YMA Unveils Awards of Excellence Nominees

Youth Media Alliance (YMA) has announced the nominees for its Awards of Excellence, with the winners set to be revealed during the virtual gala on May 26, streamed live from Toronto.

Based on the YMA’s Statement of Quality, jury members have selected as nominees for Best Program, Live Action Non-Scripted (Ages 6-9): My Stay-at-Home Diary, produced by Lopii Productions and aired on TVOkids and PBS.org; Backyard Beats, produced by BGM Inc. and aired on TVOkids; and How Do You Feel?, produced by Riverbank Pictures and aired on TVOkids.

The nominees for the Award of Excellence for Best Program, Live Action Non-Scripted (Ages 9+) are All-Round Champion, produced by marblemedia and aired on BYUtv, TVOkids and Knowledge Kids; My Home, My Life!, produced by Lopii Productions and aired on TVOkids; and It’s My Party!, produced by BGM Inc. and aired on TVOkids.

Award of Excellence for Best Program, Live Action Scripted (Preschool 3-5) nominees include Anaana’s Tent, produced by Taqqut Productions and aired on APTN; Dino Dana, produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment and aired on TVOkids and Amazon; and Dino Dana The Movie, a feature film produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment available on the TVOkids YouTube Channel.

Detention Adventure, produced by LoCo Motion Pictures and Broken Compass Films and streamed on CBC Gem; Big Top Academy, produced by Apartment 11 Productions in association with TVOkids and Discovery Kids Latin America, in collaboration with Cirque du Soleil Images and aired on TVOkids and Discovery Kids Latin America; Ghostwriter, produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment and streamed on Apple TV+; and Endlings, produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment and aired on CBC and Hulu have been nominated in the Award of Excellence for Best Program, Live Action Scripted (Ages 6-9) category.

The nominees for Best Program, Live Action Scripted (Ages 9+) are Holly Hobbie, produced by Aircraft Pictures in association with Cloudco Entertainment and Wexworks Media and aired on Family Channel; About Sex, produced by Echo Media and streamed on CBC Gem; and Malory Towers, produced by WildBrain and King Bert Productions and aired on Family Channel

Counted among those up for Best Program, Animation (Preschool 3-5) are Hero Elementary, produced by Portfolio Entertainment Inc. and Twin Cities PBS and aired on TVOkids and PBS; 16 Hudson, produced by Big Bad Boo Studios Inc. and aired on TVOkids, Knowledge Kids and CBC-Radio Canada; StarBeam, produced by Kickstart Entertainment and streamed on Netflix; Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum, produced by 9 Story Media Group and Brown Bag Films and aired on PBS Kids; and Esme & Roy, produced by Nelvana Limited and Sesame Workshop and aired on Treehouse.

Snoopy in Space, produced by WildBrain and aired on Apple TV+; Dorg Van Dango, produced by WildBrain and Cartoon Saloon and aired on Family Channel; The Last Kids on Earth, produced by Atomic Cartoons and streamed on Netflix; and Molly of Denali, produced by Atomic Cartoons and WGBH and aired on PBS and CBC are competing for the Award of Excellence for Best Program, Animation (Ages 6-9 and 9+).

Nominees for the Award of Excellence for Best Program, Short Form Content (Preschool 3-5) include ABC Singsong, produced by Goddard/Brown; streamed on TVOkids.com; 6 Seis Cumbia for Sesame Street, produced by Lopii Productions and aired on Treehouse TV, PBS Kids and HBO Max; The Gumboot Kids, produced by Imagine Create Media and streamed on www.gumbootkids.com; and STUDIO K, produced by CBC Kids and streamed on YouTube.

The Award of Excellence for Best Program, Short Form (Ages 6-9) nominees include ScienceXplosion, produced by GAPC Entertainment Inc. and streamed on tvokids.com; Space Kids, produced by Imagine Create Media and streamed on www.imaginecreatemedia.com; and YTV Dayparts—The Zone, Zone Weekend, Big Fun Movies, produced by BGM Inc. and Corus Entertainment and aired on YTV.

In the Award of Excellence for Best Program, Short Form (Ages 9+) category, the nominees are STEAM Stars, produced by Shaftesbury and streamed on the Shaftesbury Kids YouTube Channel; Denis and Me, produced by Headspinner Productions Inc. and streams on the Denis and Me YouTube channel and Crave TV in Canada; The Solutioneers, produced by Shaftesbury and streamed on Shaftesbury Kids YouTube Channel; and Miskatonic, produced by Arcana Studio and streamed on vimeo

For Best Gaming or Interactive Experiences, Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum—Story Creator, produced by 9 Story Media Group, Brown Bag Films and Relish Interactive and available on pbskids.org; CBC Kids News, produced by CBC Kids; available on www.cbckidsnews.ca; and Louis Says III Interactive Appisode, produced by Landslide Entertainment and MBC and available on iTunes are nominated.

The nominees for the Award of Excellence for Best Podcast are The Story Store (The Chicken Who Meowed), produced by CBC Kids; The Story Store (Bee the Tea), produced by CBC Kids; and Odd Squad (Big O Hero), produced by Sinking Ship Entertainment.

Arista Arhin, Millie Davis, Arjun Ram, Saara Chaudry, Kamaia Fairburn and Michela Luci are up for the Award of Excellence, Outstanding Youth Performer.

On the night of the gala, YMA will be presenting the Outstanding Achievement Award to Michelle Melanson Cuperus and the Emerging Talent Award to Rennata and Georgina López of Lopii Productions.