Local film director wins Canadian screen award

On the evening of March 8th, Hinchinbrooke resident Matthew Shewchuk was awarded his first Canadian screen award in the category of Best direction in a Documentary series for his work on the History channel’s long-running series Ice Pilots NWT. The Canadian screen awards gala was held over a period of three days at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto, Ontario.

Shot over a few months, the episode that Shewchuk was nominated for is “D-Day”, a piece that was filmed in order to honour the 70th anniversary of the invasion of the beaches of Normany, France during World War II. Nominated twice in the past three years, Shewchuk was thrilled to receive his first award. “Never had I ever thought this would be possible—it literally took over an hour for the news to set it in. It's such an honour, and I feel more than privileged to have received the award,” he said of the experience.

Unfortunately, Shewchuk could not be in Toronto to accept the award in person, as he was home for the birth of his second child. Had Shewchuk had the chance to give an acceptance speech, he would have said the following: “I would like to simply thank my parents for instilling a strong work ethic in me—and also patiently putting up with me while I struggled to break into the industry...those were some tough times that have finally paid off...and I owe it all to them.”