cbc.ca/75 radio-canada.ca/75 2011 Awards of Excellence Index Course of the Evening 2 YMA Board of Directors 3 YMA Offi ce & Gala team 4 Message from the Chair 5 Message from the Executive Director 6 YMA’s Statement of Quality 7 Members of the Jury 8 2011 Awards of Excellence Nominees (All Genres categories) 15 Special Anniversary Outstanding Achievement Award to Degrassi 16 2011 Awards of Excellence Nominees (Animation categories) 17 Special Jury Award – Television – Sponsored by Shaftesbury Films 18 Max the Mutt Animation School & Sheridan College Presentation 20 Emerging Talent Award – Sponsored by Corus Entertainment 22 2011 Awards of Excellence Nominees (Digital and Interactive categories) 24 Special Jury Award – Digital & Interactive Content – Sponsored by Canada Media Fund 26 Outstanding Achievement Award – Sponsored by Independent Production Fund 28 Grand Prize For Best Program All Categories – Sponsored by CBC Television 30 Course of the Evening • Gala Opening • A word from YMA’s Chair Peter Moss and Executive Director Chantal Bowen • A word from our main sponsor CBC • All Genres 3–5 years category sponsored by Apartment 11 • All Genres 6-8 years category sponsored by Family Channel • All Genres 9–12 years category sponsored by Epitome Pictures • Interstitial All Ages category sponsored by Sinking Ship Entertainment • Special Anniversary Outstanding Achievement Award to Degrassi • Animation 3–5 years category sponsored by TVO • Animation 6–8 years category sponsored by 9 Story Entertainment • Animation 9–14 years sponsor DHX Media • Special Jury Award - Television sponsored by Shaftesbury Kids • Max the Mutt Animation School and Sheridan College presentation • Emerging Talent Award sponsored by Corus Entertainment • Best Convergent Interactive Content sponsored by the Bell Fund • Best Original Interactive Content sponsored by marblemedia • Special Jury Award – Digital and Interactive Content sponsored by the Canada Media Fund • Outstanding Achievement Award sponsored by the Independent Production Fund • Grand Prize for Best Program – All Categories sponsored by CBC • Post-gala reception sponsored by Mercury Filmworks 2 The Youth Media Alliance Board of Directors EXECUTIVE COMMITEE Chair Vice-Chair Peter Moss Michèle Fortin Independent Producer Chief Executive, Télé-Québec Secretary Treasurer Michele Paris Claude Joli-Cœur Program Manager, Knowledge Network Director, Business Affairs and (BBC Kids Canada) Legal Services, NFB DIRECTORS Guillaume Aniorté Co-CEO, Tribal Nova Carole Bonneau Vice-President, Programming, TELETOON Michael Goldsmith Director, Original Programming, Astral Television Networks Jocelyn Hamilton Vice-President, Original Programming Kids, Comedy, Drama Corus Television JJ Johnson Partner, Sinking Ship Entertainment Madeleine Lévesque Development, Sardine Productions Ira Levy Executive Producer & Partner, Breakthrough Films & Television Alexandra Raffé Head of Production, Thunderbird Films Clive Vanderburgh Professor Emeritus Kim Wilson Creative Head Children’s & Youth Programming, CBC 3 The Youth Media Alliance YMA OFFICE Chantal Bowen Executive Director Sylvie Lamy and Lyne Côté Special Events Coordinators GALA TEAM Allana Harkin – Host Jason Spevack & Treck Buccino - Co-hosts Aidan Cosgrave – Event Director Phil McCordic – Live Event Scriptwriter Brigham Phillips & Steve Heathcote – Music Lucie Bowen – Photographer Max the Mutt students – volunteers Angelina Chan - volunteer Rori Caffrey - volunteer AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE Guillaume Aniorté, Tribal Nova Mark Bishop, marblemedia Sasha Boersma, marblemedia Stéphane Cardin, Canada Media Fund PRIZE PRESENTERS Ana Golja Matthew Knight Emily Lizano Hillary Lizano Austin MacDonald Jordan Miller Kylie Miller Gage Munroe Chloe Rose AJ Saudin Maxwell Uretsky 4 Message from the Chair Here we are, 37 years after the founding of the Children’s Broadcast Institute, gathered together to celebrate creative excellence in the fi eld of children’s television. We’ve ceased to be just an Alliance for Children and Television and have transformed ourselves into The Youth Media Alliance, refl ecting the new opportunities that advancing technology has presented to us and to our growing audience, ever hungry for new experiences. Television, and all the different platforms being developed to reach our children and youth, have a very powerful presence in children’s lives, and as they are developing cognitively, emotionally and socially, they have particular and unique needs as an audience. The time spent in front of their screens and repeated exposure to the content of programs rivals the time spent at school and at play as an infl uence in their lives. As professionals, as a society, we need to be concerned with the quality and the content of