February 22, 2023

45 nominations at the 2023 CSAs for Sphere Media

Sphere Media, a leader in the creation, adaptation, production and distribution of television and film in Canada is happy to announce it has received 45 nominations at the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards, which constitutes a record-breaking year for the company. Honored productions are The Porter, Sort Of, Transplant, Chien Blanc, Gabby’s Farm and Haunted Hospitals.

More specifically, The Porter takes the lead this year with 19 nominations in total, including Best Drama Series, as well as many others for direction, writing, photography, picture editing, sound, art direction, costumes, make-up, hair, original music and song. The series also receives noms for its actors: Best Lead Performer for Aml Ameen, Ronnie Rowe Jr. and Mouna Traoré and Best Guest Performance for Alfre Woodard. This show continues to shine inside and outside of Canada with its recent nomination at the prestigious Independent Spirit Awards.

The already acclaimed Sort Of  picks up 15 nominations in total, including Best Comedy Series, as well as various mentions for direction, writing, picture editing, sound, art direction, costumes, music and original song. The series also get three nods for its actors: Best Lead Performer for Bilal Baig, Best Supporting Performer for Amanda Cordner and Best Guest Performance for Amanda Brugel.

Last year’s CSA Drama series winner Transplant gets eight nominations including Best Drama Series, Best Writing, Hamza Haq and Laurence Leboeuf also pick up nominations for Best Lead Performer, Drama Series. Also,Transplant gets recognized for Best Picture Editing, Best Sound and Best Achievement in Casting, Fiction.

Feature film Chien Blanc’s K.C. Collins also receives a nomination for Best Performance in a Supporting Role. Gabby’s Farm and Haunted Hospitals also pick up a nomination, Best Children’s or Youth Non-Fiction Program or Series for Gabby’s Farm and Best Achievement in Make-up for Haunted Hospitals.

“With 45 nominations, it is clear that Sphere has the wind in its sails,” said Bruno Dubé, President and CEO. “These nominations are a mark of recognition of which our broadcasters, creators, producers, actors and artisans can be extremely proud. It would not be a record breaking year for Sphere Media if it wasn’t for the talented people behind all our productions”.

Also, in addition to the nomination picked up by Chien blanc, five films from the Sphere Films and Sphere Films International distribution catalog have received 37 additional nominations. The Quebec production Viking has picked up 13 nominations, including Best Motion Picture, Achievement in Direction, Art Direction, Casting, Cinematography and Performance in a Leading Role (Steve Laplante). Crimes of the Future also gets 11 nods including Best Motion Picture, Achievenement in Direction, Art Direction and Casting. Falcon Lake and Riceboy Sleeps both take away six nominations, including Best Motion Picture. Finally, Arsenault & Fils also get a nomination for Best Stunt Coordination.

Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television’s Canadian Screen Awards celebrate annually the country’s top talent in the film, television and digital sectors. The winners of the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards will be announced in a series of  ceremonies beginning on April 11, culminating in the Canadian Screen Awards broadcast on CBC and Gem on April 16.

Nomination details

The Porter

  • Best Drama Series (Jennifer Kawaja, Ian Dimerman, Bruno Dubé, Marasha Greene, Annmarie Morais, Charles Officer, R.T. Thorne, Arnold Pinnock, Aml Ameen, Alfre Woodard)
  • Best Direction, Drama Series (Charles Officer)
  • Best Direction, Drama Series (R.T. Thorne)
  • Best Writing, Drama Series (Annmarie Morais, Aubrey Nealon)
  • Best Writing, Drama Series (Marsha Greene)
  • Best Photography, Drama (Jordan Oram)
  • Best Picture Editing, Drama (Sandy Pereira)
  • Best Picture Editing, Drama (Dev Sing)
  • Best Sound, Fiction (Ed Douglas, David McCallum, Marvyn Dennis, Peter Thillaye, Stef Fraticelli, Jason Charbonneau, Martin Lee, Graham Rogers, Russ Dyck)
  • Best Production Design or Art Direction, Fiction (Réjean Labrie, Jon Van Winkle, Sara McCudden)
  • Best Costume Design (Heather Neale)
  • Best Achievement in Make-Up (Tracy George, Krista Hann, Alicia Talbot)
  • Best Achievement in Hair (Heather Streilein, Tremaine Thomas)
  • Best Original Music, Drama (Jonathan Goldsmith)
  • Best Original Music – Original Song – “Songbird” (Jonathan Goldsmith, Kaïa Kater,)
  • Best Lead Performer, Drama Series (Aml Ameen)
  • Best Lead Performer, Drama Series (Ronnie Rowe Jr.)
  • Best Lead Performer, Drama Series (Mouna Traoré)
  • Best Guest Performance, Drama Series (Alfre Woodard)

Sort Of

  • Best Comedy Series (Jennifer Kawaja, Bruno Dubé, Bilal Baig, Fab Filippo)
  • Best Direction, Comedy (Fab Filippo)
  • Best Direction, Comedy (Joyce Wong)
  • Best Writing, Comedy (Bilal Baig, Fab Filippo)
  • Best Writing, Comedy (JP Larocque)
  • Best Picture Editing, Comedy (Hugh Elchuk)
  • Best Picture Editing, Comedy (Marianna Khoury)
  • Best Sound, Fiction (Paul Germann, Martin Gwynn Jones, Rob Ainsley, Bryan Day, Graham Rogers, Goro Koyama, Jenna Dalla Riva)
  • Best Production Design or Art Direction (Ingrid Jurek, Jenn Luckas, M-A Orenstein)
  • Best Costume Design (Crystal Silden)
  • Best Original Music, Comedy (Ceréna, Emily Persich – Earth to Emily), Moël, Terrell Morris, SVDP, Vivek Shraya)
  • Best Original Music – Song – “Superpowers” (Emily Persich – Earth to Emily)
  • Best Lead Performer, Comedy (Bilal Baig)
  • Best Supporting Performer, Comedy (Amanda Cordner)
  • Best Guest Performance, Comedy (Amanda Brugel)

Transplant

  • Best Drama Series (Joseph Kay, Bruno Dubé, Jocelyn Deschênes, Josée Vallée, Rachel Langer, Stefan Pleszczynski, Sarah Timmins)
  • Best Writing, Drama Series (Joseph Kay, Rachel Langer)
  • Best Writing, Drama Series (Carmine Pierre-Dufour)
  • Best Picture Editing, Drama (Annie Ilkow)
  • Best Sound, Fiction (Guy Pelletier, Christian Rivest, Mario Auclair, Gaël Poisson-Lemay, Sylvain Brassard, Guy Francoeur, Claude Champagne)
  • Best Lead Performer, Drama Series (Hamza Haq)
  • Best Lead Performer, Drama Series (Laurence Leboeuf)
  • Best Achievement In Casting, Fiction (Andrea Kenyon, Randi Wells, Jason Knight, John Buchan)

Chien blanc

  • Best Performance in a Supporting Role (K.C. Collins)

Gabby’s Farm

  • Best Children’s or Youth Non-Fiction Program or Series (Marlo Miazga, Bruno Dubé, Sean Connolly, Corinna Lehr, Daniel Bourré, Chloe Gray)

Haunted Hospitals

  • Best Achievement in Make-up (Katie Minnis)