In an interview with CBC News, Nakhai said that she and Williamson tried to stay true to the film’s source material, the 2017 novel Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez.

“We took a lot of care with the representation, but we also knew that no one film can encompass the breadth of stories within that specific neighbourhood within Scarborough, and then with Scarborough as a whole,” Nakhai said.

The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2021, tells the story of Bing, Sylvie and Laura, three children who forge a strong friendship over their shared experiences living in an underserved community. 

It was adapted from Catherine Hernandez’s 2017 novel of the same name, with the author writing the film’s script.

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers earned two awards on Sunday for a pair of projects.

She won the award for performance by a leading actress in a film for her role as Niska in Danis Goulet’s dystopian allegory Night Raiders. The film is set in a future world where Indigenous children are taken from their families and become wards of a brutal military state.

Tailfeathers also produced and directed the Ted Rogers best feature film documentary, Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy. The film chronicles the community-wide impact of the opioid crisis on the Kainai First Nation in Alberta, where hundreds of lives have been lost to addiction.

“Indigenous people face daily systemic violence in this country,” Tailfeathers said in an interview after the ceremony.

“I think it’s so important to recognize the strength of our communities and the ways in which people are overcoming such deeply rooted systemic barriers through culture, through community, and doing so in a way that offers healing and hope.”

Sort Of wins best TV comedy, Transplant sweeps drama awards

In the television categories, Sort Of won the prize for best comedy. The new series, co-written by Bilal Baig and Fab Filippo, stars Baig as a gender-fluid millennial who straddles competing identities as a bartender, a babysitter to an affluent family, and the child of Pakistani immigrants.

“It’s a really intersectional team … beyond race and gender and age and sexuality,” Baig said. “There is real care around how we’re telling these stories.”

Fellow writer and director Fab Filippo says the collaborative nature of Sort Of works because the team is focused on listening to each other’s ideas.

Kim’s Convenience actors Paul Sun-Hyung Lee and Jean Yoon were named best lead actor and actress in a comedy, respectively. The CBC comedy, about a Korean Canadian family who own a convenience store in downtown Toronto, ended in 2021 after an acclaimed five-season run.

“There are so many BIPOC performers that are breaking out, and getting discovered, or finding their voices, or being able to shape that narrative in the storytelling,” Lee said. “That’s the legacy of Kim’s Convenience for me.”

CTV drama Transplant, about a Syrian refugee who works as an emergency room medical resident in a Toronto hospital, swept the drama categories; the series was named best drama, while Hamza Haq and Laurence Leboeuf were named best lead actor and actress in a drama series, respectively.

Brooke Lynn Hytes, Traci Melchor, Amanda Brugel and Brad Goreski won the award for best host or presenter of a factual or reality/competition series for their work on the second season of Canada’s Drag Race.

The Cogeco Fund audience choice award, voted on by the public, was given to drama series Wynonna Earp.

This year’s Radius award, which highlights the work of a Canadian film or TV professional who is currently making waves globally in the film or television industry, was awarded to Never Have I Ever star Maitreyi Ramakrishnan.

The three recipients of the inaugural changemaker award, given to media professionals who use their platform to call out systemic discrimination and racism, were sportscaster Kayla Grey, culture journalist Kathleen Newman-Bremang and CBC host Amanda Parris. 

Parris said structural change goes beyond changing faces in leadership positions.

“I think diversity, equity and inclusion has been an important starter in the conversation, but it cannot end there,” Parris said. “I think when we end it there, we leave it at a surface level; it does become tokenistic.”

Legendary sports commentator Bob Cole received the lifetime achievement award.

