Five Canadian titles are in the running at the MIPCOM Cannes Diversify TV Awards this October.

The awards, which take place during MIPCOM on Oct. 22, honour inclusive programming that offer positive representations of diversity.

Three of the Canadian nominations are kids’ titles, representing half of the children’s media that was nominated this year.

Competing in the representation of diversity for older children category is TVO and Knowledge Network’s Dream It To Be It (Lopii Productions) and the Canada-Belgium copro Beyond Black Beauty (pictured; Sinking Ship Entertainment, Leif Films, Saga Films), broadcast in Canada on Family Channel. They will be competing against the Australian production Windcatcher (Unless Pictures, Every Cloud Productions).

TVOKids’ Wordsville (Sinking Ship Entertainment) is the Canadian representative in the preschool category. It will be up against the U.K. series JoJo & Gran Gran, It’s Time to Braid Hair (BBC) and the Northern Ireland and U.K. Score Draw Media 2D-animated series Yukee (BBC).

For non-children’s Canadian nominations, Unis TV’s Y a une étoile (Bellefeuille Production) will be competing for LGBTQIA+ non-scripted representation. The other nominations are the U.K.’s Big Gay Wedding With Tom Allen (Minnow Films) and They and Them (Tangerine Tree) from the Netherlands.

Nominated for scripted disability representation is AMI-tv’s The Squeaky Wheel: Canada (TSW Productions, Hitsby Entertainment). It will be up against the French series One Of Us (Habanita Fédération) and the Japanese series Deaf Voice: A Sign-Language Interpreter in Court (NHK, Kadokawa).

Last year’s awards saw two Canadian scripted titles winning their categories, with About Antoine (ComediHa!) winning for representation of disability and Little Bird (Rezolution Pictures, OP Little Bird) winning for representation of race and ethnicity.

MIPCOM takes place in Cannes, France from Oct. 21 to Oct. 24.

Image courtesy of Sinking Ship Entertainment