BANFF — Canadians excel at producing nonfiction and interactive programs, if the results of Monday evening’s awards show at the Banff World Television Festival are any indication.

That’s where the hit doc Up the Yangtze and lesser-known The Real Superhumans and the Quest for the Future Fantastic tied for the best Canadian prize, given to the project — or, in this case, projects — voted by a jury to be the best among all the Canuck nominees in Banff’s international awards categories. The prize is presented by Playback.

Yangtze, which took in more than $500,000 at the domestic theatrical box office and aired on CBC, traces the impact of China’s Three Gorges Dam project on the lives of local residents. It is directed by Montrealer Yung Chang. The award was picked up by EyeSteelFilms producer Mila Aung-Thwin. The National Film Board is also involved.

Superhumans, meanwhile, is a lesser-known commodity. The doc, which incorporates a comic book-inspired visual style, introduces viewers to real people around the world who seem to possess extraordinary abilities. The project from Bird Plane Productions and Proper Television is directed by first-time feature helmer Robin Bicknell, and was backed by Discovery Channel Canada.

Meanwhile, the HBO/NHK copro White Light/Black Rain: The destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the grand prize winner. The doc, an examination of the painful legacy of the use of atomic weapons in war, from Oscar-winning filmmaker Steven Okazaki, also took the award for best Asian program.

Other Canadian programs that acquired hardware include How the Gimquat Found Her Song, from Trace Pictures/Oz Media, for top children’s program; Smiley Guy Studios’ Odd Job Jack, winner of the interactive program enhancements prize; the NFB’s www.nfb.ca/filmmakerinresidence, which won for top Internet-only program; and The Border: Interactive, for mobile programs and enhancements.

‘I know very little about this interactive stuff,’ admitted Border exec producer Peter Raymont on stage, deferring to his digital media partners including Evan Jones at Stitch Media.

The Brits had a great showing. Among the wins out of Blighty, Channel 4’s Skins, from Company Pictures, took the prize for best continuing series; the BBC/HBO took best comedy and best entertainment program for an episode of Extras; Dispatches: Meeting the Taliban, from October Films and Channel 4, took the nod for investigative and current affairs programs; and How to Look Good Naked, produced by Maverick for Channel 4, won in the top lifestyle and light information category. A special jury award went to the BBC’s wildly popular automobile TV series Top Gear.

Lending Hollywood glamour to the ceremony was Sex and the City‘s Kim Cattrall, who received the NBC Universal Award of Distinction. It was somewhat of a homecoming for the actress, who grew up in B.C.

‘My very first acting experience was here in Banff when I was 14,’ she said, referring to time spent at the Banff Centre for the Arts, which this year celebrates its 75th anniversary.

Veteran BBC producer Jon Plowman, who has been involved in many of that network’s prime comedy shows, including Little Britain, The Office and Absolutely Fabulous, had the audience in stitches as he accepted the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

With files from Mark Dillon