Canadian Screen Awards 2023: All The Animation, VFX, And Video Game Nominees

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television has announced the 2023 Canadian Screen Award nominations, dedicated to honoring Canadian productions from cinema, television, and digital media.

Sadly, the Canadian Screen Awards don’t have a category for animated features, but this year’s animated short competition boasts an impressive lineup. The National Film Board of Canada is, as usual, well represented in this year’s field. The NFB backed three of the five nominated shorts, Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis’ The Flying Sailor; Germaine Arnattaujuq, Neil Christopher, and Louise Flaherty’s Arctic Song (produced with Taqqut Productions Inc.); and Marta Pajek’s Impossible Figures and other stories I (produced with Animoon). The other nominees are Hajar Moradi’s The Shadow Of My Life, produced by Vivido Inc., and Marie-Noëlle Robidas-Moreau’s Triangle of Darkness, produced by Embuscade Film.

The 2023 Canadian Screen Awards will be presented across seven themed awards presentations at Meridian Hall in Toronto from Tuesday, April 11 to Friday, April 14. The Children’s & Animation Awards presented by Shaw Rocket Fund will be held on April 12. CBC and CBC Gem will air a final televised Canadian Screen Awards presentation hosted by Samantha Bee on Sunday, April 16.

2023 Canadian Screen Awards Animation, VFX, and Video Game Nominees

FILM

Best Animated Short

• Arctic Song, Germaine Arnattaujuq, Neil Christopher, Louise Flaherty, Alicia Smith, David Christensen, Nadia Mike
• The Flying Sailor, Wendy Tilby, Amanda Forbis, David Christensen
• Impossible Figures and other stories I, Marta Pajek, Piotr Szczepanowicz, Grzegorz Wacławek, Maral Mohammadian
• The Shadow of My Life, Hajar Moradi
• Triangle of Darkness, Marie-Noëlle Robidas-Moreau, Nicolas Dufour-Laperrière

Achievement in Visual Effects

• Mark Hall (Babysitter)
• Eric Gambini, Sarah Krusch Flanagan, Louis Mackall, Virginie Strub, Andrew Joe, Gabriel Chiang, Linus Burghardt (Bones of Crows)
• Peter MacAuley, Kayden Anderson, Tom Turnbull, Caitlin Foster (Crimes of the Future)
• James Anthony Young (Cult Hero)
• Jean-François (Jafaz) Ferland, Marie-Claude Lafontaine, Charles Lamoureux, Jean-François Crevier (Lines of Escape)
• Landon Bootsma, Dexter Davey, Ashley Hampton, Milton Muller, Dmitry Vinnik (Until Branches Bend)

TELEVISION

Best Animated Program or Series

• Big Blue, Frank Falcone, Gyimah Gariba, Rachel Reade Marcus
• Denis and Me: Santa Who, Michelle Melanson, Diana Moore, Ken Cuperus, Denis Kopotun
• The Snoopy Show, Anne Loi, Josh Scherba, Stephanie Betts, Paige Braddock, Craig Schulz, Mark Evestaff, Kimberly Small
• Summer Memories, Adam Yaniv, Paul B. Cummings, Anthony Leo, Jason Surridge, Irene Weibel, Andrew Rosen, Ashley Ramsay, Oded Turgeman
• Total Dramarama, Tom McGillis, George Elliott, Brian Irving, Jennifer Pertsch, Terry McGurrin

Best Pre-School Program or Series

• The Fabulous Show with Fay and Fluffy, Rennata Lopez, Georgina Lopez
• Happy House of Frightenstein, Michelle Melanson, Ken Cuperus, Sandy Jobin-Bevans, Mitchell Markowitz
• PAW Patrol, Jennifer Dodge, Ronnen Harary, Keith Chapman, Ursula Ziegler-Sullivan, Laura Clunie, Toni Stevens, Jonah Stroh, Dan Mokriy, Tracey Dodokin, Jason McKenzie, Damian Temporale
• Pikwik Pack, Frank Falcone, Rachel Reade Marcus, Kirsten Newlands
• Proud to Be Me – Anti-Racism Special, Lisa Wisniewski, Emily Houghton, Julie Patterson-Porter, Julia Okoth

Best Direction, Animation

• Riccardo Durante (Big Blue “Fraidy Phil”)
• Darren Cranford (Happy House of Frightenstein “Heirloom Doom”)
• Charles E. Bastien (PAW Patrol “Rescue Knights: Quest for the Dragon’s Tooth”)
• Wayne-Michael Lee (Pinecone & Pony “What Would Freda Do? / A Token Of Toughness”)
• Keith Oliver, George Elliott (Total Dramarama “Total Trauma Rama / The Doomed Ballooned Marooned”)

