The Academy of Canadian Film and Television Arts, the organizer of the Canadian Screen Awards, has decided to stop separating actor's nominations according to the gender of the performers.

Starting in 2023, prizes for leading and supporting roles in Canadian-made films and television projects will be presented in gender-neutral categories.

The number of nominees in each of them will grow from five to eight.

Achievement in television acting will be recognized for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy (previously Best Lead Actor/Actress in a Comedy), Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series (previously Best Lead Actor Actor/Actress in a Drama Series), Best Lead Actor in a TV Movie (previously Best Lead Actor/Actress in a TV Movie), and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy (previously Best Supporting Actor/Actress in comedy).

Similarly, the names of the nominations for acting in films have changed - "Performance in the main role" instead of "Performance by the actor/actress in the main role" and "Performance in the supporting role" instead of "Performance by the actor/actress in the supporting role".

“We at the Canadian Film Academy recognize that we have a duty to ensure that every performer has the opportunity to fully participate in our awards programs and in the industry as a whole.

This step brings us closer to this goal,” says Acting General Director of the Academy Louis Calabro.

The Academy came to the decision after five years of consultations involving representatives from 40 key industry organizations, according to Variety.

“After careful consideration and in-depth discussion, we have made the important decision to introduce gender-neutral categories for film and television actors at the Canadian Screen Awards,” said John Young, chairman of the Canadian Film and Television Academy, adding that the move is necessary to the prospect of achieving justice in the film industry.

“The Canadian Film Academy considers this a progressive and necessary step towards a fairer film industry.

Thus, all Canadian performers will be eligible to receive an award from their peers.

We are very pleased to be among the first academies in the world to implement this format,” says Yang.

Regardless of gender

The Canadian Film and Television Academy's decision continues a trend in the West in recent years that many organizations are fighting for "gender equality" and "inclusiveness."

Back in August 2020, the Berlin International Film Festival changed the acting awards awarded for participation in the films of the main competition to gender-neutral ones.

Now, instead of prizes for the best female and male roles, the jury awards "Silver Bears" for the main role and for the supporting role, regardless of the gender of the performers.

Festival directors Carlo Chatrian and Mariette Rissenbeck commented that "the removal of the gender division of the acting awards signals a more gender sensitive approach in the film industry."

The Board of Governors of the American Television Academy, which presents the Emmy Awards, followed suit.

The organization emphasized that the nominees and laureates in the acting categories have never been required regarding their gender, but now distinguished actors, if they wish, can request a statuette, on which the neutral term “performer” will stand.

Significantly larger changes to their rules were announced in September 2020 by the leadership of the American Film Academy.

All innovations are combined into four standards, two of which will have to be taken into account by filmmakers at the pre-production stage if they want to nominate a film for an Oscar.

According to the first standard, the main or one of the key roles should be played by a representative of an ethnic minority.

Also standard are films in which 30% of supporting roles are given to artists from two "underrepresented groups" (women, LGBT people, people with disabilities) or the plot is focused around minorities.

According to the second standard, people from these groups must occupy at least two key positions (director, cameraman, producer, screenwriter, etc.) or six significant positions in the production of a picture.

To meet the third standard, film studios and distributors should be provided with paid internships with job opportunities for minorities.

The fourth suggests that specialists from underrepresented groups will take leadership positions in the divisions involved in advertising and distribution of content.

The purpose of the rules is to “encourage a balanced representation on and off the screen to more closely match the diversity of film audiences.”

Shortly after the announcement of the American Film Academy, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts changed its rules.

The organization promised to welcome at least 1,000 new members, mostly from underrepresented groups, and to make academy events more accessible to people with disabilities.

In addition, all members of the organization who have the right to vote were required to undergo "Conscious Voter Training", which is supposed to help them understand the social processes that can influence the choice of laureates.