When the film biz in Canada was taking off, filmmakers saw that organization was needed to unify and fortify the farflung industry, and in 1979, with the grassroots support of indie filmmkers, what is known today as the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television was born.

Its first executive director, Andra Sheffer, now executive director of the Maclean Hunter Television Fund, recalls how the fledgling film Academy came into being. Sheffer was then working for the Festival of Festivals, responsible for organizing the Canadian Film Awards presentation, and it became very clear to her that the jury system process ‘was not functioning to maximum effectiveness.’

As there was also a strong desire from the industry to change the whole system and a penchant for peer group voting, Sheffer was seconded to work with Bill Marshall (who in addition to being president of the festival was also conveniently head of the producers association at the time), with a mandate to put together a committee of high-profile industry figures (Al Waxman among them) and figure out how to set up an Academy-modeled organization.

Due to concerns over the reaction from the various professional craft organizations, which had previously come together to put on the Canadian Film Awards, representatives were invited to be on the committees. It made for a ‘massive board,’ says Sheffer with a chuckle, ‘which of course led to differences of opinion over time.’

But with creative solutions, such as holding a contest to rename the ‘Etrog’ (which Sheffer politely admits was ‘not exactly a popular name’), consensus was reached on both a new name, the Genie, and a new image.

Time led to many permutations and transitions of the original Academy; in 1985 the mandate of stimulating, recognizing and honoring excellence extended to promoting the television industry as well as film. Now the Academy has established offices in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Halifax and l.a., and, acting as a central agent for all branches of the industry, sets about its tasks of professional development, profile-raising, and generally, behaving as a national non-political/ industry-partisan resource.

The following timeline of major events over the intervening 15 years was obtained from Academy newsletters, researched by outgoing director of communications and membership services, Lynn Huxtable.

1979

Sept. 16: The 350-member Academy has its first annual general meeting at the Sutton Place Hotel in Toronto. The Academy’s structure consists of elected members from the various craft categories, members-at-large (chairs of various committees), appointed members representing the various professional associations, and an executive committee, initially chaired by Ron Cohen.

Executive committee member George Appleby (Member 001) comes up with the name, Academy of Canadian Cinema, and David Wyman designs the logo.

December: Maria Topalovich joins as director of publicity and promotion.

1980

Ronald Cohen is chair, 1980/81.

January: The Sorel Etrog trophy, sculpted in 1968 for the cfa, is renamed Genie to symbolize ‘the magic of filmmaking and the hidden genie seeking expression in all creative people.’ Air Canada sponsors the first Genies, which attract 25 feature entries and 105 non-features.

March 20: The Academy’s first big splash (live national tv), the inaugural Genies, are held at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre and hosted by Bruno Gerussi. The Changeling is named best picture. The non-feature awards were presented at a luncheon on March 19.

June: The interchange between actors and sound technicians is explored in the Academy’s first professional development workshop program.

August: The Sunday Afternoon at the Academy screening program is launched with George Bloomfield’s Double Negative and the short Nails. All members are allowed to vote in all final categories of Genies, and the Canadian Film Editors Guild and Canadian Society of Cinematographers approach the Academy to organize their annual award presentations, the 1980 Film Craft Awards. The Academy initiates its first historical research project.

November: A film industry press clipping service is launched.

1981

March 12: Of the 21 feature films entered in the second Genie show, hosted by Brian Linehan, Les Bons Debarras is picked as best picture.

June: Pat Ferns proposes expansion of the Academy’s mandate to include short film and tv. The Academy opens a small reference library, begins script collections, and explores the feasibility of an a-v library of the Canadian feature film industry.

October: The Academy sponsors and organizes a seminar at the Toronto Festival of Festivals, and the Canadian Independent Short Film Showcase, a new program for the theatrical distribution of shorts across Canada, is launched. The Bijou Awards for short film and television are held at Casa Loma, hosted by Nancy White, and the Academy’s non-feature awards are joined by the Canadian Film and Television Association’s awards at the Harbour Castle Hilton Convention Centre.

1982

Paul Hoffert is 1982/83 chair.

March 3: The third Genie Awards at the Royal Alex, hosted again by Linehan, sees Ticket To Heaven named best picture.

The theatrical shorts and documentaries membership branch is born and (amid controversy) the ‘foreign’ performer category is greenlighted. In a film composers workshop, Paul Hoffert is joined by Carmine Coppola (The Godfather I and II, The Black Stallion, Apocalypse Now and Napoleon).

July: David Cronenberg plays director when the top brass of 100 major corporations answer the fundraising call and turn out for a Casablanca Casting Session. The Academy’s first brochure, Spotlight on the Academy, is produced, and a part-time office is set up in Montreal on a three-month feasibility test.

