Rhombus Media and Film House’s Our Man in Tehran took home the most trophies by title on night one of the Canadian Screen Awards, with five Screenies in its haul.

The documentary, which profiles the true story of Canada’s role in the 1980 Iranian hostage crisis, took home awards for best photography, picture editing, sound and direction in a documentary, and best documentary overall.

Hot on its heels was Ric Esther Bienstock’s already multiple-award-winning documentary Tales from the Organ Trade, which took four trophies home, including best music, writing, editorial research and the Donald Brittain Award for Best Social/Political Documentary Program.

Also earning multiple trophies on the unscripted and factual front were Insight Productions and CTV’s The Amazing Race Canada, with three wins, and TVO/Knowledge Network’s Apocalypse WWI from Ideacom international and Paris-based CC&C with two wins. RTR Media and HGTV’s Income Property also picked up two trophies. 

On the interactive side, Toronto-based digital agency Secret Location was the big winner of the night once again, taking home three Screenies, including the best cross-platform/non-fiction prize for Big Brother Canada Digital.

The National Film Board of Canada also took home two awards, grabbing the best original interactive production produced for digital media with Fort McMoney, coproduced with TOXA; and best original program or series produced for digital media/non-fiction for A Short History of the Highrise, coproduced with The New York Times for its ‘Op-Docs’ series.

Night one of the Canadian Screen Awards took place in the Sheraton Hotel in Toronto.

A list of factual, unscripted and documentary winners is as follows:

Barbara Sears Award for Best Editorial Research

Tales From The Organ Trade / History Channel Canada (Shaw Media) / Ric Esther Bienstock, Sheila Mandell, Anastasia Trofimova

Barbara Sears Award for Best Visual Research

Apocalypse WWI - Fury / TVO / Knowledge Network / Valerie Combard, Elizabeth Klinck

Best Biography or Arts Documentary Program or Series

UNSUNG: Behind the Glee / TVO  / Shaftesbury / Scott Garvie, Christina Jennings, Moze Mossanen, Jeff Spriet

Best Cross-Platform Project – Non-Fiction

Big Brother Canada Digital / Secret Location / Ryan Andal, Lynne Carter, Michala Duffield, Zach Feldberg, Sean Fernie, Pietro Gagliano, CJ Hervey, Cynthia Long, James Milward, Emily Morgan, Christine Shipton

Best Direction in a Documentary or Factual Series

Wild Canada - The Eternal Frontier / CBC / Jeff Turner

Best Direction in a Documentary Program

Our Man in Tehran / TMN / Movie Central (Bell Media / Corus Entertainment) / Drew Taylor, Larry Weinstein

Best Direction in a Lifestyle/Practical Information Program or Series

Income Property - Jamie / HGTV Canada (Shaw Media) / Marc Simard

Best Direction in a Reality / Competition Program or Series

The Amazing Race Canada - What’s it Take to Get a Cup of Tea / CTV (Bell Media) / Rob Brunner

Best Documentary Program

Our Man in Tehran / TMN / Movie Central; Bell Media, Corus Entertainment / Rhombus Media Inc., Film House Inc. / Niv Fichman, Drew Taylor, Larry Weinstein

Best Factual Program or Series

Ice Pilots NWT / History Channel Canada; Shaw Media / Omnifilm Entertainment / Michael Chechik, David Gullason, Gabriela Schonbach

Best History Documentary Program or Series

Apocalypse WWI / TVO / Knowledge Network / Ideacom international, CC&C / Josée Roberge, Eric Michel, Josette D. Normandeau, Louis Vaudeville, Pascale Ysebaert

Best Host or Interviewer in a News or Information Program or Series

W5 / CTV (Bell Media) / Tom Kennedy

Best Lifestyle or Talk Program or Series

Income Property  / HGTV Canada (Shaw Media) / SKIT / Jennifer Dick, Jenna Keane, Al Magee, Scott McGillivray, Kit Redmond

Best News or Information Program

CBC News: the fifth estate – Made in Bangladesh / (CBC) / Tarannum Kamlani, Mark Kelley, Lysanne Louter, Aileen McBride

Best News or Information Series

CBC News: the fifth estate / CBC (CBC) / (CBC News) / Julian Sher, Jim Williamson

Best Original Interactive Production Produced for Digital Media

 Fort McMoney / (TOXA, NFB) / David Dufresne, Raphaëlle Huysmans, Philippe Lamarre, Hugues Sweeney

Best Original Music for a Non-Fiction Program or Series

Tales From The Organ Trade / History Channel Canada (Shaw Media) / John Welsman

Best Original Program or Series produced for Digital Media – Non-Fiction

A Short History of the Highrise / (The New York Times, NFB) / Katerina Cizek, Gerry Flahive, Jacqueline Myint, Jason Spingarn-Koff

Best Photography in a Documentary Program or Factual Series

Our Man in Tehran / TMN / Movie Central (Bell Media / Corus Entertainment) / John Minh Tran

Best Photography in a Lifestyle or Reality / Competition Program or Series

Survivorman - Survivorman: Argentina / Travel & Escape / Science Channel (Blue Ant Media Production Inc/Discovery Communications LLC) / Max Attwood

Best Picture Editing in a Documentary Program or Series

Our Man in Tehran / TMN / Movie Central (Bell Media / Corus Entertainment) / Steve Weslak

Best Picture Editing in a Factual Program or Series

Mayday - Into the Eye of the Storm / Discovery Channel Canada (Bell Media) / Daniel Hawkes

Best Picture Editing in a Reality/Competition Program or Series

The Amazing Race Canada - What’s it Take to Get a Cup of Tea / CTV (Bell Media) / Jonathan Dowler, Al Manson, Kyle Martin, Seth Poulin, Michael Tersigni

Best Production Design or Art Direction in a Non-Fiction Program or Series

Big Brother Canada – Finale / Slice (Shaw Media) / Peter Faragher, Andy Roskaft, Sandra Svendsen

Best Science or Nature Documentary Program or Series

The Nature of Things – Invasion of the Brain Snatchers / CBC / Radio-Canada (CBC /Radio-Canada) / (CBC / Radio-Canada) / Sue Dando, Mike Downie, FM Morrison, David Wells

Best Sound in a Documentary, Factual or Lifestyle Program or Series

Our Man in Tehran  / TMN / Movie Central (Bell Media / Corus Entertainment) / Martin Lee, David McCallum, Sanjay Mehta, Brennan Mercer, Jane Tattersall

Best Sports Program or Series

What If: The Unlikely Story of Toronto’s Baseball Giants

Sportsnet / Rogers Media / (Fadoo Productions Inc, TBJ 2014 Docs Inc. / Corey Russell

Best Writing in a Documentary Program or Factual Series

 Tales From The Organ Trade / History Channel Canada (Shaw Media) / Ric Esther Bienstock

Best Writing in a Lifestyle or Reality / Competition Program or Series

The Amazing Race Canada / What’s it Take to Get a Cup of Tea / CTV; Bell Media / Rob Brunner, Mark Lysakowski

Donald Brittain Award for Best Social/Political Documentary Program

Tales From The Organ Trade / History Channel Canada; Shaw Media / Associated Producers Ltd. / Ric Esther Bienstock, Felix Golubev, Simcha Jacobovici

(From Playback Daily, with files from Barry Walsh)