedy, Kim’s Convenience won Best Comedy after a very successful second season and received three awards in total, also winning Best Actor in a Comedy for Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy for Andrew Phung. It’s tied with Schitt’s Creek, which won Best Actress in a Comedy for Catherine O’Hara.
In drama, Anne got Best Drama and Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for R.H. Thomson’s portrayal of Matthew Cuthbert. However, the shows with the most awards are Orphan Black and Vikings with three each. Orphan Black also won Best Actress in a Drama for Tatiana Maslany, who has won the award for every season of the show.
In miniseries, Alias Grace won Best Miniseries and is tied with Cardinal with six awards. Alias Grace was also awarded Best Actress in a miniseries for Sarah Gadon, and Cardinal was awarded Best Actor in a Miniseries for Billy Campbell.
The Baroness von Sketch Show received Best Variety Show and swept the awards with five wins. It’s a great show, though not a lot of people watch it because it airs in the summer.
In local news, CBC News: Vancouver won three awards including Best Local Newscast, and they were recognized for their coverage of the BC provincial election last year, where they were the first station to project the results.
Finally, the Canadian Screen Awards gave out special awards including the Academy Board of Directors Award to Margaret Atwood; the Academy Icon Award to Rick Mercer Report, which will end next month; the Earle Grey Award to Clark Johnson, who made many contributions to the Canadian entertainment industry and was in a lot of shows, most notably The Wire; and a lifetime achievement award to Peter Mansbridge.
You can watch most of the winning films and shows on DVD, Blu-ray, and streaming services to see how diverse these Canadian stories are.