Genie + Gemini = one show, since 2013

The Canadian Screen Awards

Canada used to hand out separate awards for film and television. In 2013, the two merged into one Toronto ceremony — a genuine consolidation of the country's screen-industry recognition into a single night.

For over three decades, Canada handed out its film and television honours at two entirely separate ceremonies. Since 2013, they've been one show, held in Toronto and broadcast from the Canadian Broadcasting Centre.

Two separate awards, decades apart

The Genie Awards honoured Canadian film from 1980 to 2012; the Gemini Awards did the same for English-language television from 1986 to 2011 — both run by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, but as two distinct shows with two separate ceremonies and audiences.

A 2012 merger, first held in 2013

Following what the Academy described as extensive industry consultation, the two shows merged in 2012 to form the Canadian Screen Awards, first held on March 3, 2013, and broadcast on CBC. The merger reflected a wider industry reality: the line between film and television talent, funding and production in Canada had already blurred well past the point where two separate award shows made much practical sense.

Sources

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