Donald Brittain Award
The Donald Brittain Award is a Canadian television award, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to honour the year's best television documentary on a social or political topic. Formerly presented as part of the Gemini Awards, since 2013 it has been presented as part of the Canadian Screen Awards. The award may be presented to either a standalone broadcast of a documentary film, or to an individual full-length episode of a news or documentary series; documentary films which originally premiered theatrically, but were not already submitted for consideration in a CSA film category before being broadcast on television, are also considered television films for the purposes of the award.
The award is named in honour of Donald Brittain, a pioneering Canadian documentary filmmaker.[1] On one occasion to date, the award has been won by a documentary film about Brittain and his importance to the history of Canadian documentary film.
Nominees and winners[]
1990s[]
| Year | Nominee | Film |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 6th Gemini Awards | ||
| Island of Whales | , , , | |
| Between Two Worlds | Peter Raymont | |
| Distress Signals | , John Walker, Tom Perlmutter | |
| James Bay: The Wind That Keeps Blowing | Nancy Archibald | |
| Transplant: The Breath of Life | ||
| 1992 7th Gemini Awards | ||
| Timothy Findley: Anatomy of a Writer | Terence Macartney-Filgate, Don Haig | |
| Man Alive: "Chernobyl 2" | ||
| On the Eighth Day: Perfecting Mother Nature | ||
| Threads of Hope | Les Harris, | |
| Women in the Shadows | , Christine Welsh | |
| 1993 8th Gemini Awards | ||
| Donald Brittain: Filmmaker | ||
| Adrienne Clarkson Presents: "Artemesia" | Adrienne Clarkson | |
| Man Alive: "Held Hostage" | ||
| The Fifth Estate: "Odd Man Out" | ||
| The Nature of Things: "Trading Futures" | Michael Poole | |
| 1994 9th Gemini Awards | ||
| Shadows and Light: Joaquin Rodrigo at 90 | Larry Weinstein, Niv Fichman | |
| Dream Tower | Ron Mann | |
| Hidden Children | ||
| No Man's Land | ||
| Romeo and Juliet in Sarajevo | John Zaritsky, | |
| 1995 10th Gemini Awards | ||
| Ms. Conceptions | Linda Frum, Ric Esther Bienstock | |
| The Fifth Estate: "Sealed in Silence" | ||
| The Last Trip | ||
| The Negotiator | Laszlo Barna | |
| Orphans of Manchuria | ||
| The Voyage of the St. Louis | ||
| 1996 11th Gemini Awards | ||
| Utshimassits: Place of the Boss | John Walker, , | |
| Fire and Water | ||
| Scenes from a Corner Store | ||
| Summer in the Cherry Orchard | ||
| The True Story of Linda M. | Norma Bailey, | |
| 1997 12th Gemini Awards | ||
| The Selling of Innocents | , Simcha Jacobovici, | |
| My Russian Campaign: From Montreal to Moscow | ||
| Mystics, Mechanics and Mindbombs | , | |
| Nowhere Else to Live | ||
| Picturing a People: George Johnston Tlingit Photographer | , | |
| 1998 13th Gemini Awards | ||
| Gerrie & Louise | , Sturla Gunnarsson, | |
| Confessions of a Rabid Dog | Rudy Buttignol, , | |
| Dad | ||
| Some Kind of Arrangement | ||
| Witness: "Between Here and Heaven" | , | |
| 1999 14th Gemini Awards | ||
| Crimes of Honour | ||
| Believing | ||
| East Side Showdown | ||
| Four Women of Egypt | ||
| The Dragon's Egg | Rudy Buttignol, Allan King, Elizabeth Yake |
2000s[]
| Year | Nominee | Film |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 15th Gemini Awards | ||
