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The Canadian Screen Awards are set to honour actor Mike Myers, sportscaster Hazel Mae and others during this year’s Canadian Screen Week.
Myers, Mae, Canadian Film Centre executive director maxine bailey and filmmaker Chandler Levack’s movie Mile End Kicks will be celebrated for their “enduring impact and momentous achievement” in film and television.
“Their remarkable achievements not only inspire the next generation of storytellers but also remind the world of the extraordinary talent and innovation that Canada contributes to the screen arts,” Tammy Frick, CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (a.k.a. the Canadian Academy), said in a statement.
“We are thrilled to honour these exceptional recipients whose creativity, vision, and dedication continue to shape the landscape of Canadian film and television at home and on the global stage.”
Canadian Screen Week takes place in Toronto from May 27 to May 31, culminating with the Canadian Screen Awards ceremony honouring the best in the country’s cinema, television and digital media.
Mike Myers: Academy Icon Award
Yeah, baby! Toronto-born Myers, who got his big break on Saturday Night Live and went on to star in Hollywood hits including Austin Powers and Shrek, is this year’s recipient of the Academy Icon Award.
The Canadian Academy presents the honour to a Canadian person or institution that has made an “exceptional, ongoing contribution to the media industry at home or abroad.”
The academy calls Myers “one of the most multi-faceted performers of his generation.”
The 62-year-old Primetime Emmy winner and officer of the Order of Canada has more than 80 film and television credits to his name as an actor, writer, producer and director.
He recently returned to his roots on SNL with recurring cameos spoofing billionaire Elon Musk — also a Canadian citizen — amid cross-border tensions with the Trump administration over tariffs and the U.S. president’s rhetoric about making Canada the “51st state.”
It was during one of those SNL appearances last year that Myers, wearing a “Canada is not for sale” T-shirt, channelled his anger into a spontaneous moment that sparked what became known as the “elbows up” movement — evoking the rallying cry of hockey legend Gordie Howe.
For The National, CBC’s Paul Hunter talks to Canadian actor Mike Myers about what pushed him to his ‘elbows up’ rallying cry on SNL and his continued gratitude for Canada.
Hazel Mae: Gordon Sinclair Award
Mae is an MVP in Canadian sportscasting and a fixture on the field and in the locker-room at Toronto Blue Jays games.
The academy is awarding the Filipino Canadian reporter its Gordon Sinclair Award for Broadcast Journalism in honour of her “exceptional body of work.”
The 55-year-old, who grew up in Toronto, captured the excitement and the heartbreak of last year’s World Series that saw the Blue Jays’ championship dreams dashed in a Game 7 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Last year, Mae won the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum’s Jack Graney Award for her contributions to the sport.
The World Series may be over, but not the pain of losing Game 7 for Toronto Blue Jays fans. Sportsnet reporter Hazel Mae tells Hanomansing Tonight what it was like to cover the series and her thoughts on potential roster moves heading into next season.
maxine bailey: Changemaker Award
The academy is recognizing the Canadian Film Centre’s Bailey with its Changemaker Award for her work to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in Canadian media.
The annual award honours Canadian media professionals who are “actively engaged in advancing equity and inclusion by confronting racism and discrimination, amplifying underrepresented perspectives, and working toward systemic change within the industry.”
Bailey assumed the role of executive director at the film centre — a screen industry training facility founded by late Canadian director Norman Jewison — in 2021, aiming to make the organization and the screen industry more inclusive and accessible.
Before that, she was the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) vice-president of advancement and founded Share Her Journey, a five-year fundraising commitment to achieve gender parity both on and off the screen in the Canadian film industry. Her brother, Cameron Bailey, is TIFF’s CEO.
Mile End Kicks: Sustainable Production Award
Chandler Levack’s Mile End Kicks stars Barbie Ferreira as a young music critic who moves to Montreal in 2011 to write a book about Alanis Morissette’s album Jagged Little Pill.
Her plans take a turn when she falls for two members of the same fledgling indie rock band and decides to become their publicist.
The film portrays the music scene in Montreal’s Mile End neighbourhood, which gave rise to such acts as Arcade Fire, Grimes and Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
But the Canadian Academy is recognizing the film for serving as a model of “meaningful environmental leadership,” both in its production and depictions of sustainability.
“For this film, sustainable practice wasn’t just operational, it was embedded in the creative and community impact of the project,” the academy said.
That includes reducing the production’s climate-harming greenhouse gas emissions by shooting scenes in local neighbourhoods and sourcing from nearby businesses, as well as facilitating carpooling and transit for its cast and crew.
The Sustainable Production Award is presented by CBC.
The Canadian Screen Awards ceremony, hosted by actor Andrew Phung, an eight-time CSA winner, will air on CBC and stream on CBC Gem at 8 p.m. ET on May 31. This year’s ceremony will be simulcast on Bell-owned CTV and Crave, and Corus-owned Global and STACKTV.
Mile End Kicks, written and directed by Chandler Levack, is a romantic comedy set in 2011 that portrays the city’s music scene. The TIFF-premiered film was shot in the Mile End neighbourhood and features a well-known Parc Avenue shoe store, which is also called Mile End Kicks.
