The Bijou Awards were a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

award for non-feature films, launched in 1981 but presented only once before being discontinued. Created as a joint project of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and the Canadian Film and Television Association (CFTA), the awards were essentially a new home for many of the categories, particularly but not exclusively the ones for

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

s, that had been dropped after the old

Canadian Film Awards The Canadian Film Awards were the leading Canadian cinema awards from 1949 until 1978. These honours were conducted annually, except in 1974 when a number of Quebec directors withdrew their participation and prompted a cancellation. In the 1970s ...

transitioned into the

Genie Awards The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

in 1980,Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''.

Stoddart Publishing Stoddart Publishing was a Canadian book publisher and distributor, owned by Jack Stoddart, which ceased operations in 2002.UncreditedBook giant Stoddart files for creditor protection CBC News, May 1, 2002. Retrieved 2016-01-15. History General ...

, 2000. . pp. 135-139. as well as for the CFTA's trade and craft awards in areas such as television advertising and educational films. The ceremony was held on October 28, 1981, at

Casa Loma Casa Loma (improper Spanish for "Hill House") is a Gothic Revival castle-style mansion and garden in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that is now a historic house museum and landmark. It was constructed from 1911 to 1914 as a residence for fina ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

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, and hosted by Nancy White. The awards were not presented in 1982, as the Academy of Canadian Cinema undertook detailed planning toward introducing permanent television awards; however, some later sources have occasionally misattributed the Bijou winners as Genie winners. In 1983, the Academy formally proposed that the Bijou Awards replace the

ACTRA Awards The ACTRA Awards were first presented in 1972 to celebrate excellence in Canada's television and radio industries.

as the primary national television award, although this did not occur and the Bijous were ultimately never presented again; instead, the

Gemini Awards The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States a ...

, the Academy's permanent awards for television production, were launched in 1986,Matthew Fraser, "New awards for TV films announced". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', May 31, 1985. and in 2012 the Genies and the Geminis were merged into the contemporary

Canadian Screen Awards The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media (web series) p ...

Winners and nominees

References

{{Canadian Screen Awards 1981 in Canadian cinema 1981 in Canadian television Awards established in 1981 Predecessors of the Canadian Screen Awards