| Deep Inside Clint Star | ||
| Asylum: Falling Through the Cracks | ||
| Kikkik | ||
| Legacy of Terror: The Bombing of Air India | Rudy Buttignol, | |
| The Holier it Gets | Rudy Buttignol, Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier | |
| 2001 16th Gemini Awards | ||
| Breakaway: A Tale of Two Survivors | , , | |
| Chickens Are People Too | John Kastner, , , | |
| In the Shadow of a Saint | , | |
| Kim Campbell: Through the Looking Glass | ||
| A Moment in Time: The United Colours of Bronstein | ||
| 2002 17th Gemini Awards | ||
| Offspring | Barry Stevens, Laszlo Barna | |
| Aftermath: The Remnants of War | , Ed Barreveld, | |
| Culture Jam: Hijacking Commercial Culture | , | |
| In the Line of Fire | ||
| Waging Peace: A Year in the Life of Caledonia Junior High | , , | |
| 2003 18th Gemini Awards | ||
| Return to Kandahar | Paul Jay, Nelofer Pazira, | |
| Chinese Daughters | , Rudy Buttignol | |
| Salvation | ||
| Seeing Is Believing | , Peter Wintonick, Katerina Cizek, | |
| The Tree That Remembers | ||
| 2004 19th Gemini Awards | ||
| Dying at Grace | Allan King, Rudy Buttignol | |
| Deadline Iraq: Uncensored | , , Douglas Arrowsmith, , | |
| Dying to Be Free: Zimbabwe's Struggle for Change | ||
| Short Infinity | , | |
| The Man Who Could Be King | , , | |
| 2005 20th Gemini Awards | ||
| Runaway Grooms | Ali Kazimi | |
| Bunny and Leona | , John Kastner | |
| El Contrato | ||
| No Place Called Home | ||
| One More River | Ernest Webb, Catherine Bainbridge | |
| The Take | Avi Lewis, Naomi Klein, Laszlo Barna, | |
| 2006 21st Gemini Awards | ||
| House Calls | , | |
| Beyond Words: Photographers of War | , , | |
| Big Sugar | , , | |
| Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company | , Allan King, Rudy Buttignol | |
| No More Tears Sister | , | |
| 2007 22nd Gemini Awards | ||
| Fatherland | Manfred Becker, Laszlo Barna | |
| Bombay Calling | , | |
| Cottonland | , | |
| Empz 4 Life | , Rudy Buttignol, Allan King | |
| Faith Without Fear | , | |
| Martyr Street | , | |
| 2008 23rd Gemini Awards | ||
| A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman | Peter Raymont | |
| A Place Between | , , , | |
| Darfur: On Our Watch | , | |
| Forgiveness: Stories for Our Time | , | |
| Girl Inside | Maya Gallus, Justine Pimlott | |
| 2009 24th Gemini Awards | ||
| Ed Barreveld, Anita Lee, Min Sook Lee | ||
| Air India 182 | , Sturla Gunnarsson | |
| bploi wai dtaai: Leave Her to Die | , | |
| Norm | , | |
| Triage: Dr. James Orbinski's Humanitarian Dilemma | Peter Raymont, |
2010s[]
| Year | Film | Filmmakers |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 25th Gemini Awards | ||
| Broke | Rosvita Dransfeld | |
| A Dream for Kabul | , , | |
| Reel Injun | , Catherine Bainbridge, , Ravida Din, , Ernest Webb, | |
| Up Against the Wall | , | |
| Water on the Table | Liz Marshall | |
| 2011 26th Gemini Awards | ||
| Life with Murder | John Kastner, | |
| Jackpot | Michelle Latimer | |
| Mom's Home | Maureen Judge | |
| Tipping Point: The Age of the Oil Sands | Niobe Thompson | |
| When We Were Boys | , , | |
| 2012 1st Canadian Screen Awards | ||
| About Her | , , , , Phyllis Ellis, Christina Jennings, | |
| 8th Fire | , , , , | |
| The Market | Ed Barreveld | |
| Prosecutor | , , Julia Bennett, , Peter Raymont | |
| The Team | , Peter Raymont, | |
| 2013 2nd Canadian Screen Awards | ||