The complete list of winners from Sunday can be found below:

• Best motion picture: Scarborough.
• Performance by a leading actor: Liam Diaz, Scarborough.
• Performance by a leading actress: Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Night Raiders.
• Achievement in direction: Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson, Scarborough.
• Ted Rogers best feature-length documentary: Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy.
• Best comedy series: Sort Of.
• Best lead actor, comedy: Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Kim’s Convenience.
• Best lead actress, comedy: Jean Yoon, Kim’s Convenience.
• Best drama series: Transplant.
• Best lead actor, drama: Hamza Haq, Transplant.
• Best lead actress, drama: Laurence Leboeuf, Transplant.
• Best host or presenter, factual or reality/competition: Brooke Lynn Hytes, Traci Melchor, Amanda Brugel and Brad Goreski, Canada’s Drag Race.
• Cogeco Fund audience choice award: Wynonna Earp.
• Radius award: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan.
• Lifetime achievement award: Bob Cole.
• Changemaker award: Kayla Grey, Kathleen Newman-Bremang and Amanda Parris.
• Gordon Sinclair award for broadcast journalism: Rassi Nashalik.

“It’s definitely been a journey,” he said.

“I thought it was just going to be a small little product, but I’m happy that it bloomed into a big one.”

Diaz is now one of the youngest nominees ever to be considered for best performance by an actor in a leading role at the Canadian Screen Awards. Like other actors his age, he’s living through the whirlwind of a burgeoning career while also trying to keep up his grades and hang out with friends.

CBC News spoke with a new generation of Canada’s rising stars about the challenges of navigating the industry.

Jayden Zhang of Vancouver has always shown an interest in acting. His mom sent him to a drama summer camp, where he grabbed the attention of a talent agent. 

The auditions began rolling in — but the first one stood out for having a mysterious script, with only a few pages and little information attached to it. Eventually, it led Zhang to the role that would become his big break in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

“It’s a Marvel movie. It came out last summer,” Zhang said. 

Indeed, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was one of 2021’s biggest Blockbusters and Zhang got a prime gig as young Shang-Chi, the counterpart to fellow Canadian movie star Simu Liu’s lead role.

“It was like a crazy roller-coaster that you were kind of scared to get on at first, but then it was really fun and you didn’t want to come off again. It was great,” he said of acting in the film. 

Finding balance

Stephanie Gorin, a casting director in Toronto who has worked on projects like Anne with an E, Baroness Von Sketch Show and FX’s Fargo, said the challenge for young actors is to pursue acting for the right reasons.

“I think the hard thing with youth is, do it because you really love it, not because you think you’re going to be a star,” Gorin said.

“Don’t worry if suddenly you’ve got a basketball final and you can’t do an audition. Go do your basketball final, still live your life. I think it’s important to have a balance both for kids and for adults.”

Zhang said working on Shang Chi — the first role that he received through an agent’s booking — taught him how to stay grounded despite the film’s success. 

Because the movie was shot in Australia in the middle of Zhang’s school year, his friends would send him homework to complete in his hotel after a day of filming. It was a “weird juggling act,” Zhang said, but he managed to get through it with the help of a tutor.

In Diaz’s case, the sudden onslaught of red carpets, awards ceremonies and media interviews took time away from his social life and he hopes that, in the future, this will be more of a consideration in productions where child actors are present.

“I feel like they could definitely improve on letting us loose a bit, and letting us take a breather,” he said.

Jett Klyne, a 12-year-old actor from Penticton, B.C., worked on the Marvel miniseries Wandavision. Klyne played the role of Tommy Maximoff, the son of protagonists Wanda (Elizabeth Olson) and Vision (Paul Bettany).

Having begun his acting career at five months old when he was cast as a Gerber baby, Klyne said balancing his passion with his academic responsibilities is tough but “rewarding.”

“If you’ve been doing it your whole life or you’ve even been doing it for half your life as a child, it’s a lot of your time, so you really gotta love it and work a lot for it to pay off,” he said.

Breaking down some barriers

Saara Chaudry, 17, who recently won a Canadian Screen Award for best performance by children or youth for Lockdown, said her favourite part of acting is telling the stories of people whose stories generally go untold.

“Being a brown girl on screen is making a statement in itself,” said Chaudry, adding that this kind of representation was uncommon when she was younger.

“And for the longest time, and still somewhat, it is not the norm.”

