The Prism Prize is a national juried award recognizing the artistry of the modern

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

."Prism Prize reveals its shortlist for best Canadian music video"
. ''

The Grid The Grid are an English electronic dance group, consisting of David Ball (formerly of Soft Cell) and Richard Norris, with guest contributions from other musicians. They are best known for the hits "Swamp Thing", "Texas Cowboys", "Crystal C ...

'', February 15, 2013. A jury of over 120 Canadian music and film industry professionals, including members of the print and web media, broadcasting, film, radio, and video art communities, nominate the 10 best videos of the year to comprise the Prism Prize shortlist. The winning video receives a cash prize of $20,000. This is the richest cash prize for music videos in North America. Founded by Louis Calabro in 2012,"Inaugural Prism Prize to award best Canadian music video of 2012"
''BlogTO'', September 29, 2012. the award is administered 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 ...

. The inaugural Prism Prize was awarded in March 2013 to director Noah Pink for Rich Aucoin’s "Brian Wilson Is A.L.I.V.E", while director Vincent Morisset took home the Audience Award for

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, and Jeremy Gara. The band's touring line-up includes former core ...

’s "Sprawl II"."Rich Aucoin Wins First-Ever Prism Prize"
''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

'', March 24, 2013. For the second award presentation in 2014, the Prism Prize introduced two new awards, the Special Achievement Award for artistic achievements and exceptional contribution to music video art on a world stage, and the Arthur Lipsett Award for innovative and unique approaches to music video art. The 2014 Prism Prize was presented on March 23, 2014 to director Emily Kai Bock for her Arcade Fire "Afterlife" video. The Audience Award went to director Kheaven Lewandowski for his video for "River" by The Belle Game. The Arthur Lipsett Award was presented to Scott Cudmore and Michael LeBlanc for their innovative video work. The Special Achievement Award went to

Floria Sigismondi Floria Sigismondi (, born 1965) is an Italian-Canadian film director, screenwriter, music video director, artist, and photographer. She is best known for writing and directing '' The Runaways'', for directing music videos for performers includ ...

. In 2020 the committee introduced the Willie Dunn Award, a lifetime achievement award honouring Canadians who have been trailblazers in the art of music video."2020 Prism Prize Special Award Winners Announced"
''FYI Music News'', July 22, 2020. The award was named in memory of Willie Dunn, an indigenous Canadian musician whose 1968 animated short film '' The Ballad of Crowfoot'' has sometimes been credited as the first Canadian music video.

Winners and nominees

2013

Nominees were announced on February 14, 2013, and the winners were announced on March 24. * Prism Prize: Rich Aucoin, "Brian Wilson Is A.L.I.V.E." (director Noah Pink) * Audience Award:

- " Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)" (director Vincent Morisset) *

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

- "

HYFR (Hell Ya Fucking Right) "HYFR (Hell Ya Fucking Right)" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake from his second studio album ''Take Care'' (2011). The song features Lil Wayne and was released as the album's sixth official single. It was released to radio stations on April 24, ...

" (director

Director X Julien Christian Lutz (born October 31, 1975), known professionally as Director X, is a Canadian music video director. Having trained under Hype Williams, Lutz has been credited for directing over a hundred music videos spanning various genres si ...

) *

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her lyrics often touch on science fiction and feminist themes. The visuals in her videos are elabora ...

- "Genesis" (director Claire Boucher) *Grimes - "Oblivion" (director Emily Kai Bock) *

METZ Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

- "Wet Blanket" (director Scott Cudmore) * Mother Mother - "The Sticks" (director

Chad VanGaalen Chad VanGaalen (born 1977) is a Canadian musician, animator, and artist from Calgary, Alberta. Career ''Infiniheart'' Following a few scattered independent releases, done mostly on homemade CDs with hand-drawn art, VanGaalen released '' Infini ...

