Maria Topalovich is the president and CEO of the Academy

of Canadian Cinema & Television.

Cultural institutions in any country, but especially in Canada, are only as successful as the number of people they reach. As president and CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, I lead an organization with an objective to promote and celebrate our country’s movie and TV industries. To the degree that we have succeeded in that mission, the Academy thanks CHUM for helping make it happen.

For several years now, CHUM has supported the Academy’s two flagship awards: the Genie Awards, celebrating our national cinema; and the Gemini Awards, which honor Canada’s best television. CHUM has been there with its cameras, interviewing winners and nominees, showcasing performers, directors and artisans, and introducing countless Canadians to the outstanding films and TV shows we produce.

When it was first launched five years ago, Star! conducted red-carpet interviews at the Genie Awards – something that had not been done before – lending an international flair to the event. The red-carpet show is now one of the highlights of both the Genies and the Geminis.

CHUM also deserves a nod for its pivotal role in building and maintaining Canada’s star system, which is crucial for attracting audiences. By sending crews from MT-MovieTelevision to the set of almost every Canadian movie produced over the past 16 years, profiling artists on Star! and airing in-depth interviews on Bravo!, CHUM has injected a critical ‘buzz factor’ into Canada’s show business community.

Anyone who’s attended the Toronto International Film Festival appreciates how important CHUM’s presence in Canada’s film industry is. CHUM not only sponsors and broadcasts the Festival Schmooze, but also, along with the City of Toronto, presents the Toronto-City Award for Best Canadian Feature Film. In addition, CHUM supports the festival’s Canada First! program and sponsors Short Cuts Canada. Then there’s the Citytv Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film, as well as Star!’s sponsorship of the Canadian Retrospective program.

In August of this year, CHUM released Going the Distance, the company’s first wholly owned and produced feature film. The bold step of taking the helm of a movie came after years of CHUM partnering with numerous players to develop and pre-license notable feature films, including The Red Violin, Marion Bridge, Bollywood/Hollywood, The Snow Walker and the upcoming Childstar.

In the past two years alone, CHUM has played a major part in the development and pre-licensing of more than 50 homegrown features. With more than 250 Canadian films under licence, CHUM continues to develop, broadcast and promote the Canadian film industry, making it Canada’s number-one private over-the-air broadcast supporter of Canadian feature films.

In May 2004, thanks to months of hard work and careful planning, CHUM successfully produced and aired the Genie Awards for the first time.

The finely detailed marketing and promotions plan for the event involved building interest for the Genies across networks, across mediums and at every hour of the day.

The result was a home run of a show, airing regionally on Citytv Toronto and Vancouver, MusiMax, ACCESS and ASN, and nationally on Bravo! and Star!, and winning higher ratings in the crucial 18- to 24-year-old demographic than the Genies had ever captured.

As the Academy celebrates the 25th Genie Awards in March 2005, CHUM will return as producer and broadcaster of our show. As we enter our 25th year, it’s fitting that we’re able to pay tribute to CHUM on its 50th.

Congratulations, CHUM.

-www.academy.ca