TORONTO – The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (the Canadian Academy) today announced the Canadian Screen Awards is shifting to gender-neutral performance categories.
The shift will apply to the lead and supporting performers categories for both film and television for the 2023 awards, a press release explains. There will be eight nominations per category, an increase from five.
“The decision to transition to gender-neutral performance categories marks a groundbreaking change in the film and television awards industry, with the Canadian Academy being among the first of its kind to alter gender-specific awards categories to better represent the country’s diverse community of talent,” explains the release. “The Canadian Screen Awards have awarded gender-neutral performance categories in the digital media awards stream since 2019.”
“It has been just over ten years since the very first Canadian Screen Awards, and the evolution that our screen-based industries have made since then is immeasurable,” said Louis Calabro, interim CEO of the Canadian Academy, in the release. “As the Canadian Academy, we recognize it is our duty to ensure that every performer has the opportunity to fully participate in our awards programs and the industry, in general, and this move brings us closer to that goal.”
“It is with careful consideration and in-depth discussions that we made the important decision to implement gender-neutral performance categories in film and television at the Canadian Screen Awards,” said John Young, chair of the Canadian Academy.
“The Canadian Academy believes this is a progressive, necessary step towards an equitable screen-based industry by ensuring all Canadian performers are eligible to be honoured by their peers, and are thrilled to be among the first Academy of its kind in the world to implement this format.”
Submissions for the 2023 awards will open Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022.
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