the programs we present to our children. Our new name, The Youth Media Alliance, refl ects a renewed commitment to our mandate of encouraging excellence in all our endeavors to entertain and stimulate our young audiences. As a collection of professionals we have created the exciting and diverse fi eld of programs that are being honoured here tonight and we celebrate the excellence and great variety of the our imaginations. I’d like to express my warmest congratulations to the teams that created tonight’s nominated programs. I hope you all win. Peter Moss 5 Message from the Executive Director Celebrating Excellence in Canadian Television I grew up watching the very best in French television: Bobino, La boite à surprises, to name but a few. They are among my greatest childhood memories. Later, my kids had so much to choose from: The Elephant Show, Franklin, Popular Mechanics, etc. Diversity made up their television experience. As a parent, I was happy their life was so culturally rich and stimulated by high quality. Today, television has major competition. But the small screen is still part of children’s lives, no matter how technically it differs or how many electronic devices kids have access to. Quality and originality have always been our goal and that’s what Youth Media Alliance is still striving for with the 2011 Awards of Excellence. The Outstanding Achievement Award is intended for people who have stood out in their fi eld and we are very proud to be honouring Bonita Siegel, who has enjoyed an exceptional career in Canadian children’s television. YMA is always keen on encouraging rising talent to pursue a career in children’s programming in Canada. That’s why we are delighted to be presenting the Emerging Talent Award to Stephanie Betts, who fi ts that profi le exactly. A Special Award goes to Degrassi and its producers Linda Schuyler and Stephen Stohn for the numerous Canadian lives it touched over the past three decades. Congratulations to Epitome Pictures and their fabulous team of creators, performers and executives! So with the help of our members, the support of our partners and the dedication of the Board of Directors, we will continue to enthusiastically pursue excellence in the production of screen-based media for our young Canadians. Congratulations to all the nominees and best wishes to all attending the 2011 Awards of Excellence Gala. Chantal Bowen Executive Director 6 YMA’s Statement of Quality The YMA statement of quality provided the foundation for the Children’s Television Charter, which is currently being ratifi ed by governments and broadcasters around the world. Quality television is television deemed excellent in both form and content, geared to the needs and expectations of its target viewers while meeting recognized industry standards. The content of programs should be relevant and entertaining, stimulate the intellect and the imagination, and foster openness toward others. It should also be an accurate refl ection of the world in which children grow up, respecting their dignity and promoting learning. As a Canadian agency, Youth Media Alliance strives to promote Canadian content in children’s programming. Although young Canadians should defi nitely be exposed to international programs that testify to the rich diversity of our world, they should also have access to quality productions that portray Canada, its provinces, regions and communities, as well as its institutions, heritage and culture. Quality programming for children... • is designed and produced to meet the needs and expectations of the children for whom it is intended, and deals with reality from a child’s perspective; • allows children to be not just passive spectators, but active participants, even protagonists, and to play a central role; • consciously stimulates children’s intellect, curiosity and creativity and enables them to experience emotions furthering their development; • respects children’s intelligence, their critical capacity and their ability to think, by avoiding oversimplifi cation, stereotypes and propaganda; and • takes into account their development needs, different age groups and cultural backgrounds, based on the fi ndings of relevant studies. Programming providing a window on the world... • accurately portrays reality while stimulating the imagination—the real and the imaginary are the two worlds in which children grow up; and • allows children to explore the world beyond their immediate experience—their family, friends, school, street, city, society, world, and universe. Children are entitled to productions that... • have access to the same technical and fi nancial resources as productions produced for mainstream audiences, in accordance with recognized standards; and • are aimed at the least well-represented groups,