Chaudry recalls an incident as a child actor performing in a staging of Les Miserables where, she said, her casting as Young Cosette was questioned because she was not white and blonde. One of the people who believed in her most was Gorin, who cast her in the production, she said.

“I’ve been pretty fortunate that I’ve been able to kind of knock down some doors, break some barriers,” Chaudry said.

“And people have believed in me enough to let a girl like me take up space on screen.”

Gorin said she’s heartened by how much representation of Black, Indigenous and performers of colour has improved, as well as representation of the LGBTQ community.

“I think studios and networks are striving now to have more representation of minorities and the LGBTQIA+ community,” Gorin said.

“I think that that’s really important that we do that.”

Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings marked the first time a Marvel superhero was played by an Asian actor. Zhang hopes that he can be an example.

“I just want to say that for those other young Asian kids like me out there looking for more opportunities, believe in yourself,” he said.

“You can do it. And you might just end up like me. And I’m really happy about where I am.”

The review, written by CinemaBlend managing director Sean O’Connell, complained that the film’s focus on Lee’s Asian background — as well as plot lines that revolve around Lee’s struggles through puberty as a young girl — limited the film’s ability to connect with audiences. 

“I recognized the humour in the film, but connected with none of it,” O’Connell wrote in his review. 

“By rooting Turning Red very specifically in the Asian community of Toronto, the film legitimately feels like it was made for Domee Shi’s friends and immediate family members. Which is fine — but also, a tad limiting in its scope.”

WATCH | Disney-Pixar film Turning Red puts Canada in the spotlight: The upcoming Disney-Pixar film Turning Red puts Canada in the spotlight with a Canadian director, voice actor and a story set in Toronto. 1:58

When asked whether that might be a problem for audiences, Turning Red‘s cast disagreed.

“Of course not,” Rosalie Chiang, who plays Lee, told CBC News in an interview. “This is a coming of age film, everyone goes through this change … I think different people of different cultures are going to go through it differently, but at the end of the day, the core messiness and change is something everyone can relate to.”

Canadian actor Maitreyi Ramakrishnan — who plays Lee’s friend Priya — described the story of Lee’s friends and family as “universal,” and that many people will be able “to relate to Meilin’s story, regardless of whether you are a young Chinese girl from Canada or not.”

Shi also disagreed with the review, saying that the film “is a love letter to that time of our lives. It’s a love letter to puberty. It’s a love letter to Toronto.”

Critic, editor-in-chief issue apologies

Much of the criticism around the review stemmed from O’Connell discounting elements of Asian culture as alienating.

The review pointed to another film, The Mitchells vs. The Machines as an animated film that “bothered to include plot elements everyone could find engaging,” and pointed to Turning Red‘s “mystical red panda bit” as particularly difficult for audiences to identify with. 

Hours after the post went up — and after hundreds of comments online complaining about the content — CinemaBlend pulled the review, and both O’Connell and editor-in-chief Mack Rawden issued apologies. 

“I’m genuinely sorry for my Turning Red review,” O’Connell posted on Twitter. “Thank you to everyone who has reached out with criticism, no matter how harsh.”

“It is clear that I didn’t engage nearly enough with the movie, nor did I explain my point of view well, at all. I really appreciate your feedback.”

In a tweet shared by the CinemaBlend account, Rawden stated the site “failed to properly edit” O’Connell’s review. He stated that the review had been reassigned to another writer, and the site has since added “new levels of editorial oversight.”

We failed to properly edit this review, and it never should have gone up. We have unpublished it and assigned to someone else. We have also added new levels of editorial oversight. Thank you to everyone who spoke up. – Mack Rawden, Editor-In-Chief a href=”https://t.co/kfkfwlf4q8″https://t.co/kfkfwlf4q8/a

mdash;@CinemaBlend

In a since-deleted tweet promoting the review, O’Connell further said that while “some Pixar films are made for a universal audience, Turning Red is not.”

