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MANITOBA GEMINI NOMINATIONS

2010 Manitoba Gemini Award nominations include:

Seven nominations for Keep Your Head Up Kid: The Don Cherry Story. This four-hour mini-series chronicles the life of sportscaster Don Cherry:

 best direction in a dramatic program or mini-series – Jeff Woolnough;

 best writing in a dramatic program or mini-series – Tim Cherry;

 best photography in a dramatic program or series – Glen MacPherson;

 best performance by an actor in a leading role in a dramatic program or mini-series – Jared Keeso;

 best performance by an actress in a featured supporting role in a dramatic program or mini-series – Sarah Manninen;

 best costume design – Patti Henderson; and

 best production design or art direction in a fiction program or series – Rejean Labrie.

Eight nominations for Less Than Kind, a smart, edgy, dysfunctional half-hour comedy that follows 15-year-old Sheldon Blecher, his self-destructive driving instructor father, his pyromaniac mother and his failed-actor brother as they try to revive their failing family business:

 best comedy program or series (Buffalo Gal Pictures, Breakthrough Films & Television, E1 Entertainment) producers – Phyllis Laing, Ira Levy and Peter Williamson;

 best direction in a comedy program or series – James Dunnison;

 best writing in a comedy or variety program or series – Jenn Engels - Fatso Loves Lesbo; Marvin Kaye, Chris Sheasgreen - Third Death’s The Charm;

 best individual performance in a comedy program or series – Benjamin Arthur - That’s Somebody’s Knish!;

 best individual performance in a comedy program or series – Lisa Durupt - Road Trip;

 best individual performance in a comedy program or series – Wendel Meldrum - I Am Somewhere; and

 best achievement in main title design – Trevor Hembrey. …2 - 2 -

Two nominations for One Ocean, a special four-part series exploring the past, present and future of the world’s ocean and the race against the clock to save them:

 best science, technology, nature, environment or adventure documentary program – One Ocean: Mysteries of the Deep (Merit Motion Pictures), producers Merit Jensen Carr, Michael Allder, Caroline Underwood; and

 best cross-platform project – non-fiction - One Ocean Interactive (Merit Motion Pictures), producers Merit Jensen Carr, Alexandra Rosentreter, Kevin Glasier and Vergil Kanne.

One nomination for The Secret World of Shoplifting. This one-hour documentary examines the rise in retail crime and how the consumer’s quest for the lowest price fuels the market for stolen merchandise:

 best original music score for a documentary program or series – Shawn Pierce (produced by Merit Motion Pictures).

One nomination for Pitchin’ In, which follows renowned chef Lynn Crawford as she travels across the world in search of the freshest and finest ingredients, all the while learning about sustainable food production:

 best host in a lifestyle/practical information, or performing arts program or series – Lynn Crawford - Shrimp (produced by Frantic Films).

Two nominations for CBC News: Winnipeg. A live news program that runs weekdays at 5, 5:30 and 6 p.m. Provocative and to the point, the CBC Winnipeg news team works to bring Manitoba viewers a unique blend of local, national and international news:

 best local newscast, large market – producers - Melanie Verhaeghe, Chris Armstrong, Kevin Cox and Brad Lillies; and

 best breaking reporting, local – Sheila North-Wilson - Homeless Rescue, Homeless Hero, and Rescue Reunion.