| The Running Man | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Anna Sandor |
| Directed by | Donald Brittain |
| Starring | Chuck Shamata Barbara Gordon Don Scanlon |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBC Television |
| Release | February 22, 1981 |
The Running Man is a Canadian television film, directed by Donald Brittain and broadcast in 1981 as an episode of the CBC Television drama anthology For the Record . [1] It was Brittain's first narrative fiction film in a career making documentary films, [2] and the first Canadian television film ever to explicitly address the subject of homosexuality. [1]
The film stars Chuck Shamata as Ben Garfield, a married teacher struggling to come to terms with his own sexuality after one of his students comes out as gay. [3] The film also stars Barbara Gordon as his wife Liz and Don Scanlon as his openly gay friend Michael, as well as Colm Feore, Kate Trotter and Linda Sorenson.
David Mole of The Body Politic covered the film's production, criticizing it heavily for being a film about homosexuality made by non-gay filmmakers. [4] Rick Groen of The Globe and Mail wrote that the film "never actually stumbles. But, after a quick sprint out of the blocks, it settles for cruising to the tape with a disappointing time." [5]
The film won three Bijou Awards in 1981, for Best Actor in a Non-Feature (Shamata), Best Director of a Drama (Brittain) and Best Sound (Ed Chong). [6] It received two ACTRA Award nominations at the 11th ACTRA Awards in 1982, for Best Television Actor (Shamata) and Best New Performer (Feore). [7]
The ACTRA Awards were first presented in 1972 to celebrate excellence in Canada's television and radio industries. Organized and presented by the Association of Canadian Television and Radio Artists, which represented performers, writers and broadcast journalists, the Nellie statuettes were presented annually until 1986. They were the primary national television award in Canada until 1986, when they were taken over by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to create the new Gemini Awards, although ACTRA continued to present Nellies in radio categories.
The Earle Grey Award is the lifetime achievement award for television acting of the Canadian Screen Awards, and its predecessor the Gemini Awards. It can be presented to an individual or collaborative team, and may be presented posthumously.
The John Drainie Award was an award given to an individual who has made a significant contribution to broadcasting in Canada. Although meant to be presented annually, there have been years where it was not presented.
Canada's Sweetheart: The Saga of Hal C. Banks is a Canadian docudrama film directed, written and produced by Donald Brittain.
Nancy Adele White is a Canadian singer-songwriter, whose humorous and satirical songs on political and social topics were a regular feature on CBC Radio from 1976 to 1994 on the public affairs show Sunday Morning.
The Foster Hewitt Award for Excellence in Sports Broadcasting was presented annually by ACTRA, the Canadian association of actors and broadcasters, to honour outstanding work by Canadian television and radio sportscasters. The award was named after legendary Canadian sportscaster Foster Hewitt.
Lucio Agostini was an Italian-born composer, arranger, and conductor who established his career in Canada.
A Choice of Two is a 1981 Canadian film written by Robert A. Duncan and directed by John Howe. It stars Alexandra Bastedo, Mavor Moore, and Leslie Nielsen.
Charles "Chuck" Shamata is a Canadian actor.
The Donald Brittain Award is a Canadian television award, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to honour the year's best television documentary on a social or political topic. Formerly presented as part of the Gemini Awards, since 2013 it has been presented as part of the Canadian Screen Awards. The award may be presented to either a standalone broadcast of a documentary film, or to an individual full-length episode of a news or documentary series; documentary films which originally premiered theatrically, but were not already submitted for consideration in a CSA film category before being broadcast on television, are also considered television films for the purposes of the award.
The Olden Days Coat is a Canadian television film, directed by Bruce Pittman and broadcast by CBC Television in 1981. A Christmas-themed family film adapted from a short story by Margaret Laurence, it stars Megan Follows as Sal, a young girl who is upset that the recent death of her grandfather has prevented her family from celebrating Christmas normally, but who learns the true meaning of the season after she finds an old coat belonging to her grandmother which transports her back in time when she puts it on.
War Brides is a Canadian television film, directed by Martin Lavut and broadcast by CBC Television in 1980. The film centres on four women, three from the United Kingdom and one from Germany, who come to Canada as war brides of Canadian soldiers after the end of World War II.
Grahame Woods was a Canadian cinematographer and writer. He is most noted as a cinematographer for his work on the television drama series Wojeck, for which he won the Canadian Film Award for Best Black-and-White Cinematography at the 19th Canadian Film Awards in 1967 for the episode "The Last Man in the World"; as a writer, he is most noted for the television films War Brides (1980) and Glory Enough for All (1988).
Turning to Stone is a Canadian docudrama television film, which was broadcast by CBC Television in 1986. Directed by Eric Till and written by Judith Thompson, the film stars Nicky Guadagni as Allison Campbell, a woman who is sent to Ontario's Prison for Women after being set up by her boyfriend to smuggle drugs from Mexico to Canada without her knowledge.
The 12th ACTRA Awards were presented on April 16, 1983. The ceremony was hosted by Don Harron.
Patricia Phillips is a Canadian actress and documentary film producer. She is most noted for her performances as Sharon in the 1985 film Bayo, for which she was an ACTRA Award nominee for Best Television Actress at the 15th ACTRA Awards in 1986, and Helen in the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts' 1985 production of And a Nightingale Sang, for which she received a Dora Mavor Moore Award nomination for Best Leading Actress at the 1986 Dora Mavor Moore Awards.
The Undaunted is a Canadian docudrama television series, which aired on CBC Television in 1983. The series dramatized several key figures in Canadian history, including episodes on Humphrey Gilbert's role in the founding of Newfoundland; the establishment of the Red River Colony by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk; the destruction and reconstruction of the Fortress of Louisbourg; and the explorations of Alexander Mackenzie. The series was hosted by Canadian radio and television host Harry Brown, and written and produced by well known Newfoundland playwright Tom Cahill.
Chautauqua Girl is a Canadian romantic drama television film, which was broadcast by CBC Television in 1984. Written by Jeannine Locke and directed by Rob Iscove, the film is set in 1921 and stars Janet-Laine Green as Sally Driscoll, a woman who is touring Western Canada as a representative of the travelling Chautauqua organization; arriving in the small town of Fairville, Alberta, she finds the town unprepared for the upcoming event but meets and falls in love with Neil McCallum, a widowed farmer who is running as a United Farmers of Alberta candidate in the imminent 1921 Alberta general election.
Gay Claitman is a Canadian sketch comedian and writer, who won two ACTRA Awards for Radio Variety Performance and Radio Variety Writing at the 8th ACTRA Awards in 1979 for her work with Nancy White and Robert Cameron on the radio play Lies My Mother Told Me.
A Population of One is a Canadian television film, directed by Robert Sherrin and broadcast by CBC Television in 1980. Based on the novel by Constance Beresford-Howe, the film stars Dixie Seatle as Willy Doyle, a young woman who gets her first job as a professor of 19th-century English literature at a university, where she finds herself romantically attracted to her colleague John Trueman.
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