The 2021 Canadian Screen Awards — featuring a curated selection of prominent awards — took place on Thursday, May 20 at 8:00 PM ET, streamed live on Academy.ca along with the Academy’s YouTube and Twitter channels. 

The awards were presented documentary-style, with narration by Karine Vanasse and Stephan James, to allow the nominated work to speak for itself and be the centerpiece of our presentations.

The show also honoured a selection of 2020 Special Award recipients, all of whom were unfortunately unable to be awarded last year due to the cancellation of all in-person events: 

Earle Grey Award recipient Tina Keeper
Radius Award (presented by MADE | NOUS) recipient Dan Levy
Lifetime Achievement Award recipient David Suzuki
Margaret Collier Award recipient David Shore

Academy Icon Award recipient Alex Trebek

 

Beth Janson is the Chief Executive Officer of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. With over two decades of experience in the film, television and cultural sectors in both Canada and the United States, Beth has been the creative force behind some of the most innovative and meaningful developmental programs in the industry today.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is the largest non-profit professional arts organization in Canada. We are dedicated to recognizing, advocating for, and celebrating Canadian talent in the film, television, and digital media sectors. Our more than 4,000 members encompass industry icons and professionals, emerging artists, and students. Collectively, we deliver professional development programs and networking opportunities that foster industry growth, inclusion, and mentorship. 

The Canadian Academy produces the Canadian Screen Awards, bringing together the screen-based industry annually to celebrate the country’s top talent in the film, television, and digital sectors at Canadian Screen Week.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television proudly acknowledges the support of its Premier Partner, Telefilm Canada; Platinum Partners, CBC and CTV; Principal Partner, Netflix; and its Lead Partners, the Canada Media Fund, Cineplex, and the Cogeco Fund.

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Catherine: Welcome everyone to the WestVancouver.com podcast. We are back, and today we are going glam with a salute to the Canadian way. In this case, it means television, cinema, film, and digital arts.
We have somebody very sparkly and very spectacular on the phone with us. It is the CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. It is Beth Jansen. Welcome, Beth.
Beth Jansen: Thank you for having me.
Catherine: Well, it is a delight to have you here because our association with the Academy goes back a long, long way. Needless to say, we are massive fans of television, cinema, and film. Everybody loves the glamour and seeing our favourite actors, but for me, it goes deeper than that, and I'm guessing that is the case with you as well. So, Beth, lead us off. Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got involved with the Academy.
Beth Jansen: I believe it's relevant, so I will start by telling you that I did a year of university at UBC in the mid-'90s. I've always had family living in Vancouver, so I feel like I'm an honorary West Coaster. I grew up in Montreal, and after university, moved down to New York City. I spent 20 years in New York, working in theatre, then in television, and helping launch the Tribeca Film Institute, which is the non-profit arm of the Tribeca Film Festival. I got married, had three kids, and decided that I would like my kids to have some Canadian culture. We moved back in 2016, before the election, but needless to say, we were very relieved to be in Canada during that crazy era.
The opportunity at the Academy was really interesting for me because I felt like there was so much talent in Canada that was on par with the talent that I was seeing in the US. I felt like there was an opportunity to have a real impact,