Dark Oracle and The Newsroom both scored at this year’s International Emmys – walking away from the Nov. 21 awards in New York with top honors for children’s and comedy programming, respectively.

Valerie Creighton, outgoing CEO of SaskFilm, is the new president of the Canadian Television Fund ­- filling the void left by Sandra Macdonald just as the fund prepares to join together with Telefilm as a one-board, one-administration organization for Canadian TV projects.

Quebecers turned out to see Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm’s hockey biopic Maurice Richard, which had a big if not spectacular opening weekend in Quebec on Nov. 25.

CBC’s broadcast of what is being hailed as one of the most exciting Grey Cup championship games in CFL history brought in nearly 3.2 million viewers, according to the broadcaster. This is a huge number by CBC’s post-lockout standards, but the ratings for the game – which saw the Edmonton Eskimos defeat the Montreal Alouettes in overtime 38 to 35 – dipped from last year, when the Toronto Argonauts defeated the B.C. Lions before an average of four million viewers.

The Hot Sheet tracks Canadian box-office results for the period Nov. 18-24 and television ratings for the period Nov. 21-27.

Strong year for Astral

Regina: The mood was jubilant as the Saskatchewan production community gathered Nov. 16-18 for Showcase 2005, a conference and awards gala hosted by the Saskatchewan Motion Picture Association to honor the best film, TV and new media projects made in the province.

Aspiring documentary filmmakers again have an opportunity to participate in the National Film Board’s Momentum program. The program, now in its fourth year, provides emerging filmmakers with the creative and technical tools to craft quality, low-budget, short docs under the guidance of industry professionals.

A contingent of Canadian nonfiction producers and broadcasters made the trip to the Netherlands late last month for the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam.

Following are the winners of the 2005 Gemini Awards

It was a bittersweet final bow for a cancelled drama, redemption for an underwatched miniseries, and a night as notable for its star power as its no-shows, as the 2005 Gemini Awards were handed out at the event’s Nov. 19 closing-night gala in Toronto.

As a bittersweet year for scripted TV winds down, the Canadian industry is still struggling to get people to watch its shows.