Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television hosts its inaugural Screen Week
December 20, 2012
It was recently announced that the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television will host its first-ever six-day gala in an effort to celebrate Canadian film and TV, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Academy announced plans for the week of February 26 to March 3. The first event of the week will be the Banff Industry Day hosted by the Banff World Media Festival.
"We bring people together at Banff over four days, so we can expect this event to bring the industry together mid-way through the year to hear directly from industry leaders about the state of the world," Banff executive director Ferne Cohen told the news source of the Canadian Screen Week launch event in Toronto.
The awards show will replace the previous Genies, which celebrated Canadian film, and the Geminis, which focused on the country's TV honors. Now, the two will be combined for a single broadcast that will air on Sunday March 3 on CBC. The event will be hosted by Canadian-born funnyman Martin Short, according to the news outlet.
Prior to the live broadcast, the Academy will host a few gatherings including a pre-telecast award-giving ceremony on February 27 and 28. The nominees will also have a party to attend prior to the show. This will be the first time Canada has mixed TV, film and digital media for one award show honoring those from their country. The Academy's CEO, Helga Stephenson, believes it has been a long time coming to combine all of the mediums in order to have one special event for Canadians in the entertainment industry.
"It's time to get together to explore the emerging combination of the three disciplines," Stephenson told the news source. "I'm hoping that this Canadian Screen Week will take root and have the potential to become an annual summit where new ideas are discussed."
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television has been around since 1979, and has successful given credit to exceptional achievements in Canadian film, TV and digital media over the years.
Those who want to talk about the upcoming awards can make calls to Canada using international calling cards.