) * Maylee Todd - "Baby's Got It" (director Reynard Li) * Yamantaka // Sonic Titan - "Hoshi Neko" (directors Emily Pelstring and Ruby Kato Attwood) * Young Rival - "Two Reasons" (director John Smith)

2014

Nominees were announced on February 18, 2014, "Prism Prize short list features Shad, Drake and a double dose of Arcade Fire"

CBC Music CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

, February 18, 2014. and the winners were announced on March 23. * Prism Prize:

- "

Afterlife The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...

" (director Emily Kai Bock) * Audience Award: The Belle Game – "River" (director Kheaven Lewandowski) *Arcade Fire – " Reflektor" (director

Anton Corbijn Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director, and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner" ...

) *

– "

Started from the Bottom "Started from the Bottom" is a song by Canadian hip hop recording artist Drake, released as the first single from his third studio album ''Nothing Was the Same''. The song was written by Drake, Michael Coleman, and Noah "40" Shebib, and it was p ...

" (director

) * Hollerado – "So It Goes" (director Marc Ricciardelli) * Keys N Krates – "Dum Dee Dum" (director Amos LeBlanc) *

Jessy Lanza Jessy Lanza (born September 3, 1985) is a Canadian electronic songwriter, producer, and vocalist from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. She has released four albums, '' Pull My Hair Back'' (2013), '' Oh No'' (2016), '' All the Time'' (2020) and '' Love ...

– "Kathy Lee" (director Lee Skinner) * Majical Cloudz – "Childhood’s End" (director Emily Kai Bock) *

Shad The Alosidae, or the shads, are a family (biology), family of clupeiform fishes. The family currently comprises four genera worldwide, and about 32 species. The shads are Pelagic fish, pelagic (open water) schooling fish, of which many are anadr ...

– "Fam Jam (Fe Sum Immigrins)" (director Che Kothari) * Young Galaxy – "New Summer" (director Ivan Grbovic)

2015

Nominees were announced on February 12, 2015,"Prism Prize announces Top 10 best Canadian music videos of 2014"
''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...

'', February 12, 2015. and the winners were announced on March 29."Chad VanGaalen Wins 2015 Prism Prize for Timber Timbre Video"
''

'', March 29, 2015. * Prism Prize: Timber Timbre, "Beat the Drum Slowly" (director

) * Audience Award: Kandle, "Not Up to Me" (director Natalie Rae Robison) *

The New Pornographers The New Pornographers are a Canadian indie rock band, formed in 1997 in Vancouver. Presented as a musical collective and supergroup of singer-songwriters and musicians from multiple projects, the band currently consists of Carl Newman (vocals, ...

, "Dancehall Domine" (directors Scott Cudmore and Michael LeBlanc) * PUP, "Guilt Trip" (directors Chandler Levack and Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux) *

Fur Trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

, "Same Temptation" (director Kheaven Lewandowski) * Rich Aucoin, "Yelling in Sleep" (director Joel Mackenzie) *

Ryan Hemsworth Ryan Hemsworth (born 23 April 1990) is a Canadian record producer and DJ. He specialises in electronic music and sampling. He has produced tracks for Tinashe, Tory Lanez, Mitski, and E-40. Biography Raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Hemsworth a ...

, "Snow in Newark" (director Martin C. Pariseau) *

Kevin Drew Kevin Drew (born September 9, 1976) is a Canadian musician and songwriter who, together with Brendan Canning, founded the expansive Toronto baroque-pop collective Broken Social Scene. He was also part of the lesser-known KC Accidental, which con ...

, "You in Your Were" (director Samir Rehem) * Odonis Odonis, "Order in the Court" (director Lee Stringle) *

, "Monster" (director Chad VanGaalen)

2016

Beginning in 2016, the prize revised its process. A longlist of 20 nominees was announced on February 9, 2016,"Prism Prize Announces Top 20 Finalists for 2016"
''

'', February 9, 2016. a shortlist of 10 finalists was announced on March 22, and the winner was named on May 15.

Shortlist

* Prism Prize: Kalle Mattson, "Avalanche" (director Philip Sportel) * Audience Award:

Death From Above 1979 Death from Above 1979 (also known as Death from Above or DFA 1979) is a Canadian rock duo consisting of bassist Jesse F. Keeler and drummer and vocalist Sebastien Grainger from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2001. The band released their debut album ...

