The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television was born in 1979 as a tool to promote Canadian feature film via an awards program. The fledgling tv industry decided it too required a similar marketing and promotional vehicle and asked the Academy to develop an awards show to recognize its craft.

In 1986, the Gemini Awards debuted.

Heading into the upcoming 13th Geminis, the Canadian television industry bears little resemblance to the tv landscape of a decade ago.

The quantity and quality of Canadian drama, kids’ shows and comedy programs has grown by leaps and bounds and our shows are being exported around the world.

Between 1992 and 1997, according to figures from StatsCan, the value of Canadian television production has doubled to more than $2.8 billion. Some 74% of Canadians now subscribe to cable tv and three-quarters of these receive at least 50 channels. Specialty channels have added lifestyle, how-to and numerous other types of shows to the programming mix.

In 1992/93, Canadian pay and specialties accounted for less than 19% of all viewing to Canadian programs on English-language tv. By 1997, that figure had risen to almost 30%.

acct membership has also grown with the industry, starting with 400 members 18 years ago and now boasting over 3,000 members. Quite a feat, notes Academy president Maria Topalovich, considering it is an organization the tv community is not required to join but chooses to support.

‘We have to look ahead’

Reflecting the evolution of television in Canada, the Academy and the Gemini Awards is at a crossroads.

‘The industry is fast-tracking and we have to not only keep up with it but look ahead to serve the needs of the industry over the next few years,’ says Topalovich.

The most obvious change is repositioning the awards to the fall, a move instigated by the industry because the timing is more in tune with the fall season broadcast launch.

Furthermore, says Topalovich, the move will ensure a more current slate of programs is being celebrated; when the show was held in March, nominated programs were often 18 months old by the time of the awards, and in some cases had been canceled.

The number of entries to the Geminis is rising steadily. In the nine-month window since the last Geminis, the Academy received just under 3,000 entries, 500 more – in a far shorter period of time – than for the previous March awards.

The influx of new how-to and lifestyle programs commissioned by the specialty channels and the increase in indigenous drama is fueling the boom.

Future expansion

Geminis are now offered in 67 program, performance and craft categories.

Over the next few years, Topalovich foresees the need for more award categories to reflect these new genres. The already chockfull three-night event cannot handle many more additions.

‘We are at the stage now where we cannot add any more categories in the three-night format, so if we are going to continue to expand and refine the awards, then it’s time to take a look at the whole event,’ explains Topalovich. ‘Should it be four nights? Are there certain sections that can be portioned off as a separate show?’

The American Emmys, with separate award shows for daytime, primetime and sports programming, is one template being considered. Another solution under discussion is combining broadcast journalism, information programs and documentaries into one awards strand.

The multimedia community is also interested in becoming a part of the Geminis, says Topalovich.

Other initiatives

The awards program is only one part of the Academy’s vision for its future role in promoting the Canadian television industry.

A who’s who in Canadian tv, first compiled in 1991/92, will be published early fall by Global press and the Academy plans to update the directory annually.

The demand for the new directory has surprised Topalovich. The print run has already been increased three times, with 3,500 copies presold on top of book-store orders.

Topalovich wrote a book on the history of Canadian film awards in 1984 and plans to update and relaunch it for the Academy’s 20th anniversary next year. Global Press will publish.

The Academy is also looking at the possibility of setting up a public archive of film and tv in Canada. The first step is turning its Website into an online resource center at a projected cost of $50,000. A feasibility study is underway by Pangea.

A Canadian film and tv hall of fame is also under consideration.

As well, Topalovich says there is a demand from other film and tv organizations around the world to work cooperatively on initiatives.

‘We are exploring what we can do for Canadian film and tv on the international scene – what currently exists, where the holes are, what we can offer via our connections to other academies, and how our marketing resources can supplement what already exists.’

Promotional efforts

Over the past year, the acct has focused on developing ties with Canadian broadcasters to cross-promote the Geminis and Canadian television to the public. This pan-industry initiative was created through the efforts of a national promotion committee, formed by the Academy in September 1997, which includes representatives from each of the participating broadcasters.

The objective of the committee was to develop a national promotion campaign that would create awareness among Canadians of all ages of Canadian-produced tv programming, the people who star in the shows, those who create them, and the Gemini Awards that honor them, says Roger Ivey, manager of production at Global and chair of the committee.

The first promo campaign, for the 12th annual awards, featured a teaser spot aired on numerous broadcaster outlets.

This year’s second phase of the promotional campaign – ‘Canadian TV – Turn it on!’ – is a more ambitious effort. cbc, ctv, Global Television, OnTv, tvontario, wic and ytv began airing a series of three 30-second spots on Aug. 11 with the announcement of the Gemini nominees. The commercials highlight previous Gemini winners and the awards themselves.

The promo campaign coincides with fall promotional schedules, allowing broadcasters to tout their own nominations during the fall launch, the promo spots, and the awards show on cbc.

‘It is a huge leap of faith, but broadcasters have recognized that it won’t hurt them to promote the Gemini nominations and encourage viewers to watch the cbc show because their own programs will be promoted at the event,’ says Topalovich.

As well, broadcasters will be promoting their fall lineup throughout late August/early September, adding to the promo boon for Canadian tv programming.

The production community and its suppliers donated time and services to the project. The promo spots are worth over $1 million in production costs with air time valued at another $1 million.

The spots were shot at Global Television’s studios by director Robert Quartly, dop Rene Ohashi, editors Tim Kirkwood and Steve Manz, writer John Kewley and performer Colin Mochrie.

Key suppliers were The Directors Film Company, William F. White, Flashcut Editing, The Partners’ Film Company Command Post/Toy Box, Kodak Canada and The Lab.

Earlier broadcast slot

The broadcast gala will air Oct. 4 on cbc at 8 p.m. Last March, the show was switched from its Sunday 8 p.m. slot to 9 p.m. and viewership dropped to just under one million viewers. This time around, the broadcast gala will return to its earlier slot and leads into the 9 o’clock Sunday night movies. Rogers Community Television broadcast the Gemini nominations announcement and had discussed the possibility of airing nights one and two of the show, but has dropped the idea.