September: The Academy administers the Festival of Festivals Trade Forum.

October: The Montreal office trial is extended to January 1983.

1983

March 23: The fourth Genies, hosted by Dave Thomas at the Royal Alex, give the best picture nod to The Grey Fox.

Spring/summer: New English and French tv awards are in the works. The Independent Short Film Showcase turns two.

The controversial foreign actor/ actress Genie category is dropped. The executive committee greenlights a new 18-point system for defining Canadian film, and the art direction branch welcomes set decorators. The Academy releases its first publication, The Shape of Rage – The Films of David Cronenberg, announces plans to produce a Who’s Who of the industry, and administers another Festival of Festivals Trade Forum.

This is also the year of the celebrity castoffs Tent Sale, held down by Harbourfront.

Fall/winter: mgm/ua, chfi, cbc and Famous Players present the Yentl premiere to launch the Academy’s Patron’s Program.

The Academy embraces the computer era and goes digital.

1984

Denis Heroux is chair.

February: The City of Toronto Screen Apprenticeship Award is launched.

March 21: Louis Del Grande hosts the fifth Genies; The Terry Fox Story takes best motion picture honors.

August: The cmpda requests the Golden Reel Award be presented during the Genie broadcast; and a new approach to the annual awards shows instigates a coproduction between the cbc and the Academy.

November: Members approve the establishment of a television division and awards.

1985

Robert Lantos, then president of RSL Entertainment, is the new chair.

January: The second Academy publication, The Pictorial History of the Canadian Film Awards, written by Topalovich, is published.

February: Festive fundraiser; Academy hosts a gala premiere of That’s Dancing.

March: The first Variety Club salute. The Genies move to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre; hosts are Al Waxman and Kerrie Keane. The Bay Boy gets best picture nod.

Canada Council suspends funding of the Short Film Showcase.

May: Lantos announces expansion into tv and a new moniker: Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. The tv division steering committee consists of Les Harris, Stephen Ellis, Ron Cohen, Sheffer, Topalovich, Peter Mortimer, Lawrie Rotenberg, Audrey Cole, Chuck Shamata, Lantos, Paul Saltzman and Isme Bennie.

August: The premiere issue of Script Data Base hits the mail.

October: The first Who’s Who is published. The board adopts a new structure to accommodate a tv division.

November: Genie eligibility extends to participants of all nationalities, and four new theatrical short and documentary awards are added. A full-time Montreal office opens, and Danielle Sauvage is hired to research the feasibility of a French-language tv awards competition.

1986

Ron Cohen is in his second two-year stint as the chair.

March 20: Margot Kidder and Catherine Mary Stewart host the Genies at the Toronto Convention Centre. My American Cousin is deemed best picture.

April: The new Gemini statue, designed by Scott Thornley, is unveiled.

May: The Academy’s Montreal office gets its first full-time director, Marc Boudreau, and a part-time Western office opens in Vancouver.

August: The Prix Gemeaux are announced, the natp expanded, a part-time Halifax office opens, and the Academy makes its first promotional video foray.

Dec. 3-4: The first Geminis are held at the Convention Centre; Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin and Dave Thomas host. (The off-air awards are held on Dec. 3.)

Dec. 17: The new Western executive committee holds its first meeting.

1987

Feb. 15: The first Prix Gemeaux Awards are held in Montreal.

Membership hits 1,200. Swatch sponsorship enables the return of the Short Film Showcase.

March 16: Making It gets published.

March 18: Helen Shaver, Linda Sorensen and Jean Leclerc host the Genies; The Decline of the American Empire wins best picture honors.

May: The Director Observers Program (which sponsors four filmmakers to observe feature directors in action) and the Kodak Children’s Animation Workshop Scholarship are launched. atas enlists the Academy to help in judging several Emmy categories.

August: The Breakfast Club speakers program is launched in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. A new logo is created, and Employment and Immigration funds a job development program through the Academy.

November: Sean Kiely is named managing director, cinema division and special projects.

Dec. 9: Levy and Martin play a return engagement as hosts of the Gemini Awards Broadcast Gala. (The off-air awards are held on Dec. 8.)

1988

David Patterson is the new chair.

Feb. 2: The l.a. branch is launched.

March 22: Un Zoo la nuit is the belle of the Genies, hosted by Gordon Pinsent and Megan Follows.

August: A ‘Friends’ membership category is introduced and the first edition of ScriptService is released. An award for outstanding achievement in makeup is added to the Genies cabinet, to be meted out by the art department branch when deemed appropriate.

