Awards
Posted: April 3rd, 2013
Congratulations to Dr. Kim Sawchuk and Dr. Krista Geneviève Lynes, who have both recently been awarded new research chair positions.
Dr. Kim Sawchuk | Image © Concordia University
Dr. Sawchuk now holds a Concordia University Research Chair (Tier 1) in Mobile Media Studies, a first of its kind in Canada. Sawchuk directs the Mobile Media Lab, which is dedicated to the critical and creative investigation of mobilities across the humanities, social sciences, fine arts and the sciences. Many of the projects in the Lab that Dr. Sawchuk is currently undertaking explore the use of geo-located media for research on urban environments, digital storytelling, and cultural activism.
Related links:
Dr. Krista Geneviève Lynes | Image © Concordia University
Dr. Lynes is the new Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Feminist Media Studies and she will soon be running the Feminist Media Studio, which will support the creative and critical engagement with historical and contemporary forms of politically-engaged feminist art, documentary, independent cinema, and media activism in a globalized world. Through its creation, students and faculty—along with associated scholars and cultural producers—will have access to production and post-production facilities that draw from the complex histories of feminist art and activism.
Related links:
Posted: March 7th, 2013
Kim Nguyen | Image courtesy of Métropole Films Distribution
Rebelle, directed by Concordia graduate Kim Nguyen, took home 10 Canadian Screen Awards during a gala held in Toronto on March 3.
The Oscar-nominated film, also written by Nguyen, BFA (Film Production) 97, was nominated for 12 awards and won in categories that include best film, best director and best screenplay. Its teenage star, Rachel Mwanza, also won for best actress.
"I’m very touched," said Nguyen as he collected the best director prize. I’d like to dedicate this to the women in the Congo, their strength, their courage and their resilience."
In December, Nguyen told reporters via a conference call that he was overwhelmed by the reception his film has received.
Montreal-born Nguyen said he trusted his instincts in shooting the film in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo.
Award-winning producer and alumnus Pierre Even. | Photo by Concordia University.
Alumnus Richard Comeau, BFA (Film Production) 87, also won an award for achievement in editing for the Rebelle film.
Alumnus Pierre Even, GrDip (Communication Studies) 90, produced the 90-minute drama. He and Nguyen worked alongside Nicolas Bolduc attendee (Film Production) 94 who was cinematographer for the feature.
Rebelle, War Witch in English, is a poignant film with an exceptional lead performance by Mwanza, a newcomer discovered on the streets of Kinshasa, the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The film tells the story of Komona (Mwanza), a 12-year-old girl who is kidnapped by African rebels, forced at gunpoint to kill her parents and fight as a child soldier.
Due to her ability to see grey ghosts in the trees that warn her of approaching enemies, she is deemed a sorceress and bestowed the title of War Witch by the supreme leader of the rebels, Great Tiger.
Rebelle premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 2012, where Nguyen was the first Canadian director in 13 years to have a film selected for the main competition. Mwanza earned the best actress Silver Bear award. She also won Best Actress prize for the movie at the Tribeca film festival in New York City in April, along with the Best Narrative Film prize.
Rebelle is Nguyen’s fourth feature film. He started it 10 years ago after reading about two Burmese twin brothers who, at age nine, led an army of rebels in a fight against the government. His research, which included travelling to Burundi to interview child soldiers, led him to focus on conflicts in Angola, Sierra Leone and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Next up on the awards circuit for Rebelle is the Jutra Awards, where the film has been nominated in nine categories. The Jutra Awards, which recognize accomplishment in Quebec’s film industry, will be broadcast live on Sunday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Related links:
• “Rebelle by Concordia grad nominated for Oscar” — NOW, January 10, 2013
• “Quebec’s C.R.A.Z.Y. film business” — NOW, March 28, 2012
Posted: January 22nd, 2013
Rebelle, written and directed by Concordia graduate Kim Nguyen, and produced by Communication Studies alumnus Pierre Even, has been nominated for Best Foreign-Language Film at the 85th Academy Awards.
