WINNERS:
THE 16th ANNUAL ACTRA AWARDS IN TORONTO

ACTRA Toronto is proud to announce the winners of the 16th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto.

Outstanding Performance – Female
Sheila McCarthy (Valerie Walker) Cardinals (Wildling Pictures)

Outstanding Performance – Male
Stuart Hughes (Angus) The Drawer Boy (Open City Works)

Outstanding Performance – Voice
Saara Chaudry (Parvana) The Breadwinner (Aircraft Pictures)

The Members Choice Series Ensemble Award went to Baroness Von Sketch Show (Frantic Films).

Tamara Podemski presented ACTRA Toronto’s 2018 Award of Excellence to sister Jennifer Podemski.

The Stunt Community presented a video of stunt performance highlights as part of the 75th anniversary celebration.

The 16th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto were presented at a live show and gala tonight at The Carlu. The show was hosted by Colin Mochrie with surprise guest host Debra McGrath. The band God Made Me Funky brought their crowd-pleasing act back to the Awards. The evening celebrated the 75th anniversary of Canada’s screen-based performers union with 30 or so of ACTRA’s former and legacy award winners in attendance: Sonja Smits, Gordon Pinsent, Peter Keleghan, Lally Cadeau, Nancy White, Tantoo Cardinal, Wendy Crewson, Amanda Brugel, Eric Peterson, Evelyn Hart, Ken Welsh, Gavin Crawford, Jean Yoon, Linda Kash, Rosemary Dunsmore, Robin Craig, Joan Gregson and R.H. Thomson among them. The black dress code and the President’s remarks underlined the impact of Canada’s #MeToo movement.

President Tova spoke of the need for all entertainment industry stakeholders to press on with their collaborative work to make the industry a safer place. “We have a window of opportunity to look deeply within ourselves as an industry, to make restitution for past offenses, and affect real cultural change so we can simply behave better with each other,” she said. “…We cannot go back to the way things were.”

The 16th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto were sponsored by: DIAMOND: Actra Fraternal Benefit Society PLATINUM: ACTRA National and ACTRA Performers’ Rights Society, Bell Media, SAG-AFTRA. GOLD: CBC, CMPA, Deluxe, FirstOntario Credit Union, HUB International, IATSE 873, United Steelworkers. POST-SHOW RECEPTION: eOne. SILVER: Cavalluzzo LLP, Directors Guild of Canada (Ontario), Don Carmody Productions Inc. & Don Carmody Television Inc., RBC, Take 5 Productions Inc. BRONZE: Addenda Capital, Creative Arts Savings & Credit Union, EP Canada & Canada Film Capital, Grant Thornton LLP, NABET 700-M UNIFOR, New Real Films, 9 Story Media Group/Brown Bag Films, Serendipity Point Films, Thunderbird Entertainment, Universal Promotions, Whizbang Films, Writers Guild of Canada.

ACTRA Toronto is the largest organization within ACTRA, representing more than 15,000 of Canada’s 23,000 professional performers working in recorded media in Canada. As an advocate for Canadian culture since 1943, ACTRA is a member-driven union that continues to secure rights and respect for the work of professional performers.

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For more information and access to photos please contact: Karen Woolridge, Public Relations Officer
Mobile: (416) 937-1437, email: kwoolridge@actratoronto.com