Canadian Screen Awards' B.C. nominees: Continuum, From C to C, Real Housewives

Were you one of those people who constantly got the Genies and the Geminis confused? (Or were you among those who didn't even really know what the Genies or Geminis were? If you answered yes, tsk tsk!)

Well, fret no longer as you don't ever have to worry about that again. After 32 years of the Genies and 27 years of the Geminis, the two Canadian awards (for Canadian film and TV, respectively) have been rolled into one all-encompassing entity: the Canadian Screen Awards.

The new amalgamated awards will cover film, TV, and digital media, as was revealed, along with this year's nominees, at a Toronto press conference on January 15.

Kim Nguyen's African drama Rebelle (War Witch), which recently snagged an Oscar nomination for best foreign language film, led the feature film pack with 12 nominations. Xavier Dolan's transgender drama Laurence Anyways followed close behind with 10 nominations.

(Those two films, along with other nominees such as Goon, Stories We Tell, Still, Cosmopolis, and Midnight's Children, will play as part of Canada's Top Ten at the Cinematheque from January 18 to February 4.)

In the film categories, British Columbian nominees remained minimal. Among them were Vancouver-raised talent such as Gabrielle Miller (best supporting actress for Moving Day) and Evan Goldberg (best adapted screenplay for Goon, along with cowriter Jay Baruchel).

Also, the Vancouver-made visual effects for Midnight's Children received a nomination.  

Meanwhile, numerous local TV productions received nominations. While there are too many too list, here are just a few highlights.

The sci-fi series Continuum, which follows a law enforcement officer from the year 2077 who time travels to present-day Vancouver, received five nominations in dramatic series categories, including best direction (John Cassar), best visual effects, best writing, and best original music (Jeff Danna). Continuum is also up against another locally shot TV series, CBC's Arctic Air (starring Adam Beach and Pascale Hutton), for best dramatic series.

The documentary From C to C: Chinese Canadian Stories of Migration, which chronicles the injustices and discrimination that Chinese immigrants faced in Canada, received three nominations, including best visual research and best direction in a documentary program or series.

The Knowledge Network coproduction The Team, a documentary about a Kenyan soap opera about a co-ed, ethnically diverse soccer team, received three nominations, including best social or political documentary program and best direction.

CBC News Vancouver is up for best local newscast while B.C.–based Global National received four nominations including two best breaking reportage nominations, best national newscast, and best news anchor (Dawna Friesen).

Meanwhile, The Nature of Things with David Suzuki is up for best documentary program or series.

Erin Karpluk received a best actress nomination for her leading role in the CBC TV series Being Erica. She'll compete against Victoria's Meg Tilly from Bomb Girls as well as Vancouver's Erica Durant from Saving Hope. Vancouver's Michael MacLennan also received a best dramatic series nomination for Bomb Girls. Stephen Cree is up for best actor in a dramatic series for Blackstone. Vancouverite Aimée Beaudoin received a best comedy writing nomination for APTN's Caution: May Contain Nuts. 

Meanwhile, Eat St. is up for best lifestyle series. And believe it or not, the show that everyone loves to hate, The Real Housewives of Vancouver, received a nomination for best reality or competition TV program or series. Another local reality TV show, The Cupcake Girls, was nominated for best photography in a lifestyle or reality series. (So how's that for representing the West Coast?)

In the best digital media non-fiction program category, Masa Off Grid (Masa Takei) and Bear 71 (Dana Dansereau and Loc Dao) each received nods.

The inaugural awards will be held over six days, with a CBC–broadcast gala in Toronto on March 3, hosted by Martin Short.