, "Virgins" (director Eva Michon) *Arthur Lipsett Award: Kristof Brandl * A Tribe Called Red, "Suplex" (director Jon Riera) *

Braids A braid (also referred to as a plait; ) is a complex structure or pattern formed by interlacing three or more strands of flexible material such as textile yarns, wire, or hair. The simplest and most common version is a flat, solid, three-strand ...

, "Miniskirt" (director Kevan Funk) *

, "

Hotline Bling "Hotline Bling" is a song recorded by Canadian rapper Drake (musician), Drake, which served as the lead single from his fourth studio album ''Views (album), Views'' (2016). The song is credited as a bonus track on the album. It was made availabl ...

" (director

) * The Elwins, "So Down Low" (director Alan Poon) * The Fast Romantics, "Julia" (director Matthew Angus) *

, "Flesh Without Blood" (director Grimes) * Harrison, "How Can It Be" (director Maxime Lamontagne) * Monogrenade, "Le Fantôme" (director Kristof Brandl)

Longlist

2017

Winners

* Prism Prize:

Kaytranada Louis Kevin Celestin (born August 25, 1992), known professionally as Kaytranada (stylized as KAYTRANADA, shortened as KAYTRA), is a Haitian-Canadian music producer, rapper, singer and DJ. Celestin rose to prominence after releasing a series of m ...

, "Lite Spots" (director Martin C. Pariseau). ''

chartattack.com ''Chart Attack'' (stylized as ''CHARTattack'') was a Canadian online music publication. Formerly a monthly print magazine, it was called ''Chart'' and published from 1991 to 2009. Online content ceased to be updated sometime between mid 2017 to 20 ...

'', May 15, 2017. * Audience Award: Andy Shauf, "The Magician" (director Winston Hacking) *Lipsett Prize: Kid *Hi-Fidelity Award: July Talk *Special Achievement: Revolver Films

Shortlist

Longlist

2018

Winners

* Prism Prize: Charlotte Day Wilson, "Work" (director Fantavious Fritz) * Audience Award:

Daniel Caesar Ashton Simmonds (born April 5, 1995), known professionally as Daniel Caesar, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After independently building a following through the release of two EPs, ''Praise Break'' (2014) and ''Pilgrim's Paradise'' (2015) ...

, "Freudian, A Visual" (directors Keavan Yazdani and Sean Brown) *Hi-Fidelity Award:

*Lipsett Award:

Karena Evans Karena Evans (born December 17, 1995) is a Canadian director and actress. She garnered recognition for directing the music videos for Drake's 2018 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart-topping singles, " God's Plan", " Nice for What", and " In My Feelin ...

, making her the first woman to win the award *Special Achievement Award: Cherie Sinclair

Shortlist

Longlist

2019

Winners

* Prism Prize: The Belle Game, "Low" (director Kevan Funk) * Audience Award: Said the Whale, "UnAmerican" (director Johnny Jansen) *Hi-Fidelity Award: Clairmont the Second, "Gheeze" (director Clairmont the Second) *Lipsett Award: Soleil Denault *Special Achievement Award: Lacey Duke

Shortlist

Longlist

2020

The longlist for the 2020 Prism Prize was announced in February 2020, with the shortlist originally slated to be announced on April 2 and the winner to be announced on May 11. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in Canada The COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is part of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (). It is caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Most cases over the course o ...

, however, the prize committee cancelled the May 11 event, and postponed the announcement of the winners to July 22 for the special awards, and July 23 for the topline categories. In addition, they opted not to issue a shortlist, instead announcing that all 20 longlisted nominees would be eligible for the final awards.

Winners

* Prism Prize:

Jessie Reyez Jessica Reyez (born June 12, 1991) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Her 2016 single, "Figures", peaked at number 58 on the Canadian Hot 100 and received triple platinum certification by Music Canada (MC) and platinum by the Recording Industry A ...

, "Far Away" (director Peter Huang)"Jessie Reyez video wins Prism Prize for Far Away"

CBC News CBC News is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC ...