Best Writing, Animation

• John May, Suzanne Bolch (16 Hudson “Spice Box”)
• Stephanie Kaliner, Lakna Edirisinghe (Pinecone & Pony “The Pwettiest Pony / Try This Club On For Size”)
• Scott Montgomery (The Snoopy Show “Snoopy Swap”)
• Sara Peters (Summer Memories “Truth or Dare”)
• J. Green, Sean Jara (Team Zenko Go “Pet Project / Mission Improbable”)

Best Writing, Pre-School

• Carolyn Hay (Agent Binky: Pets of the Universe “The Paw And Claw Spa”)
• Richard Young (Dino Ranch “Light Touch Tango”)
• Victoria Gallant (The Fabulous Show with Fay and Fluffy “I Love Being Different”)
• Tyra Sweet (The Fabulous Show with Fay and Fluffy “I Love My Family”)
• Ken Cuperus, Sandy Jobin-Bevans (Happy House of Frightenstein “Heirloom Doom”)

Best Sound, Animation

• Richard Spence-Thomas, Tim Muirhead, Mitch Connors, Luke Dante, Kyle Peters, Ryan Ongaro, Patton Rodrigues (Paw Patrol “Rescue Knights: Quest for the Dragon’s Tooth”)
• Todd Araki, Andrew Downton, Jason Fredrickson, Adam McGhie (The Snoopy Show “Happiness Is Your Favourite Thing”)
• Ryan Araki, Evan Turner, Neil Parfitt, Andrew McDonnell, Richard Spence-Thomas (Super Wish “Taste Buddies / Imagination Caboose”)
• Ryan Araki, John Baktis, Andrew McDonnell, Simon Berry (Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go “Music is Everywhere / Backwards Day”)
• Ryan Araki, John Baktis, Andrew McDonnell, Simon Berry (Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go: Race for the Sodor Cup)

Best Visual Effects

• Joe Kicak, Sebastian Harder (Detention Adventure “Negative Space”)
• Jonathon Corbiere, Flavio de Paula, Julia Nadeau, Steve Murphy, Suzanna Brusikiewicz, Tyler Sammy (History by the Numbers “The Roaring 20s”)
• Alex Nadon (The Legacy Awards)
• Matthew J.R. Bishop, Nial McFadyen, Susan Sullivan, Cody McCaig, Stephen Curran, James Wallace, Jeff Robinson, Belma Abdicevic, Tom Perry, Steve Lowry (Odd Squad Mobile Unit “Odd Together Now”)
• Andy Powell, Raymond Pang (Super Wish “The Floor is Definitely Not Lava”)

Best Original Music, Animation

• Ari Posner, Amin Bhatia, Kris Kuzdak (Let’s Go Luna! “Dig it Daddy-O”)
• Caleb Chan, Brian Chan (Pinecone & Pony “Lance Or Not / Treat Your Creature”)
• Jeff Morrow (The Snoopy Show “Dogs Don’t Say Goodbye”)
• Neil Parfitt (Super Wish “Legend of the Cake-Bun Bottom”)
• Brian Chan, Caleb Chan (Team Zenko Go “Harmony Harbor’s Holiday Surprise, Part 1 and 2”)

DIGITAL

Best Web Program or Series, Fiction

• Avocado Toast The Series, Charlie David, Heidi Lynch, Perrie Voss
• Mary & Flo on the Go!, Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie, Jennifer McCann, Carmen Albano, Rebecca Liddiard, Sharron Matthews
• Revenge of the Black Best Friend, Amanda Parris, Jonas Diamond, Julian De Zotti, Motion, Mercedes Grundy
• Tokens, Winnifred Jong, Trinni Franke
• Topline, Christina Jennings, Scott Garvie, Romeo Candido, Davin Lengyel, Alex House

Best Immersive Experience, Non-Fiction

• The Choice, Joanne Popinska, Tom C. Hall
• Lou, Jean-Philippe Turgeon, Pascal Pelletier, Annick Daigneault, Martine Asselin, Sébastien Gros, John Hamilton
• Partita for 8 Voices, Michel D.T. Lam, Jean-Philippe Turgeon, Pascal Pelletier

Best Immersive Experience, Fiction

• Brainstream, Caroline Robert, Édouard Lanctôt-Benoit, Mathieu Charbonneau, Vincent Morisset, Sophie Shields-Rivard, Julianne Côté, Marie-Pier Gauthier, Isabelle Repelin, Louis-Richard Tremblay
• The Orchid and the Bee, Frances Adair Mckenzie, Jelena Popović, Michael Fukushima
• Unceded Territories, Paisley Smith, Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, Jason Legge, Patrick Weekes, Dirk van Ginkel

Best Video Game

• I Was A Teenage Exocolonist, Sarah Northway
• JETT: The Far Shore, Craig D. Adams
• Nobody Saves the World, Drinkbox Studios
• Ooblets, Benjamin Wasser
• Tunic, Andrew Shouldice