‘Room,’ ‘Schitt’s Creek’ lead nominations for Canadian Screen Awards

The Oscar-nominated dramatic feature “Room” and the CBC-TV sitcom “Schitt’s Creek” lead the film and TV nominees seeking hardware at the Canadian Screen Awards.

“Room” tops the film competition with 11 nominations including one for best picture.

The Canada-Ireland co-production is in a crowded field of a record 10 contenders, including the celebrated Canada-U.K.Ireland co-production “Brooklyn,” which is also up for Oscars.

“Schitt’s Creek” tops the TV side with 14 nominations, half of them in acting categories. Father-and-son stars Eugene and Dan Levy face off in the category for best actor in a comedy.

It competes for the title of best TV comedy against the CBC/City laugher “Mr. D,” APTN’s “Mohawk Girls,” Super Channel’s “Tiny Plastic Men,” and the City/CBC sitcom “Young Drunk Punk.”

Close behind is Space’s “Orphan Black” with 13 nominations, although it was shut out of the best TV drama category. That race will be between Bravo’s “19-2,” APTN’s “Blackstone,” CTV’s “Motive, CTV’s “Saving Hope” and CBC’s “X Company.”

Other best film nominees include “Corbo,” “The Demons,” “Felix and Meira,” “The Forbidden Room,” “My Internship in Canada,” “Our Loved Ones,” “Remember” and “Sleeping Giant.”

But “Room” is the clear frontrunner, especially after nabbing four Oscar nominations last week including a best director nod for Ireland’s Lenny Abrahamson, a best actress nomination for U.S. starlet Brie Larson, and best adapted screenplay recognition for Irish-Canadian scribe Emma Donoghue.

“Room” co-star Tom McCamus said he was pleased to see the Canadian awards also hand the film nods for best director, best actress, best actor for nineyear-old Jacob Tremblay, and best supporting actress for Joan Allen.

“You sort of always hope that you do a film that you like and that (this) kind of thing is going to happen, but you never expect it to happen. And it happened this time,” said McCamus, who got a TV acting nomination for his role in CBC’s “King John.”

Based on Donoghue’s celebrated 2010 novel “Room,” about a five-year-old boy raised in captivity with his mother.

The Canadian Screen Awards will be broadcast on CBC-TV on March 13. The annual gala celebrates the best in Canadian film, television and digital media.

Comic Norm Macdonald will host the ceremony, where Martin Short is set to receive a lifetime achievement award.