, July 24, 2020. * Audience Award:

ft. Koffee, "CYANIDE REMIX" (directors Keavan Yazdani, Sean Brown) *Hi-Fidelity Award: Daniela Andrade *Lipsett Award: Tranquilo *Willie Dunn Award: Laurieann Gibson *Special Achievement Award: Bardia Zeinali

Longlist

2021

The longlisted nominees for the 2021 Prism Prize were announced on April 29, 2021,Alex Nino Gheciu
"These Are the Top 20 Canadian Music Videos Nominated for the 2021 Prism Prize"
''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'', April 29, 2021. with the shortlist announced on June 9 and the winners announced on July 26.

Winners

* Prism Prize:

Haviah Mighty Haviah Mighty (born December 17, 1992) is a Canadian rapper from Brampton, Ontario. She rose to prominence in 2016 as a member of the hip hop group The Sorority (rap group), the Sorority, before releasing several EPs on her own, most notably ''F ...

, "Thirteen" (director Theo Kapodistrias) * Audience Award:

Aquakultre Aquakultre is a Canadian soul and R&B musical project from Halifax, Nova Scotia, whose core member is singer and rapper Lance Sampson. Formed in 2015, they are most noted for their album ''Legacy'', which was a longlisted nominee for the 2020 Po ...

, "Pay It Forward" (directors Evan Elliot and Lance Sampson) *Hi-Fidelity Award: Crack Cloud *Lipsett Award: Gennelle Cruz *Willie Dunn Award: Leanne Betasamosake Simpson *Special Achievement Award: Jordan Oram

Shortlist

Longlist

2022

Winners

* Prism Prize: Mustafa, "Ali"David Friend
"Toronto musician Mustafa wins $20,000 Prism Prize for his music video ‘Ali’"
''

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 ...

'', July 8, 2022. * Audience Award: Khanvict, "Closer" (director Anjali Nayar) *Hi-Fidelity Award:

Chiiild Chiiild (pronounced "child") is a Canadian experimental soul band, fronted by Yonatan "xSDTRK" Ayal signed to Avant Garden Records * and 4th & Broadway (Def Jam Recordings). The Montréal-based band formed in 2017 and released their debut EP, ...

Matt Bobkin
"Mustafa Wins 2022 Prism Prize"
''

'', July 8, 2022. *Lipsett Award: Iris Kim *Willie Dunn Award: Mustafa *Special Achievement Award: Sammy Rawal

Shortlist

2023

Winners

* Prism Prize:

Snotty Nose Rez Kids Snotty Nose Rez Kids are a First Nations hip hop duo composed of Haisla rappers Darren "Young D" Metz and Quinton "Yung Trybez" Nyce. They are originally from Kitamaat Village, British Columbia. Their 2017 album '' The Average Savage'' was shortl ...

, "Damn Right" (director Sterling Larose) * Audience Award: Dan Mangan, "Fire Escape" (director Lester Lyons-Hookham)"Snotty Nose Rez Kids’ ‘Damn Right’ wins Prism Prize for top music video"
''

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. ...

'', July 7, 2023. *Hi-Fidelity Award: NemahsisBen Okazawa
"Prism Prize Announces 2023 Special Award Honourees"
''

'', June 27, 2023. *Lipsett Award: Aimé Irabahaye *Willie Dunn Award: Sara Elgamal *Special Achievement Award: Adrian Villagomez

Shortlist

2024

Winners

* Prism Prize: Mustafa, "Name of God" (director Mustafa)Kerry Doole
"Mustafa Wins 2024 Prism Prize As 'Name Of God' Named Best Canadian Music Video of the Year"
''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', June 25, 2024. * Audience Award: Nemahsis, "I Wanna Be Your Right Hand" (directors Norman Wong, Amy Gardner) *Hi-Fidelity Award: Shy Kids *Lipsett Award: Jessamine Yú Fok *Willie Dunn Award: TOBi *Special Achievement Award: Ethan Tobman

Shortlist

References

External links

*{{official website, http://www.prismprize.com/ Canadian music video awards Awards established in 2012 2012 establishments in Canada Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television