Nguyen, overwhelmed by the reception the film has received so far, said he trusted his instincts in shooting the film in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo.
Scene from Rebelle | All images courtesy of Métropole Films Distribution
Pierre Even produced the 90-minute drama, which will square off against Austria’s Amour, Norway’s Kon-Tiki, Chile’s No and Denmark’s A Royal Affair.
Nguyen and Even worked alongside another Concordian, Nicolas Bolduc, who was the film’s cinematographer.
Rebelle is the third Canadian-made movie in a row to impress the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
In 2011, Monsieur Lazhar was nominated, yet the award went to A Separation from Iran. In 2010, Incendies was nominated and lost to Denmark’s In a Better World.
André Turpin, BFA 89 and fellow Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema graduate, worked as cinematographer on the critically acclaimed Incendies.
Rebelle — War Witch in English — is a poignant film with an exceptional lead performance by Rachel Mwanza, a newcomer discovered on the streets of Kinshasa, the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The film tells the story of Komona (Mwanza), a 12 year-old girl who is kidnapped by African rebels, forced at gunpoint to kill her parents and fight as a child soldier.
Due to her ability to see grey ghosts in the trees that warn her of approaching enemies, she is deemed a sorceress and bestowed the title of War Witch by the supreme leader of the rebels, Great Tiger.
Rebelle premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 2012, where Nguyen was the first Canadian director in 13 years to have a film selected for the main competition.
Mwanza earned the best actress Silver Bear award. She also won Best Actress prize for the movie at the Tribeca film festival in New York City in April, along with the Best Narrative Film prize.
Rebelle is Nguyen’s fourth feature film. He started it 10 years ago after reading about two Burmese twin brothers who, at age nine, led an army of rebels in a fight against the government.
His research, which included travelling to Burundi to interview child soldiers, led him to focus on conflicts in Angola, Sierra Leone and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Related links:
• Official trailer for Rebelle
• Concordia’s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema
Posted: January 17th, 2013
 The Society for Cinema and Media Studies has awarded Useful Cinema (Duke University Press, 2011) an honorable mention in its 2013 Best Edited Collection Award competition. Useful Cinema was edited by Charles Acland (CURC Communication Studies) and Haidee Wasson (Cinema Studies), and the volume grew out of an SSHRC-funded workshop held at Concordia University in 2006.
The book consists of fourteen essays that explore how mid-twentieth-century institutions, including libraries, museums, classrooms, and professional organizations, helped to make moving images an ordinary feature of American life. The SCMS awards committee praised the volume for helping to open up a new research domain and noted the consistently high quality of the historical research across the essays.
This is the first time an SCMS Best Edited Collection Award committee has recognized work from scholars at a Canadian university. The award ceremony will take place in Chicago in March.
Posted: October 3rd, 2012
 Communication Studies alumni Sabrina Catalogna and Gabriela Warrior Renaud had their Film III 2011 production, Dreaming in Colour, screened at the Montreal World Film Festival 2012 this past September. Dreaming in Colour is an experimental documentary which explores the visual perception of Kim Holdbrook, a blind woman. It features the daily life and struggles of this single mother and focuses on her journey through the disability and her now positive outlook on her situation.
Their film won Best Experimental in the student division. They are both extremely happy with their accomplishments and were proud to represent Concordia University, with special thanks to the Communication Studies department and staff.
“We are both extremely happy with our accomplishments. We would like to thank the Communication Studies department and staff, without their support and education, this award would not have been presented. A special thank you to Mike Rollo for being our mentor throughout this process and for his constant motivation with the creative aspects of experimental film making. We hope this is the beginning of a successful and creative career for the both of us.”
Posted: September 7th, 2012
 Congratulations to our fulltime faculty, who in the last 2 years, have successfully received external research funding for research, research-creation, and media arts from agencies including SSHRC, FQRSC, NCE Grand, CFI, CIHR, Canada Council, CALQ, and the Reynard Program, among others.
