Although the Gemini Awards are still weeks away, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, producer of the 9th annual Canadian television awards, has a few winners already in hand.

The Gemini’s special awards, which will be presented at the Gemini opening night gala on Feb. 23, honor accomplishments in areas as diverse as technical achievement, acting, and regional television news programs.

The Canada Award, formerly known as the Multiculturalism Award, is presented each year to an English-language film that reflects the nation’s multicultural map. An equivalent French-language award is presented at the Prix Gemeaux.

This year’s winner is For Angela, a National Film Board production about racism. Written and directed by Dan Prouty and based on a true incident, the short dramatic film tells of a young Ojibway girl and her mother who take a stand against racial prejudice.

For Angela was selected, unanimously, by a jury comprised of members of the Canadian film and television production community, and from a record 29 submissions.

Past recipients include Speak It: From the Heart of Black Nova Scotia, Inside Stories and Degrassi Junior High.

The 1994 Earl Grey Lifetime Achievement Award goes to the original troupe of the popular comedy series sctv: Rick Moranis, Martin Short, John Candy, Eugene Levy, Joe Flaherty, Catherine O’Hara, Andrea Martin and Dave Thomas. It is not confirmed yet who will be attending the awards ceremony.

sctv, which aired from 1976 to 1984 and is in a constant state of reruns, was considered a pioneering show on the comedy and series fronts for Canada. The cast uniformly went on to successful careers north and south of the border.

The award has recognized a considerable body of work in acting since 1986. Past recipients include Ernie Coombs, Jan Rubes, Kate Reid and Lorne Greene.

Lighting designers Gil Densham, Rick Szjarto and Robert Bell of Cast Lighting are the recipients of the Best Technical Achievement Gemini Award, selected by a jury which included David Ostriker, Scott Hamilton, Paul Norris, Mike Zakula, Rick Hummel, Jim Clark and Wilson Markle.

Cast Lighting won for its wysiwyg system, a 3D walk-around creation that enables designers to visualize all of their lighting in realtime without being in a lit venue.

Best Local News Program went to CBC Evening News, produced out of Toronto. The winning team is: executive producer Jill Troyer, senior producer Jamie Purdon, assignment editor Allan Buchnea, current affairs producer Pam Bertrand and entertainment editor Leslie Wasserman. The hour-long newscast and current affairs program, which airs weeknights at 6 p.m., was chosen by a jury of newscast peers and chaired by Canada am’s Fiona Conway.

In recognition of an individual who has made a significant contribution to broadcasting in Canada, this year’s John Drainie Award goes to cbc anchor Knowlton Nash. Selected by previous winners of the award, the jury included Max Ferguson, Gordon Pinsent, Robert Weaver, Frank Shuster, Peter Gzowski and Allan McFee. The award was instituted by actra in 1968.