The 24th Annual Gemini Awards Nominees Announced in Toronto Special

On Tuesday the nominations for the 2009 Gemini Awards were announced in downtown Toronto. This year's list shows the best in television that Canada has to offer.

The Geminis began in 1979 to honour the best in Canadian television. Since 2006 the ceremony has taken place in a different Canada city each year. "Our television industry is thriving and this year's Gemini Awards nominations clearly demonstrate that," said Sara Morton, CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. "I want to thank the academy members who give a considerable amount of their time to acknowledge their peers and their ongoing commitment to the industry. I thank you sincerely." The presenters announcing the 2009 Geminis nominations were Guard stars Zoie Palmer and Jeremy Guilbaut. They explained with humour they were allowed the honour because they were not nominated in any category.

KJ Mullins

presenters at Gemini Awards nomination announcement

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Before the presentation of the nominations Sara Morton wanted to thank those who make the Geminis possible; the government of Alberta, Telefilm CANADA, Canadian Television Fund, Canwest, Zip.ca and CityTV.

KJ Mullins

Gemini Awards 2009, nominees announced

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The awards will be presented over multiple nights at The Sound Academy in Toronto this October. This is in response to academy members asking for more time to devote to all of the categories. The 2009 Broadcast Gala will take place in Calgary, Alberta November 14 on Global TV and Showcase.

Flashpoint is the clear leader for this year's awards with a record 19 nominations. The crowd applauded each of the nominations. Some were overcome with emotion as their names were called. The nominations are as follows: Best Comedy Program or Series Less Than Kind Rick Mercer Report Testees This Hour Has 22 Minutes Three Chords from the Truth Best Dramatic Series Being Erica The Border Flashpoint The Tudors ZOS: Zone of Separation Best Talk Series The After Show The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos Steven and Chris Best TV Movie Celine Elijah In a World Created By a Drunken God Of Murder and Memory The Secret of the Nutcracker The Terrorist Next Door Best reality: disBand-The Homecoming Dragon's Den GoldMind Project Runaway Canada The Week the Women Went Best actor in a dramatic role Enrico Colantoni-Flashpoint Hugh Dillion-Flashpoint Robin Dunne-Sanctuary Daniel Kash-The Line Ron White-The Line Best actress in a dramatic role Natalie Dormer- The Tudors Amy Jo Johnson- Flashpoint Erin Karpluk- Being Erica Andrea Menard- Rabbit Fall Amanda Tapping- Sanctuary After the announcements I was able to congratulate George Stroumboulopoulos. I asked him for his take on citizen journalism. "I think that anything that gets people to ingest the news is good. It puts the shoulder on the viewer to continue the research. There are some great citizen journalists out there but there are also some that lean more on the citizen than the journalism."

KJ Mullins

actors and agent waiting to hear list of nominees at Gemini Awards

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KJ Mullins

Zoie Palmer of The Guard

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KJ Mullins

industry people listening to the announcements at the Gemini Awards nomination press conference

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