Internal research projects and initiatives have also been awarded from numerous programs through the Vice-President Research and Graduate Studies and the Faculty of Arts and Science.
Through these various competitive awards, Communication Studies Faculty are developing innovative scholarly and creative projects that are making major contributions to communication studies, cultural studies, media studies and the fine arts.
Posted: February 9th, 2012
 February 8, 2012 – Ottawa, Canada – The Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences is pleased to announce the short list of nominees for the Canada Prizes in the Humanities and the Canada Prizes in the Social Sciences. Awarded annually to one work in French and one in English in each category, the prizes are a benchmark for outstanding scholarly work in the humanities and social sciences.
“On behalf of the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, I want to congratulate the 18 authors shortlisted for The Canada Prize, which recognizes outstanding scholarly works in the social sciences and humanities, and their thoughtful contribution to society,” said Graham Carr, president of CFHSS. “We are proud to support exceptional French and English authors who shed new light on intriguing topics ranging from Bethune to women and Canada’s cultural history to the artistry of Tom Thomson and Jean-Paul Riopelle.”
The four prizes are each valued at $2,500 and will be presented at a special award ceremony on Friday, March 30, 2012 at the Musée des beaux-arts in Montreal. The nominees are chosen from works supported by CFHSS’s Awards to Scholarly Publications Program and winners are selected by a jury of scholars from across the country.
Shortlisted Titles for the Canada Prizes
Canada Prize in the Humanities
FISHER, Susan R. Boys and Girls in No Man's Land: English-Canadian Children and the First World War (UTP)
GERSON, Carole Canadian Women in Print, 1750-1918 (WLUP)
MCKAY, Marylin J.. Picturing Land: Narrating Territories in Canadian Landscape Art, 1500-1950 (MQUP)
STEWART, Roderick, STEWART, Sharon. Pheonix: The Life of Norman Bethune (MQUP)
TREMBLAY, Tony. David Adams Richards of the Miramichi (UTP)
Canada Prize in the Social Sciences
HENDERSON, Stuart. Making the Scene: Yorkville and Hip Toronto in the 1960s (UTP)
LEDUC, Timothy B.. Climate, Culture, Change: Inuit and Western Dialogues with a Warming North (UOP)
REGAN, Paulette. Unsettling the Settler Within: Indian Residential Schools, Truth-telling and Reconciliation in Canada (UBC Press)
STRONG-BOAG, Veronica. Fostering Nation? Canada Confronts Its History of Childhood Disadvantage (WLUP)
VAN WYCK, Peter C.. The Highway of the atom (MQUP)
Prix du Canada en sciences humaines
BROUILLETTE, Marc André Spatialité textuelle dans la poésie contemporaine (Éditions Nota bene)
CELLARD, Karine Leçons de littérature : Un siècle de manuels scolaires au Québec (PUM)
SAINT-JACQUES, Denis et ROBERT, Lucie La vie littéraire au Québec, tome VI (1919-1933) (PUL)
VIGNEAULT, Louise Espace artistique et modèle pionnier. Tom Thomson et Jean-Paul Riopelle (Éditions Hurtubise inc.)
Prix du Canada en sciences sociales
BLAIS, Agnès Une ONG en Rusie post-soviétique (PUL)
DUCHARME, Michel Le concept de liberté au Canada à l'époque des Révolutions atlantiques, 1776-1838 (MQUP)
FYSON, Donald Magistrats, police et société : la justice criminelle ordinaire au Québec et au Bas-Canada (1764-1837) (Éditions Hurtubise inc.)
JOLIVET, Simon Le vert et le bleu. Identité québécoise et identité irlandaise au tournant du XXe siècle (PUM)
More Information:
Alison Hebbs
Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences
613-282-3489
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Representing more than 85,000 researchers in 79 scholarly associations, 79 universities and colleges, and 5 affiliates, the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences is the national voice for the university research and learning community in these disciplines.