Nov. 29/30: The Gemini Awards. The second night’s on-air portion is hosted by Sheila McCarthy and Mike Macdonald. The first Multiculturalism Awards are added to the Gemini and Gemeaux awards.

1989

Al Waxman is chair.

February: The York Trillium Awards for writing achievement are created.

March 22: Best picture is the prognosis for Dead Ringers at the 10th anniversary Genie Awards, hosted by Dave Thomas at the Harbour Castle Westin Hotel.

It was a very good year for the Genies, which were toasted by Inniskillin with a special vintage sporting a Genies label.

May: Topalovich and Sheffer are honored for their decade of service by the Academy.

The Academy hosts a four-day Canadian film fest in tandem with the Guelph Spring Festival.

June 16-17: Moving The Image, the first distribution and marketing workshop, is held.

August: New chairs are Rob Haynes in the West and Bernie Rothman in l.a.

October: ACCTV Productions is created to produce the Genies, Geminis and Gemeaux; the CTV Television Network is named as official broadcaster of the ’89 Geminis and the ’90 Genies. The Academy lends a hand with the launch of Indiana’s Film Society’s Festival of New Canadian Cinema.

Nov. 17: The Breakfast Club hits Saskatchewan.

Dec. 4-5: Martin Short hosts the Gemini Awards broadcast.

1990

January: Topalovich is the new executive director.

March 20: Linehan is back, and the winner of the 11th best picture Genie is Jesus de Montreal.

June/July: The Atlantic office achieves fully-operational status. Filmmakers from Ireland’s Wider Horizons exchange program arrive. Awards show agenda-jostling sees the Genies scheduled for fall and the Geminis for spring.

Dec. 2-4: The Geminis now span three days (the first two nights are broadcast by ytv); Joe Flaherty hosts the final broadcast gala evening.

1991

TV91, the Academy’s first international tv conference is produced. Changes are made to the Genie nominations, qualifying screenings and final balloting. The Director’s Series is launched with Michael Apted and Class Action. Susan Unger joins as director of the Western office.

Sept. 20-22: In a remarkable feat of member-engineering, 130 filmmakers from across Canada convene in Toronto for the premiere Genie nomination jury screenings.

October: The Montreal office is in high gear, presenting L’undis de l’academie and Action-Vision (its first marketing seminar).

Nov. 26: Leslie Nielsen hosts the Genies at the Pantages Theatre; Black Robe is the winner. The Halifax office has its first Genie wingding.

1992

March 8: Ralph Benmergui and Cynthia Dale host Live and Dangerous (aka the broadcast portion of the 6th Geminis reincarnated in its new spring slot), at which the first Donald Brittain Award is presented.

June: An expanded Story Editors Training Program is launched. The Academy puts on the one-time Prix TVOntario Awards at the Banff Television Festival

July 10: Moving Day. The Academy moves its Toronto hq to 158 Pearl St., its present tucked-away-behind-the-King St.-theater-district location.

Nov. 22: Into sequels: Leslie Nielsen returns to host the ’92 Genies, and another Cronenberg film, Naked Lunch, is picked as best picture.

l.a. announces an honorary board which includes Dan Aykroyd, Norman Jewison and Fay Wray

Dec. 13: The Prix Gemeaux.

1993

Ann Medina is the current chair.

February: The Screening Room program is launched in Vancouver with thought-provoking fare – Katherine Gilday’s The Famine Within and Eileen Hoeter’s Dying To Be Perfect. The Academy’s Toronto Screening Room launches with Stepping Razor, Nicholas Campbell and Brian D. Johnson.

March 5-7: The three-day Gemini Awards celebration culminates in the broadcast gala hosted by Sara Botsford and Greg Malone.

May: Gemini voting is rejigged, with the final ballot to be weighted 70% jury/30% full membership.

The Claude Jutra Award (for direction of a first feature film) is announced.

To calibrate Cancon, the Academy opts for cavco guidelines. Large-format is now in the running for Genies.

Dec. 12: The Genies are held in Montreal pour la premiere fois at Radio-Canada’s Studio 42. Marc Labreche hosts and Thirty-two Short Films About Glenn Gould is voted best pic.

Dec. 15: Ken Heeley-Ray, Canada’s godfather of sound, is paid tribute.

1994

Feb. 7-9: The Understanding Story workshop is held.

March 4: In conjunction with the Geminis, the Academy puts on TV94; the focus of the fourth annual television symposium is Turning On To The Information Highway.

March 6: Valerie Pringle and Albert Schultz host the eighth Gemini Broadcast Gala.