The 14th annual WIFT-T Crystal Awards, this year hosted by the omnipresent Carla Collins, takes place April 23 at the CBC.

Dedicated to women who have carved their names in the Canadian film and television industry, the annual fundraiser will honor a handful of industry leaders with Crystal Awards.

National Film Board producer Silva Basmajian will receive the outstanding achievement award. Actor Rebecca Jenkins will be honored with the award for creative excellence. Creative producers Janis Lundman and Adrienne Mitchell will fetch the award for excellence in production. Senior VP dramatic programming for Alliance Atlantis Broadcasting, Laura Michalchyshyn, will be awarded for excellence in mentorship of professional development.

Don McLean, president of The Partners’ Film Company, is this year’s recipient of the Friend of WIFT-T Award. The late Maruska Stankova, artistic director, acting and directing teacher, will be honored in a special presentation with the WIFT-T award for excellence in professional development. And finally, writer Shandi Mitchell (Baba’s House) will win the CBC WIFT-T writer’s award, worth $5,000, for an original script for a half-hour TV movie for the CBC, as well as the Kodak Canada Filmmaker Award, which comes with $5,000 worth of film stock.

The jury for this year’s Crystal Awards is comprised of Susanne Boyce, senior VP of programming, CTV/The Comedy Network; Christina Ford, president, Imported Artists Film Company; actor Sonja Smits (Traders); Jane Tattersall, owner of Tattersall Sound; and Phyllis Yaffe, president, Alliance Atlantis Broadcasting.

The 900-member WIFT-T is the largest chapter in Canada and the third largest in the world, surpassed in size by New York and Los Angeles. *

-www.wift.com