Posted: December 7th, 2011
by Karen Herland
M.E. Luka receives the notice that she is one of this year’s Vanier scholars. | Image courtesy of M.E. Luka
“There are those moments when you put things beside each other, and you know they fit together, but you have to really look closely, because you’re not sure how,” says M.E. Luka.
She’s reflecting on the path that has led her to earn Concordia’s most recent Vanier Scholarship, one of 166 allocated this year across Canada.
“In a funny way, this [PhD] project connects all the different parts of my life.”
Given that Luka has studied fine arts, communications and education, and has worked as a television producer, arts fundraiser and teacher, common threads are not obvious. But then, her experience does reflect the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship criteria, which balance academic excellence and research rigour against leadership, community engagement and outreach.
Luka came to Concordia’s Department of Communication Studies two years ago to research the potential and role of digital media in the development of arts, cultural community and cultural citizenship.
Her decision to return to school came when the CBC cut funding for Artspots, a television and Internet program she founded and produced at the network’s Halifax studios from 1997 to 2008.
The program developed from a mandate to establish community ties. “It was an opportunity to really create partnerships at a deep level,” adds Luka who worked with artists, curators, arts administrators and gallery directors.
Through Artspots, Luka produced 1,200 short videos featuring 300 artists from across the country. In the process, she produced 10 documentaries. Luka had not intended to create the definitive catalogue of contemporary art production by Canadians for Canadians.
When Artspots ended, Luka realized it was time to explore another centre of creative production and Montreal beckoned.
Using Artspots as a starting point, Luka plans to study the relationship between new media production and the creation of online or digital communities.
“Concordia is exactly the right place for this research,” she says, pointing to the Faculty’s equal commitments to production and theoretical knowledge, with particular expertise in the arts and television.
Luka is interested in the specificity of different communities and audiences, rejecting the notion of a single, broad audience. “Media is about personal networks, about what makes life interesting.” She sees possibility for creativity and community formation through collaboration between artists, producers and audiences. It’s a kind of relationship-building that moves far beyond simply creating a Facebook page and waiting for a response. “That seems fairly instrumental,” says Luka. “I want to ask how do you crack that open? Think more broadly and deeply?”
Already the Vanier is having an impact. Luka recently spent a week in Porto, Portugal at the joint University of Texas at Austin University of Porto Gary Chapman International School on Digital Transformation. A small group of researchers spent intensive 13-hour plus days discussing citizenship in the digital era. “This is one of the great outcomes of receiving the Vanier – having the resources to meet face-to-face with others doing research in similar areas” she says.
Source: Concordia Now
Posted: February 4th, 2010
Two winning documentary pitches will go from the concept stage to television and web broadcast thanks to a $45,000 cash prize for each from the National Film Board and TVOntario, which on Monday unveiled the winners of the Calling Card Program.
Aaron Hancox and Allie Caldwell‘s 30-minute doc Unheralded will be developed for broadcast on TVO’s flagship doc series The View From Here, while Shahid Quadri and Alex Jansen’s new media project The Next Day will be created and launched on both nfb.ca and tvo.org. Both projects will debut during the 2010/11 season.
For the full story please visit:
http://cnw.ca/en/releases/archive/February2010/01/c5637.html
Posted: February 3rd, 2010
 Charles Acland (CURC, Communication Studies) has won the 2010 Kovács Award for best essay in film and media studies. This prize is awarded annually by the Society for Cinema and Media Studies.
The award recognizes the most original essay – published in a peer-reviewed journal during the previous year – that significantly advances scholarship in film and media studies. Acland’s winning article “Curtain, Carts, and the Mobile Screen” appears in the fiftieth anniversary issue of Screen 50:1 (2009). This is the first time this twenty-one year old essay award has gone to a scholar at a Canadian university.
