Stories that tackle diversity and more mature themes cleaned up last night at the Youth Media Alliance’s (YMA) 2021 Awards of Excellence.
The “Pride” episode of BGM’s It’s My Party won Best Program, Live Action Non-Scripted for kids nine and up, while Écho Média’s About Sex came out on top in the Live Action Scripted for ages nine and up category. CBC Kids News, which covered topics such as the pandemic and racism, took home the Best Gaming or Interactive Experience award for all age groups.
With two apiece, Sinking Ship Entertainment, BGM, Lopii Productions and CBC Kids scored the most wins at the virtual awards ceremony.
Georgina and Renata López, co-founders of Lopii Productions (My Stay-at-Home Diary), won the Emerging Talent award, while industry vet Michelle Melanson Cuperus received an Outstanding Achievement award for her work in founding the free animation industry networking organization Women Drawn Together.
Kara Harun (It’s My Party!) and Jadiel Dowlin (Hero Elementary) hosted last night’s awards show, which was capped off by Dowlin getting a pie thrown in his face (pictured).
Here is a complete list of YMA winners for 2021:
Best Program, Live Action Non-Scripted, ages six to nine: Backyard Beats (“Indigenous Hand Drum”), produced by BGM, aired on TVOKids
Best Program, Live Action Non-Scripted, ages nine and up: It’s My Party! (“Pride”), produced by BGM, aired on TVOKids
Best Program, Live Action Scripted, preschool: Dino Dana (Sounds of Dinosaurs), produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment, aired on TVOkids and Amazon Prime
Best Program, Live Action Scripted, ages six to nine: Endlings (“The End is the Beginning, Part 2”), produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment, aired on CBC and Hulu
Best Program, Live Action Scripted, ages nine and up: About Sex (“Sexual Orientation”), produced by Écho Média, aired on CBC Gem
Outstanding Achievement Award: Michelle Melanson Cuperus
Best Gaming or Interactive Experience, all age groups: CBC Kids News, produced by CBC Kids, aired on CBC
Best Podcast: The Story Store (“Bee the Tea”), produced by CBC Kids
Emerging Talent Award: Rennata and Georgina Lopez (Lopii Productions)
Best Program, Short Form Content, preschool: 6 Seis Cumbia for Sesame Street, produced by Lopii Productions, aired on Treehouse TV, PBS KIDS and HBO Max
Best Program, Short Form Content, ages six to nine: Space Kids (“Storybook in the Sky/What is a Nebula”), produced by Imagine Create Media, aired on TVOKids
Best Program, Short Form Content, ages nine and up: STEAM Stars (“Astronaut Dr. Jenni Sidey-Gibbons Meets the STEAM Sisters”), produced by Shaftesbury, aired on the Shaftesbury Kids YouTube Channel
Best Program, Animation, preschool: Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum (“I am Harriet Tubman”), produced by 9 Story Media Group and Brown Bag Films, aired on PBS KIDS
Best Program, Animation, ages six to nine and nine and up: Molly of Denali (“Molly and the Great One”), produced by Atomic Cartoons and WGBH, aired on PBS KIDS and CBC
Outstanding Youth Performer: Millie Davis
Photo courtesy of Jadiel Dowlin