MINDS EYE ENTERTAINMENT EARNS A RECORD 10 GEMINI AWARD NOMINATIONS

· Saskatchewan filmed television movie Betrayed earned 3 nominations
· Saskatchewan/British Columbia co-production Just Cause
earned 3 nominations
· Children’s series Mentors earns 3 nominations
· Teen series 2030CE earned 1 nomination

September 16, 2003 (Regina, SK) – Minds Eye Entertainment (formerly Minds Eye Pictures) has earned a record number of Gemini Award nominations for three of its productions. The Gemini Awards gala will broadcast on October 20, 2003 at 8pm on CBC TV.

The television movie Betrayed earned three nominations in the following categories:

• Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series: Michael Hogan.
• Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series: Janet Wright.
• Best Sound in a Dramatic Program: Rob Bryanton, Matt Besler, Steve Hasiak, Larry McCormick, Evan Rust and Warren St. Onge.

Produced by Minds Eye Entertainment and Barna-Alper Productions, Betrayed chronicled a small town coping with severe water contamination and broadcast to almost 1 million viewers on CBC TV in February 2002. The movie was directed by award winning director Anne Wheeler (Better Than Chocolate, The Investigation) and starred Saskatchewan-born actress Kari Matchett (Cold Play, Nero Wolfe).

The legal drama series Just Cause earned three nominations in the following categories:

• Best Direction in a Dramatic Series: Helen Shaver
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Guest Role in a Dramatic Series: Michael Moriarty
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series: Jason Schombing

The legal drama series Just Cause stars Lisa Lackey (Mulholland Drive) as a wrongly convicted young mother turned legal eagle. When paroled from prison, she lands a job as a legal assistant to a respected civil lawyer Hamilton Whitney (Richard Thomas -The Waltons) and joins the fight to win underdog cases and subsequently clear her name. The series broadcast in Canada on W Network and in the U.S. on PAX TV.

Award winning children’s series Mentors earned three nominations in the following categories:

• Best Direction in a Children’s or Youth Program or Series: Grant Harvey
• Best Writing in a Children’s or Youth Program or Series: Conni Massing
• Best Performance in a Children’s or Youth Program or Series: Stephen Ouimette

Mentors follows the adventures of young brother and sister team, Simon and Crystal Cates after their cousin, Oliver, bestows his invention, VisiCron, to them. The VisiCron is a computer program that allows people from the past to be transported into the present, and Simon and Crystal call upon many famous personalities to mentor them through the challenges of everyday life.

The futuristic teen series 2030CE earned one nomination for Best Original Music Score for a Dramatic Series for Ross Nykiforuk, Rob Bryanton, Jason Cullimore. Hailed as “perfect for its audience” by the Toronto Star and “innovative and polished” by Globe Television, 2030CE centers on a group of teen anti-heroes united in their suspicion of a post-apocalyptic new world order. The series broadcast in Canada on YTV and on Showtime Family in the U.S.

Established in 1986, Minds Eye Entertainment (formerly Minds Eye Pictures) has recently completed post-production on the feature film Whitecoats with Dave Thomas; Falling Angels with Miranda Richardson and the feature film Seven Times Lucky starring Kevin Pollak. The Company website is www.mindseyepictures.com.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a national non-profit professional association dedicated to promote, recognize and celebrate exceptional achievements in the Canadian film and television industry. Created in 1979 and today unifying more than 4,000 industry professionals across Canada, the Academy has proven to be a vital and integral force representing all areas of the film and television industry.

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