“If you are in [the target audience], this might work well for you. I am not in it. This was exhausting.”

WATCH | Director Domee Shi on her film Turning Red: Director Domee Shi and the cast of Pixar’s Turning Red sit down with The National co-host Andrew Chang to talk about Asian representation, letting Toronto star as itself in the movie and the universality of coming of age. 6:56

When contacted by CBC, O’Connell declined to comment for this article. 

Turning Red is scheduled to premiere on Friday, March 11, and currently holds a 94 per cent “fresh” rating on review-aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes.

While it was originally scheduled to debut in theatres as well as online, earlier this year president of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution Kareem Daniel said Turning Red will premiere solely on the Disney+ streaming platform “due to the delay in the recovery of family films in theatres caused by the ongoing pandemic.”

Film academy president David Rubin said Smith’s resignation was accepted.

“We will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the academy’s standards of conduct, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18,” Rubin said.

Smith loses voting privileges with his resignation. But there are other, less-tangible benefits to being part of the academy, Hollywood’s most prestigious organization. It bestows industry credibility on its members. Membership is by invitation only, with a once-a-year membership review.

WATCH | Will Smith smacks Chris Rock on stage during Oscars: It’s been a few days since Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars. Since then, Smith has apologized while others have called for him to be stripped of his Best Actor award. We process The Slap, and how it complicates Will Smith’s win and legacy. Plus: Bridgerton is back! We discuss what makes the show work, and how Netflix is so successful at making it the buzziest show out right now. Segments Warm Up Question – 00:01:30 Will Smith Slap Aftermath – 00:12:20 Bridgerton – 00:35:20 Drop It In The Group Chat – 00:52:45 56:29

“I betrayed the trust of the academy,” Smith wrote in his statement. “I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work…. I am heartbroken.

“I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film.

“Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.”

Smith’s resignation came two days after the academy met to initiate those proceedings. Those proceedings could have resulted in suspension or expulsion, and it was not immediately clear what additional punishment he could face.

Had he been expelled, Smith would have joined a small group of men removed from the academy: Harvey Weinstein, Roman Polanski, Bill Cosby and the actor Carmine Caridi, who was kicked out for sharing awards screeners.

On Sunday, Smith strode from his front-row Dolby Theatre seat on to the stage and smacked Rock, who had made a joke at the expense of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. He then went on to win the best actor award for his role in King Richard.

Rock, who was about to present the Oscar for best documentary, declined to file charges when asked by police. He has only briefly addressed the attack publicly, saying at one comedy concert in Boston this week that he was still “kind of processing what happened.”

Smith stunned Rock, the theatre crowd and viewers at home when he took the stage after Rock joked: “Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it.”

Pinkett Smith, who suffers from the hair loss condition alopecia, had a closely shaved head similar to that of Demi Moore in the G.I. Jane movie. 

After Smith’s attack, he returned to his seat and angrily twice shouted at Rock to “get my wife’s name out your f–king mouth.” When Smith took the stage again less than hour later to accept his Oscar, he tearfully apologized to the academy but notably omitted any mention of Rock.

The fallout was immediate and intense. Smith had supporters for coming to his wife’s defence, but he was widely condemned for responding with violence and for marring both his long-sought Oscar victory and overshadowing the night’s other winners.

That included Ahmir (Questlove) Thompson, director of the winning documentary, Summer of Soul, and the film’s producers. They claimed their awards in the unsettled moments following Smith’s attack and outburst, when the room’s attention was shattered.

Before the disruption, the ceremony had represented a reset from the pandemic-constrained versions of the past two years. It was back in its home theatre, boasted a trio of well-received female hosts — Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes — and had tallied several breakthrough winners.

Among them were West Side Story star Ariana DeBose, the first Afro-Latina and openly LGBTQ actor to win in the category of best supporting actress, and Troy Kotsur of CODA, the first deaf male actor to win the supporting actor prize. The night ended with CODA being crowned best picture, a landmark achievement for a streaming service and for a film with a largely deaf cast.