| The People of the Kattawapiskak River | Alanis Obomsawin, Ravida Din | |
| Nimisha Mukerji | ||
| , Ed Barreveld, , | ||
| 2014 3rd Canadian Screen Awards | ||
| Tales from the Organ Trade | Ric Esther Bienstock, , Simcha Jacobovici | |
| , Damon Vignale, | ||
| The Ghosts in Our Machine | Liz Marshall, | |
| Out of Mind, Out of Sight | , John Kastner, | |
| 2015 4th Canadian Screen Awards | ||
| Sugar Coated | , | |
| Anti-Social Limited | Rosvita Dransfeld | |
| Danny | , William D. MacGillivray, Justin Simms | |
| Human Harvest | , | |
| 2016 5th Canadian Screen Awards | ||
| Guantanamo's Child | , Michelle Shephard, Peter Raymont | |
| After the Last River | , | |
| I, Pedophile | , , | |
| The War at Home | , | |
| 2017 6th Canadian Screen Awards | ||
| The Secret Path | , Mike Downie, , Gord Downie, , Jeff Lemire, Sarah Polley, | |
| All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception and the Spirit of I. F. Stone | , Peter Raymont, , , , Oliver Stone | |
| Colonization Road | Michelle St. John, Brendan Brady, Jordan O'Connor, Shane Belcourt, Evan Adams | |
| Min Sook Lee, | ||
| The Skin We're In | , Stuart Henderson | |
| 2018[2] 7th Canadian Screen Awards | ||
| Quiet Killing (Ce silence qui tue) | ||
| Driving with Selvi | ||
| Maya Gallus | ||
| , , Michelle Shephard | ||
| 2019[3] 8th Canadian Screen Awards | ||
| Mr. Jane and Finch | Alison Duke, Ngardy Conteh George | |
| Kristina McLaughlin, Kevin McMahon, Michael McMahon | ||
| Nadine Pequeneza | ||
| Village of the Missing | Paul Kemp |
2020s[]
| Year | Film | Filmmakers | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 9th Canadian Screen Awards | |||
| 9/11 Kids | Steve Gamester, Michael Kot, Betty Orr, Elizabeth St. Philip | [4] | |
| Above the Law | Geoff Morrison, Marc Serpa Francoeur, Robinder Uppal | [5] | |
| Assholes: A Theory | Ann Bernier, Annette Clarke, John Walker | ||
| Meat the Future | Liz Marshall, Janice Dawe, Chris Hegedus | ||
| The Walrus and the Whistleblower | Frederic Bohbot, Nathalie Bibeau | ||
| 2021 10th Canadian Screen Awards | |||
| Catherine Legge, Saman Malik, Michelle Mètivier, Sarah Peterson, Michael Gruzuk | [6] | ||
| Matt Gallagher, Cornelia Principe | |||
| Arnie Gelbart, Julian Sher, Natalie Dubois | |||
| Rob Lindsay, Jaime Sanchez, Kelly Zemnickis, Kristine Yanoff | |||
| Meagan Fiddler, Bertram Schneider |
See also[]
- Canadian television awards
References[]
- ^ "Gemini gala scores with innovation; Awards show tosses in falcon, football and plea from star of Wayne's World". Montreal Gazette, March 9, 1992.
- ^ "Gord Downie's Secret Path, Amazing Race and CBC News among Canadian Screen Awards winners". CBC News, March 26, 2019.
- ^ Pat Mullen, "2020 Canadian Screen Award Nominees for Documentary". Point of View, February 18, 2020.
- ^ Kim Izzo, "Canadian Screen Award winners for non-fiction categories revealed". RealScreen, May 17, 2021.
- ^ Brent Furdyk, "Television Nominees Announced For 2021 Canadian Screen Awards, ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Leads The Pack With 21 Nominations". ET Canada, March 30, 2021.
- ^ Brent Furdyk, "2022 Canadian Screen Award Nominees Announced, ‘Sort Of’ & ‘Scarborough’ Lead The Pack". ET Canada, February 15, 2022.
Categories:
- Donald Brittain Award winning shows
- Canadian documentary film awards
- Canadian Screen Award television categories
- Gemini Awards