The French-language series Empathie from screenwriter Lorence Longpre picked up the Grand Jury Prize at the Banff World Media Festival’s Rockie Awards on Tuesday night.
The Canadian series from Trio Orange, which also won for best non-English language drama, the Prix Francophone and the Prize for Excellence in Canadian Content, sees Longpre play a criminologist-turned-psychiatrist in a Montreal hospital where she meets an eclectic group of patients. “I would like to thank the whole team for this Rockie Award,” Longpre said in a pre-taped video to accept the Grand Jury Prize at the Rockie Awards.
And in the best English-language drama category, HBO’s The Pitt took top honors, beating out Canada’s Heated Rivalry and Plan B series, another U.S. series in The Handmaid’s Tale and the British drama Reckless. “As a Canadian boy, it’s so good to be home, I have to say,” R. Scott Gemmill, the series creator and a Canadian-born writer and producer, said when accepting the honor at the gala ceremony in the Canadian Rockies.
Elsewhere, the best English-language comedy honor went to HBO’s The Chair Company, and Malin Akerman won for best drama performance for her turn in Netflix’s The Hunting Wives. “This role is one of my favorite roles I’ve ever got to play. She is one spicy gal,” Akerman said of her performance as Margo Banks when coming on stage at the Banff Springs Hotel’s conference center to pick up her award.
The best feature film prize, presented by Lori O’Connor, executive vp and publisher, and Mikey O’Connell, senior entertainment editor at The Hollywood Reporter, went to Mountainhead, Succession creator Jesse Armstrong’s movie directorial debut.
“It really very touching to see British TV — I come from the U.K. — and American TV, but we can sometimes be very inward looking. And to be reminded of some of the amazing work that’s made all around the world and to be considered amongst it and take home an award, I feel really very honored to be among everyone,” Armstrong said when accepting his trophy.
Wayward creator and comic Mae Martin, who picked up the Creative Voice Award, told the Rockies Awards audience she’d managed to overcome her customary Canadian humility about career success. “Now I’m sort of admitting I’m very ambitious, and I really love the process of making things and collaborating with other artists,” she said on stage.
In other special prize giving, Canadian indigenous actor Tantoo Cardinal (Killers of the Flower Moon, Dances with Wolves) earned the career achievement award. “First time I came here, I hitchhiked here, and they didn’t kick me out,” Cardinal said of first coming to the Banff World Media Festival. “We were not First Nations then. We were being treated with comatose medicine to hide the power of the treaties and then to hide the truth of just how deeply justice and humanity were not for us in this great society,” Cardinal said of her upbringing in a Canada that oppressed its indigenous peoples.
But that changed when she and other First Nations creatives began telling indigenous stories in Canada and elsewhere. “A lot of work has gone into this powerful tapestry of strength of beauty,” Cardinal added of her career legacy and that of other indigenous artists.
The Rockie Awards also honored Community star Ken Jeong with the Sir Peter Ustinov comedy award. “I don’t stand here because of me. I stand here because of Community, because the people who gave me opportunities when I was just a doctor at Kaiser Permanente in Woodland Hills,” Jeong told the Banff audience as he paid tribute to the popular Dan Harmon comedy and other early career opportunities.
And Beverly Hills, 90210 actor Jason Priestley was in Banff to receive the Canadian Award of Distinction after recently starring in the homegrown procedural Private Eyes. Priestley, who cut his teeth as an actor on local film and TV sets as a child before becoming a star in Hollywood, said on stage: “I owe my career and much of my life to the Canadian film and television industry. I thank you for this important recognition.”
Also Tuesday night, the best animated series competition was won by The Simpsons on Fox, and the best performance trophy in a comedy went to Aimee Lou Wood for the British comedy series Film Club. The BBC’s The Graham Norton Show won for best comedy and variety series and the Jeffrey Dean Morgan-hosted Destination X won for best competition and game show series.
Going into this year’s annual Rockie Awards, hosted by Allana Harkin (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee), American TV shows nabbed 55 nominations, followed by U.K. series with 39 mentions.
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