Blackstone, Hell on Wheels win big at 2014 Rosie Awards

Prairie Dog Film + Television’s Blackstone and Nomadic Pictures’ Hell on Wheels were the big winners at the 2014 Alberta Film and Television Awards on Saturday evening, with Blackstone picking up six awards and Hell on Wheels taking home five trophies.

The Alberta Film and Television Awards were held in Calgary at the Telus Convention Centre on April 12.  The awards – also known as the Rosie Awards – recognize excellence in screen-based content produced in Alberta.

Ron E. Scott took home awards for best director and best screenwriter (drama over 30 minutes) for his work on the Blackstone episode “Reap What You Sow.” Michelle Thrush picked  up the award for best performance by an Alberta actress for her performance in the Blackstone episode “Never Gonna Stop.”  Back in 2011, Thrush also won the Gemini award for best dramatic actress for her work in the series.

Blackstone also won the award for best original musical score (drama) and best production reflecting cultural diversity. In addition, The Making of Blackstone received an award for best original musical score for a non-fiction program under 30 minutes.

The Alberta-shot AMC series Hell on Wheels took home best dramatic series, best overall sound, best costume designer, best editor and best makeup artist. In the film categories, the Dylan McDermott-starring feature Freezer, produced by Lisa Byrne and Freezer Film Edmonton, won for best dramatic production over 30 minutes.

On the non-fiction side, Wild Obsession from producer Larry Day and Pyramid Productions won for best documentary series. The prize for best long-form documentary went to Survival of the Fabulous! from producer Connie Edwards and Souleado Entertainment. Survival of the Fabulous! also took home best cinematographer (non-fiction over 30 minutes) and best editor (non-fiction over 30 minutes).

The best documentary under 30 minutes went to Tour of Alberta – Making the Tour from Guy Lavallee and City Television Edmonton. The award for best information or lifestyle series went to Eats Calgary, from Spotlight Productions and producers Laura O’Grady, Matthew Embry and Ravinder Minhas.

Additional winners are listed below:

Best News Series

Alberta Primetime

Kelsey Dyer, Producer

CTV Two Alberta

Best News Feature

Crystal Skulls

Allan Leader, Producer

Leader Productions

Best Daily Newscast

CTV News at Six – “March 21, 2013”

Stephanie Prues, Producer

CTV Edmonton

Best Television Commercial Under $50K

Rest in Peace

Michael Peterson, Bradley Stuckel, Michael Roik & Kelly Phelan, Producers

Plainsight Pictures, Freshdog Productions & CIFF

Best Television Commercial Over $50K

Western Canada Lottery Corporation –  “Not Much”

Matt Gillespie, Producer

Joe Media Group

Best Public Service or NoT-For-Profit Production

Alberta Health Services – “Germ Date”

Hans J. Dys, Producer

FILMBratz Productions

Best corporate or Promotional Production

C&B Advertising – Calgary Stampede – “We’re Greatest Together”

Brent Kawchuk, Phil Copithorne, Leigh Blakely & Shayne McBride, Producers

Corkscrew Media & Stir Films

Best Musical Program or series

Canadian Country Music Awards

Scott Henuset, Claire Adams & Brent Kawchuk, Producers

Corkscrew Media

Best Music Video

Lindi Ortega – “Tin Star”

Blake McWilliam, Producer

Back Road Productions

Best Comedy or Variety Production

Just Cause 2

Alexandra Lazarowich, Karl Giroux & Lese Skidmore, Producers

BearPaw Media Productions

Best Cross- Platform or Transmedia Production

Alberta Flood 2013

Jenaya King, Patti Edgar, Katy Anderson & Rachel MacLean, Producers

CBC Calgary

Best Digital Production

The Gathering

Nick Thomas, Chris Krieger, Brock Mitchell, Mark Harrison & Sheldon Lachambre, Producers

DDG

Best Short

Lollipop

Michelle Wong & Scott Henuset, Producers

Corkscrew Media & Off Duty Films

Best live sports event production

Horse Racing Alberta – “2013 Canadian Derby”

Jeff Robillard, Bruce Yost & Mike Little, Producers

Horse Racing Alberta & Mike Little

Best student production

My Life Is A Musical

Paul Davies, Producer

SAIT Polytechnic, Film & Video Production Program

Best Director

(Drama under 30 minutes)

Brock Mitchell

Wendell Walker

DDG

Best Director (Non-Fiction under 30 minutes)

Phil Copithorne

C&B Advertising – Calgary Stampede – “We’re Greatest Together”

Corkscrew Media & Stir Films

Best Director (Non-Fiction over 30 minutes)

Blake Horobin

CBC New Faces – “Joe Nolan, Nuela Charles & Ghostkeeper”

Corkscrew Media

Best Performance by an Alberta Actor

Jason Cermak

Common Chord

Gallant Productions & Northbound Studios

Best Television Host

Jebb Fink

The Funnier Side

The Funnier Side Inc.

Best Narrator

Michelle Armeneau

Compassionate Compass – “Cambodia”

Talking Light Media

Best Screenwriter

(Drama under 30 minutes)

Alexandra Lazarowich,Greg Miller & Lese Skidmore

Just Cause 2

BearPaw Media Productions

Best Screenwriter (Non-Fiction under 30 minutes)

Phil Copithorne

C&B Advertising – Calgary Stampede – “We’re Greatest Together”

Corkscrew Media & Stir Films

Best Screenwriter (Non-Fiction over 30 minutes)

Tom Radford

Common Ground

Clearwater Documentary

Best Cinematographer (Drama under 30 minutes)

Nick Thomas

Wendell Walker

DDG

Best Cinematographer (Drama over 30 minutes)

Craig Wrobleski

Heartland – “There But For Fortune”

SEVEN24 Films

Best Cinematographer (Non-Fiction under 30 minutes)

Michael Sorel & Doug Munro

ATK Oilfield Transportation

Stir Films & Corkscrew Media

Best Editor (Non-Fiction under 30 minutes)

Chris Krieger

TEDxYYC Promo

DDG

Best Overall Sound

(Drama under 30 minutes)

Johnny  Blerot

Heels

Back Road Productions

Best Overall Sound (Non-Fiction under 30 minutes)

Johnny Blerot

AHSA – “Safety In A Minute”

The Met Agency

Best Overall Sound

(Non-Fiction over 30 minutes)

Johnny Blerot

The Grounded

Kroschel Films

Best Original Musical Score (Non-Fiction under 30 minutes)

Alec Harrison & Andrea Wettstein

Fly Over Canada

Six Degrees

Best Art Director

Trevor Smith

The Right Kind of Wrong

Nomadic Pictures

Best Visual Effects

Benjamin Ross Hayden, Brian Frank, & Jesse Foster

Agophobia

Manifold Picture Company

Best Animator / Motion Graphic Artist(s)

Riley Beach & Deja Springfield

Tiny Plastic Men – “Business Gayer”

Mosaic Entertainment

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to revise Blackstone‘s total award wins from five to six. In our previous version, we did not count the award-winning “Making Of” documentary as part of the regular series, but recognize that it still falls under the Blackstone banner and has been added to the tally as such.