The 9th
Canadian Screen Awards were presented by the
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian cinema of Canada, film industry and television in Canada, television industry professionals ...
from 17–20 May 2021 to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and
digital media
In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, an ...
production in 2020. The presentations were held as a series of
virtual events due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
.
Most nominations were announced on 3 March 2021;
[Victoria Ahearn]
"‘Blood Quantum,’ ‘Schitt’s Creek’ top Canadian Screen Award nominations"
''Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division.
...
'', March 30, 2021. however, the nominations and winners in sports broadcasting categories were announced at a later date.
["Canadian Screen Awards: Rules and Regulations Change Highlights"](_blank)
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian cinema of Canada, film industry and television in Canada, television industry professionals ...
. In the film categories, the film ''
Blood Quantum'' received the most award nominations (10), and ultimately the most wins (6), while in the television categories, ''
Schitt's Creek
''Schitt's Creek'' (stylized as ''Schitt$ Creek'') is a Canadian television sitcom created by Dan Levy (Canadian actor), Dan Levy and his father, Eugene Levy, that aired on CBC Television from 2015 to 2020. It consists of 80 episodes spread ove ...
'' also received both the most award nominations (21) and wins (8). No new winners were named for the Academy's annual special awards; instead, the honorees previously named in 2020, most notably
Alex Trebek
George Alexander Trebek (; July 22, 1940 – November 8, 2020) was a Canadian and American game show host and television personality. He was best known for hosting the syndicated general knowledge quiz game show ''Jeopardy!'' for 37 seasons ...
, were celebrated and highlighted.
Ceremony information
Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the ceremonies were once again held as a
virtual event
A virtual event is an online event that involves people interacting in a virtual environment on the web, rather than meeting in a physical location. Virtual events are typically multi-session online events that often feature webinars and webca ...
. Academy CEO
Beth Janson stated that "it’s not going to be just a Zoom call of an awards show. We have a lot of exciting and creative things in store."
Due to the impact of the pandemic on theatrical film distribution in 2020, the Academy revised its eligibility rules for films. Where the rules for feature films usually require a film to receive at least one full week of theatrical screenings in at least two of Canada's major metropolitan markets, the rules for 2020 permitted films that received at least four commercial screenings in just one major market, as well as films that were commercially screened on an Academy-approved list of
video on demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...
platforms after having been planned for conventional theatrical distribution or screened in any qualifying Canadian film festival in 2020. Short films were eligible if they received one commercial screening in Canada, were accepted into two qualifying film festivals or were distributed on an approved VOD platform; documentary films were eligible if they received three commercial screenings, were accepted into two qualifying film festivals, or were screened on one of the approved VOD platforms.
Janson stated that she was confident these eligibility changes would help the awards proceed normally; she also stated, however, that with the pandemic having impacted film production in 2020, the Academy was more concerned about the possibility of a downturn in qualifying content for the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022.
[Barry Hertz, "How one Canadian arts institution is rebuilding amid the pandemic". '']The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...
'', November 5, 2020. The Academy also introduced a number of new projects in 2020 to foster increased representation of diversity in the Canadian film industry, including an equity and inclusion fund to help defray the award submission fees for work by emerging content creators of colour, and new rules requiring
indigenous-themed content to demonstrate direct indigenous engagement in the production, in accordance with the Indigenous Screen Office's principles of narrative sovereignty.
Other new changes at the 9th ceremony included the renaming of the Overall Sound category to Sound Mixing, and the introduction of new categories for Best Casting in films and Best Stunt Coordination.
[
]
Eligible streaming platforms
The eligible streaming platforms for the 9th Canadian Screen Awards included Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime (styled as prime) is a paid subscription service of Amazon which is available in many countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services inclu ...
, CBC Gem, the Cineplex Store, Club Illico, Crave, The Criterion Channel, CuriosityStream, Documentary Online Cinema, the Digital TIFF Bell Lightbox
Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits.
Businesses
*Digital bank, a form of financial institution
*Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company
*Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...
, Disney+
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
, Dove Channel, Fandor, FlixFling, Google Play
Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store, Play Store, or sometimes the Android Store (and was formerly Android Market), is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certifie ...
, Greetings from Isolation, GuideDoc, Highball TV, Hollywood Suite, Hoopla, Ignite TV On Demand, iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
, Kanopy, Microsoft Films & TV, MUBI
Mubi (; stylized as MUBI; the Auteurs before 2010) is a global streaming platform, production company and film distributor. MUBI produces and theatrically distributes films by emerging and established filmmakers, which are exclusively available ...
, Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
, Pantaflix, Popcornflix, Shudder, Spuul, SundanceNow, Super Channel on Demand, Tubi
Tubi (stylized as tubi) is an American over-the-top ad-supported streaming television service owned by Fox Corporation since 2020. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In 2023, Tubi, Credible L ...
, Vimeo on Demand and YouTube Premium
YouTube Premium (formerly Music Key and YouTube Red) is a subscription service offered by the American video platform YouTube. The service provides ad-free access to content across the service, as well as access to premium YouTube Originals ...
.["Canadian Screen Awards: Eligible Festivals and Online Platforms"]
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian cinema of Canada, film industry and television in Canada, television industry professionals ...
.
Film
Television
Programs
Actors
News and information
Sports
Because many of the live sporting events on which sports broadcasting depends were cancelled in 2020, the Academy extended the eligibility period in sports broadcasting categories, and named the nominees and winners in separate events in July 2021.[Catriona Koenig]
"YK’s Hockey Day in Canada wins Canadian Screen Award"
'' Cabin Radio'', July 23, 2021.
Craft awards
Directing
Music
Writing
All-platform awards
One major category is currently presented without regard to the distinction between film, television or web media content.
Audience awards
Two major categories are presented based on online voting by fans through social media engagement.
Digital media
References
External links
Canadian Screen Awards
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Screen Awards, 09
09
2020 film awards
2020 television awards
2021 in Ontario
2021 in Canadian cinema
2021 in Canadian television
2020 awards in Canada