Sixties Scoop drama Little Bird earns the most 2024 Canadian Screen Awards nominations

A television miniseries that dramatizes the Sixties Scoop, when thousands upon thousands of Indigenous children were torn from their families, is the leading nominee for the Canadian Screen Awards, which honour Canadian TV, film and digital media.

The Crave series “Little Bird” received 19 nominations, including best drama series and best direction for both Zoe Hopkins and Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers. It also earned lead performer nods for Darla Contois, who starred as Bezhig Little Bird, a woman taken from her Indigenous parents as a five-year-old who sets out to find her birth family; and Ellyn Jade, who played her birth mother, Patti. The entire main cast is also up for best ensemble performance in a drama.

“Little Bird,” which was co-created by Indigenous writer, director and producer Jennifer Podemski, is closely followed in the nominations by CBC comedy “Sort Of,” with 18.

That series, about a gender-fluid, South Asian millennial figuring out their life in Toronto, won best comedy series last year as well as best lead performer in a comedy for co-creator Bilal Baig. (The Screen Awards adopted gender-neutral performance categories for the first time last year.)

This year, however, “Sort Of” missed out on both a best comedy nomination and a lead performer nomination for Baig, although co-stars Amanda Cordner, Ellora Patnaik and Supinder Wraich all earned supporting performer nods. Co-creator Fab Filippo got a directing nomination while Baig was recognized for writing, earning two nominations for two different episodes, one as a co-writer with Filippo.

The comedy ended in December with its third season.

On the movies side of the equation, the leading nominee is “BlackBerry,” Matt Johnson’s rollicking comedy-drama about the rise and fall of the world’s first smartphone, which was created by Canadian company Research in Motion. Its 17 nominations break the record for Screen Award nominations for a film in a single year, surpassing the 14 earned by last year’s best motion picture, “Brother.”

“BlackBerry” is up for best motion picture as well as best direction and adapted screenplay for Johnson, who also earned a best supporting performance nomination for playing RIM co-founder Doug Fregin alongside American TV star Glenn Howerton, who got a nod for playing RIM executive Jim Balsillie.

Their co-star Jay Baruchel is nominated for best leading role in a comedy for portraying RIM’s other founder, Mike Lazaridis.

The other films up for best motion picture include Ariane Louis-Seize’s comedy “Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person”; “Infinity Pool,” a horror film by Brandon Cronenberg, following in father David’s footsteps; “Red Rooms” or “Les chambres rouges” by Pascal Plante, a thriller about a model obsessed with a murder trial; “Richelieu” by Pier-Philippe Chevigny, about a woman who witnesses abuse against migrant workers; and “Solo,” Sophie Dupuis’s drama about a makeup artist/drag queen in a bad romance.

The lion’s share of the 156 prizes to be handed out — not including special awards or fan choice prizes — cover TV categories with a whopping 113.

Among those categories, the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television had some going-away presents for series that have ended their runs, including the CBC comedy “Workin’ Moms,” which has the third most nominations at 12.

Its nods include best comedy series, which it was last nominated for in 2021, as well as lead performing nominations for star and creator Catherine Reitman and Dani Kind; a supporting performance nomination for Sarah McVie and a best ensemble performance nod for all the lead actors.

“Workin’ Moms,” about the trials and tribulations of a group of mothers, ended with its seventh season in January 2023.

Another popular series that has come to an end, CTV medical drama “Transplant,” received nine nominations, including best drama series, which it won in 2021 and 2022, and best writing for creator Joseph Kay and Rachel Langer. Stars Hamza Haq and Laurence Leboeuf are competing against each other in the best lead performer category — Haq won last year — while co-star Ayisha Issa is up for best supporting performer.

“Transplant’s” competition for best drama series includes CBC’s “Essex County” and “Plan B,” and Hollywood Suite’s “Slasher: Ripper” as well as “Little Bird.”

Up for best comedy series along with “Workin’ Moms” are Crave’s “Bria Mack Gets a Life” and “Letterkenny,” CTV’s “Shelved” and CBC’s “Son of a Critch.”

The Canadian Screen Awards will be presented over four days beginning May 28 and culminating in the Canadian Screen Awards Gala on May 31, highlights of which will be presented in an hour-long show broadcast at 8 p.m. on CBC and CBC Gem.

See academy.ca/nominees for a full list of nominees.