What do The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, The Amazing Spiderman 2, the first lady of Canadian broadcasting and a new broadcaster app have in common?

All have a connection to those being honoured by four Academy Special Awards that will be presented this spring at the 2014 Canadian Screen Awards: Ted Kotcheff, Colm Feore, Marge Anthony and CTV News’ iGateway.

Toronto-born Ted Kotcheff, future recipient of  the Academy Board of Directors’ Tribute (FILM & TV) for outstanding and enduring contributions to Canadian Film & Television, first worked at the CBC. He  made his first major impression as the director of 1973’s The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, written by his then-roomate Mordechai Richler and won both The Best Canadian Film Award and the  Golden Bear, the only Canadian film to land this prestigious Berlin Film Festival award.

More recently, Kotcheff was the executive producer of  the hit TV series  Law & Order: SVU (Special Victims Unit) for 12 seasons.

Colm Feore, to be honoured for his acting  with the Earle Gray Award winner (Film & TV), relocated to  Ottawa from Boston at the age of 3, later attended Canada’s National Theatre School and joined the prestigious Stratford Festival in 1981, where he stayed for 16 years. As both a film and TV screen actor, some of Feore’s best known projects include Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould; Bon Cop, Bad Cop; The Red Violin; Thor; the upcoming The Amazing Spiderman 2; ABC’s Revolution and his Gemini award-winning lead role  in the CBC mini-series Trudeau.

Marge Anthony, who passed away earlier this year, will be posthumously receiving the Academy Board of Directors’ Tribute (FILM & TV) For Outstanding and Enduring Contributions to Canadian Film & Television.

Inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 1997, Marjorie (Marge) Anthony Linden was the first female all-night disc jockey in Montreal; the first woman to appear in regular programming at Montreal’s CFCF-TV; the first female vice-president in Canadian television and the first woman president of the Broadcast Executive Society. Later, during a decade with CTV in Toronto, she became deeply involved in the Canadian TV industry.

CTV News’ iGateway wins the Outstanding Technical Achievement Award (FILM & TV) as Bell Media’s engineering department revolutionized the way news is captured and delivered. The  iGateway internally developed app uses iOS and is HD end-to-end, equipped with accelerated file transfer solution from the user capturing images in the field to the editor preparing that same material for air. The iGateway app provides the CTV News team an iOS device with the power of a mobile truck, extremely useful for news gathering in smaller markets. In 2012, Apple CEO Tim Cook featured CTV News and its use of iOS at the company’s iPad mini release, and Apple’s 2012 earnings call.

“We are deeply honoured to present these Canadian screen leaders with Academy Special Awards,” Academy Chair Martin Katz said in a statement.

“As we look forward to our national Canadian Screen Awards telecast on March 9, the Academy continues to recognize and celebrate Canada’s most talented actors, directors and digital innovators, as well as the broadcast executive who made ‘first’ her personal trademark,” says Katz.

Previously announced Academy Special Awards recipients include David Cronenberg, Alanis Obomsawin, Semi Chellas, Alan Sawyer and W5.

All awards will be presented during Canadian Screen Week, Mar. 3 to 9, and at the Canadian Screen Awards CBC Broadcast Gala taking place at the Sony Centre For the Performing Arts on Mar. 9.