Scarborough made his directorial debut in the feature film Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson, which received the directorial award. Thirteen-year-old Liam Diaz – who played Bing in the film – is one of the youngest actors in Canadian Screen Awards history to win the award for Best Leading Actor. In an interview with CBC News, Nakhai said that she and Williamson tried to stay true to the film’s original material, Catherine Hernandez’s 2017 Scarborough novel. “We paid close attention to the performance, but we also knew that no film could include the range of stories within this particular neighborhood in Scarborough and then with Scarborough as a whole,” Nakhai said. The film, which premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, tells the story of Bing, Sylvie and Laura, three children who forge a strong friendship for their shared experiences of living in an unserved community. Adapted from Catherine Hernandez’s novel of the same name in 2017, with the author writing the screenplay for the film. Scarborough co-directors Shasha Nakhai, left, and Rich Williamson, center, stand with writer Catherine Hernandez on the first day of filming. Nakhai and Williamson won the Canadian Screen Award 2022 for Outstanding Direction. (Kenya-Jade Pinto / Courtesy of Compy Films)
The Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers won two awards on Sunday for a pair of projects. She won the award for her role in a film about her role as Niska in Danis Goulet’s dystopian allegory Night Raiders. The film takes place in a future world where indigenous children are taken from their families and become guardians of a brutal military state. Tailfeathers also produced and directed Ted Rogers’ best feature film documentary, Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy. The film chronicles the impact of the opioid crisis on the entire community in the First Kainai Nation in Alberta, where hundreds of lives have been lost to addiction. Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers at Danis Goulet’s Night Raiders. Tailfeathers won for playing a leading actress in the film. He also produced and directed Ted Rogers’ best feature-length documentary, Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy. (Altitude pictures)
“Indigenous people face daily systemic violence in this country,” the Tailfeathers said in a post-ceremony interview. “I believe it is so important to recognize the strength of our communities and the ways in which people overcome such deep-rooted systemic barriers through culture, through community, and do so in a way that offers healing and hope.”

Sort Of Wins Best TV Comedy, Transplant Scans Drama Awards

In the television categories, Sort Of won the Best Comedy Award. The new series, co-written by Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo, stars Baig as a millennial gender who traverses competing identities as a bartender, babysitter in a wealthy Pakistani immigrant family and child. “They are a really cross-cutting group … beyond race and gender, age and sexuality,” Baig said. “There is a real concern for how we tell these stories.” Fellow writer and director Fab Filippo says the collaborative nature of Sort Of projects is because the team focuses on listening to each other’s ideas. Bilal Baig is portrayed as Sabi Mehboob on the CBC / HBO show Sort Of, which won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Comedy Series on Sunday. (CBC)
Kim’s Convenience actors Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Jean Yoon were named best comedians and comedians respectively. The CBC comedy about a Korean-Canadian family that owns a convenience store in downtown Toronto ended in 2021 after a famous five-season series. “There are so many BIPOC performers who break out, and are discovered, or find their voices, or can shape that narrative into narrative,” Lee said. “This is Kim’s Convenience legacy for me.” Jean Yoon and Paul Sun-Hyung Lee starred in leading roles and actors in a comedy about Kim’s Convenience. (CBC)
The CTV Transplant drama about a Syrian refugee working as an emergency room nurse at a Toronto hospital has swept through the drama. the series turned out to be the best drama series, while Hamza Haq and Laurence Leboeuf emerged as the best protagonists and actors in a drama series, respectively. Brooke Lynn Hytes, Traci Melchor, Amanda Brugel and Brad Goreski won the award for best host or presenter of a series of events or reality / competitions for their work in the second season of Canada’s Drag Race. The Cogeco Fund Audience Choice Award, voted by the audience, was given to the Wynonna Earp drama series. This year’s Radius Award, which highlights the work of a Canadian film or television professional who is currently making headlines worldwide in the film or television industry, was given to Never Have I Ever star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. The three recipients of the inaugural Change Award, given to media professionals who use their platform to invoke systemic discrimination and racism, were sports writer Kayla Gray, cultural journalist Kathleen Newman-Bremang and CBC presenter Amanda Parris. Paris said that structural change goes beyond changing people in leadership positions. “I think diversity, equality and inclusion have been an important principle in the debate, but it cannot end there,” Paris said. “I think when we finish it there, we leave it at the surface level; it becomes symbolic.” Legendary sports commentator Bob Cole received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Hamza Haq stars in Transplant, the winner of the Canadian Screen Awards 2022 for Best Drama Series. Haq won the Drama Series Award, while co-star Laurence Leboeuf won the Drama Series Award. (CTV)
The full list of winners from Sunday can be found below:

Best Movie: Scarborough. Performance by a leading actor: Liam Diaz, Scarborough. Performed by a leading actress: Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Night Raiders. Achievement in directing: Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson, Scarborough. Ted Rogers Best Feature Documentary: Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy. Best Comedy Series: Sort Of. Best Leading Role, Comedy: Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Kim’s Convenience. Best Actress, Comedy: Jean Yoon, Kim’s Convenience. Best Drama Series: Transplant. Best Leading Role, Drama: Hamza Haq, Transplant. Best Leading Role, Drama: Laurence Leboeuf, Transplant. Best Host or Presenter, Reality or Reality / Contest: Brooke Lynn Hytes, Traci Melchor, Amanda Brugel and Brad Goreski, Canada’s Drag Race. Cogeco Fund Audience Choice Award: Wynonna Earp. Radius Award: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. Life Award: Bob Cole. Changemaker Award: Kayla Gray, Kathleen Newman-Bremang and Amanda Parris. Gordon Sinclair Award for TV Journalism: Rassi Nashalik.