Not only has Devine Entertainment’s Edison: The Wizard of Light been nominated for a Rockie Award, the production just received a Daytime Emmy for outstanding achievement in sound mixing for the team of Daniel Pellerin, Andrew Tay and Ton van den Akker.

The Toronto-based company also won two Daytime Emmys for Galileo: On the Shoulders of Giants for outstanding writing in a children’s special (Heather Conkie) and outstanding single camera photography (Rick Maguire).

Directed and produced by David Devine and Richard Mozer, Edison is an historical drama (starring Kenneth Welsh as Edison) that opens the world of science to young viewers. Edison is told through the eyes of Jack Maloney, a young orphan who escapes from an orphanage and becomes Thomas Edison’s protege. The one-hour production is part of Devine’s The Inventors’ Specials, which includes stories centring on Einstein, da Vinci, Galileo, Marie Curie and Isaac Newton.

The Inventors’ is a Canada/Ireland coproduction and was broadcast on hbo in the u.s. and Family Channel in Canada. The series was presold to 64 countries and financing came from hbo, Family, the Shaw Children’s Programming Initiative, Maclean Hunter and CFCF 12 in Canada and government incentives in Ireland.

Devine’s Irish background helped pave the way for contacts in Ireland. Two-and-a-half years ago, he went to Dublin and met with then minister of arts and culture Michael D. Higgins and local producers. He struck a deal with John Borman (The General) and Kieran Corrigan, who became coproducers.

‘The Inventors’ were part of a long-term concept of creating heroes for kids and bringing to life [in a dramatic format] personalities who have changed the way we see the world,’ explains Mozer, coproducer/director of the latest Devine series, The Artists’ Specials.

The Artists’ focuses on the lives of great artists such as Degas, Rembrandt, Goya, Monet and Cassatt as seen through the eyes of young protagonists. The Artists’ is currently airing on hbo in the u.s. At the recent mip-tv, commitments were made to air the six-part series from Disney France, HBO Ole (Latin America) and Telwizja Polska (Poland).

Filming has just been completed on Goya, Awakened by A Dream, shot in Moravia in the Czech Republic. Goya stars Cedric Smith and Robert Bockstael.

And at the end of May, production begins on Rembrandt: Fathers and Sons in the 15th century Czech town of Telc, with Tom McCamus (The Sweet Hereafter) in the role of Rembrandt.

Devine will be shooting a film in Toronto based on the life of 19th century American artist Winslow Homer, with Graeme Lynch directing.

Devine has been producing children’s entertainment since 1983. In 1986, the company was awarded a Gold Award by Parent’s Choice – Best Children’s Television for A Young Children’s Concert with Raffi, and in 1992, won an Emmy for its production Beethoven Lives Upstairs.