Maria Topalovich is president and CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.

As the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television uncorks the bubbly to celebrate 25 award-winning years, we also stand in awe of how far our big- and small-screen industries have come since 1979. The Academy’s upward trajectory follows the similar ascending arc of our television and movies. And inasmuch as our pasts are linked, the future of the Academy and the art it celebrates are intertwined as well.

First, some history. As it turns out, the industries the Academy celebrates are the very ones that inspired our creation in the first place. Our inauguration in 1979 fulfilled the film industry’s desire to have an independent, professional and dedicated Academy to recognize achievement in the burgeoning Canadian movie scene. Although the Academy’s vision was grand, its beginnings were decidedly humble. Our offices were above the New Yorker Theatre on Yonge Street in Toronto, home to a staff of three people who oversaw a membership of about 400.

Nevertheless, within 12 months of its foundation, the Academy’s staff, working with a dedicated group of founding members, managed to establish rules and regulations for entering films, created juries to adjudicate submissions by their peers, and pulled together the first Genie Awards ceremony, televised on CBC to an audience of one million people. It was an amazing accomplishment, and signaled to everyone that not only was the idea of forming an Academy one for which the time had definitely come, but that Canada truly did have a national cinema – and the public supported it.

It was momentum from the successful kickoff of the Genies that led the Academy to establish a television division in 1986 and create the Gemini Awards for English-language television and the Prix Gemeaux to celebrate achievement in French-language TV. Again, the awards were an instant success and signaled to the country that what we broadcast over the airwaves in Canada is not only distinct from shows produced in other countries – it’s worth celebrating.

The three awards shows have changed significantly over the years, because adaptability has been a key success driver for the Academy. We continue to grow and innovate. New award categories are created, while those that are no longer relevant are dropped. The format for awards ceremonies is in constant evolution, and up-to-the-minute technologies are used to enhance Academy activities.

As an example, the May 2004 Genie Awards telecast was the first awards show in Canada to exploit interactive television, which allowed viewers across the country to play along with the show. We’ve also created an online database that is the most comprehensive repository of information about Canadian film awards in the nation, comprising 50 years of nominees, winners of various awards, plot summaries of selected films, and, most recently, the creation of a Canadian film listing service identifying Canadian films in exhibition across Canada.

The Academy has become more sophisticated in other ways, too. A big change has been the highly developed and intricately choreographed promotional and marketing activities surrounding our major events. Publicity campaigns for the Genies routinely generate nearly 100 million impressions in Canada. For the Geminis, the number is closer to 200 million. These multi-platform campaigns translate into a substantial increase in the level of awareness for our country’s film and television industry as a whole.

The award shows are popular and important cornerstone events, but it would be a mistake to think they represent the entirety of the Academy’s activities. At its heart, the Academy is a service organization dedicated to meeting the needs of its members. Unlike unions or guilds, membership in the Academy is entirely voluntary, which means our membership office is focused on constantly upgrading benefits and services.

In addition to award voting, we present more than 50 events each year across the country, including such initiatives as the Academy Speaker Series, the National Apprenticeship Training Program, the Academy Screening Series and a Member Advantage Program that delivers preferred rates on a number of goods and services to Academy members..

As much as the Academy is dedicated to serving its members, now numbering 4,000, they return the favor by demonstrating a remarkable degree of commitment to their Academy. More than 25% of our membership is active, volunteering to serve on committees, sitting on juries or donating their time to one of our advisory boards. That translates into more than 1,000 professionals from every corner of Canada actively working to ensure the successful functioning of this organization. The members deserve a great deal of credit for the Academy’s many triumphs.

Keeping these many areas of operation running smoothly is a small but dedicated staff of the most passionate cinephiles and channel surfers around. Our hats go off to them as well, for their spirit and determination to make the Academy a relevant, accessible and flourishing professional organization – and they’ve succeeded.

The Genies, Geminis and Gemeaux are measures of achievement that have become internationally recognized. To a degree, the impressive quality of Canada’s best cinema and television today can be traced to the inception of these awards. Not only do they build awareness for the shows they celebrate, they continuously raise the standard for all industry members to meet and exceed. The television and movie communities have come to embrace these awards through their generous sponsorships and enthusiastic displays of pride when their work is honored with a Genie, Gemini or Gemeaux.

As we look forward to the next 25 years, the Academy will continue in its role as an independent resource for our film and TV industries. We’ll be there, from our offices in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, to advise, support, facilitate – and perhaps most importantly – celebrate the creativity and talent of the thousands of writers, directors, producers, actors and craftspeople who play such a wonderful and important role in telling Canada’s stories in cinemas and living rooms, from coast to coast to coast and all around the globe.

-www.academy.ca