Canadian Screen Awards to replace Genies, Geminis

The new Canadian prizes for film, television and digital media will be known as the Canadian Screen Awards, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television announced today.

The first gala for the combined awardswill be held March 3, andhosted by Canadian comedian Martin Short. CBC is the official broadcast partner.

The Hamilton-born funnyman was a star of Second City Television and films such as Father of the Bride. More recently, he returned to sketch comedy with a one-man touring show and the mockumentary I, Martin Short, Goes Home.

The academy announced earlier this year that the Genie Awards for Canadian English-language film and the Geminis for Canadian TVwould be combined. The decision came after extensive consultation with the film and television industries.

A new logo that will be reflected in the winning statuette was also unveiled Tuesday in Toronto.

Theawards will be extended to digital media though the academy did not specify how it would approach cellphone or internet video.

"News, sports and entertainment now come to us on screens of many sizes, with more to come," academy chairman Martin Katz said Tuesday.

"Through the Canadian Screen Awards, the academy will celebrate our talent and our productions with our industry and the Canadian public in one major national CBC broadcast."

As to the nickname, Barry Avrich, president of Endeavor Marketing, which developed the logo and name, said he expected one would develop as the industry becomes familiar with the new format.

There's no word yet on the number of awards to be handed out for Canadian TV, film and digital achievement.

The Geminis had upwards of 100 categories and the Genie Awards more than 20.