Posted: October 20th, 2009
 Communication Studies alumnus Robert Swartz won the 2009 Gemini Award for best picture editing for the film The Young Romantic. Robert Swartz graduated in 1998, and made his first short documentary Struck While The Iron Was Hot in 1999, which was well received at both the Vancouver International Film festival and the Montreal World Film Festival. He went on to become a picture editor in Toronto and studied at the Canadian Film Centre in 2003. Since then he has edited many documentaries and dramatic films, producing and directing Provider in 2004, a documentary portrait of his father. Provider aired on BRAVO! Television in Canada, and screened at film festivals in Europe, Israel and Canada. His latest film Cab 138 takes a unique look into Torontos troubled taxi scene, and has recently been nominated for a Golden Sheaf award at the 2009 Yorkton Short Film Festival.
Posted: September 1st, 2009
 Sheelah O’Neill, L BA 74, a Montreal native, is the Assistant to the Chair and Undergraduate Academic Advisor in Concordia’s renowned Department of Communication Studies. Sheelah began to work at Concordia University a year after graduating from Loyola College in 1974. In the subsequent 35 years, she has become an integral part of Communication Studies, served on many committees and given countless hours to the university community.
As the first point of contact for Comm Studies undergraduates, Sheelah ensures that each student’s experience is a positive one, from before he or she is admitted until long after graduation. She frequently attends convocation to support students and remains in contact with many alumni.
Sheelah serves on the Department BA Committee and has been the staff representative for the Search Committee for the Chair of Communication Studies three times and for the Review Committee for the Dean, and was a member of the Graduate Studies Committee on web registration. She currently sits on the Loyola Alumni Association Board of Directors. From 1988 to 1992, Sheelah was a member of the Board of Directors, including a term as president, at Les P’tits Profs daycare on the Loyola Campus.
In 1993, Sheelah won the Concordia Council on Student Life award and in 2007 received the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Achievement to Faculty and Staff.
Posted: September 22nd, 2008
 Barry Julien, BA (comm. studies) 94, won an Emmy award September 21, 2008, as a member of the writing team for The Colbert Report, broadcast on Comedy Central and CTV. Barry won the Emmy in the category of Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program. He joined The Colbert Report as a writer in 2007. Barry had previously been a stand-up comedian and written for CBC TV’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes , YTV’s Mystery Hunters and Fox TV’s Talkshow with Mike Fersten.
Posted: September 1st, 2008
 René Balcer, BA (comm. studies) 78, received an honorary doctorate on November 17 during Convocation ceremonies held at Montreal’s Place des Arts. René began his career as a cameraman, journalist and documentary filmmaker.
In 1990, he joined the staff of the American television series Law & Order during its first season. In 1996, he became its executive producer and head writer. In 1997, the show won its first Emmy Award for Best Drama Series. In 2001, René became executive producer for Law & Order: Criminal Intent , which he had helped to develop. In 2007, he returned to Law & Order as its executive producer. René has won many industry awards and, in 2004, the Concordia University Alumni Association honoured him as its Alumnus of the Year 1993.
Posted: August 27th, 2008
FQRSC
Despard, Erin – Ph.D. Communication
Lemaire, Marie-Helene – Ph.D. Communication
Porter, Nicole – Ph.D. Communication
Rona and Robert Davis Scholarship
Jennifer Parisi
Luigi Liberatore Graduate Entrance Fellowship
Svetla Turnin, M.A. Media Studies
SSHRC
Curow, Ashley – M.A. Media Studies
Fauteux, Brian – M.A. Media Studies
Harris, Mark – M.A. Media Studies
Jenicek, Ainsley – M.A. Media Studies
Legault, Sonya – M.A. Media Studies
Mauricio-Cardilli, Riccardo – M.A. Media Studies
Pelletier, Louis – Ph.D. Communication
SSHRC Doctoral Award
Hogan, Melanie – Ph.D. Communication
Rambukkana, Nathan – Ph.D. Communication
Powell, Alison – PhD Commnication
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