The Prism Prize is a national juried award recognizing the artistry of the modern music video in Canada.[1] A jury of over 120 Canadian music and film industry professionals, including members of the print and web media, broadcasting, film, radio, and video art communities, nominate the 10 best videos of the year to comprise the Prism Prize shortlist.[1] The winning video receives a cash prize of $20,000.[1] This is the richest cash prize for music videos in North America.

Founded by Louis Calabro in 2012,[2] the award is administered by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.[3]

The inaugural Prism Prize was awarded in March 2013 to director Noah Pink for Rich Aucoin’s "Brian Wilson Is A.L.I.V.E", while director Vincent Morisset took home the Audience Award for Arcade Fire’s "Sprawl II".[4]

For the second award presentation in 2014, the Prism Prize introduced two new awards, the Special Achievement Award for artistic achievements and exceptional contribution to music video art on a world stage, and the Arthur Lipsett Award for innovative and unique approaches to music video art.[5]

The 2014 Prism Prize was presented on March 23, 2014 to director Emily Kai Bock for her Arcade Fire "Afterlife" video. The Audience Award went to director Kheaven Lewandowski for his video for "River" by The Belle Game.[6] The Arthur Lipsett Award was presented to Scott Cudmore and Michael LeBlanc for their innovative video work. The Special Achievement Award went to Floria Sigismondi.[7]

In 2020 the committee introduced the Willie Dunn Award, a lifetime achievement award honouring Canadians who have been trailblazers in the art of music video.[8] The award was named in memory of Willie Dunn, an indigenous Canadian musician whose 1968 animated short film The Ballad of Crowfoot has sometimes been credited as the first Canadian music video.[8]

Winners and nominees

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2013

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Nominees were announced on February 14, 2013,[9] and the winners were announced on March 24.[4]

2014

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Nominees were announced on February 18, 2014,[10] and the winners were announced on March 23.[10]

2015

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Nominees were announced on February 12, 2015,[12] and the winners were announced on March 29.[13]

2016

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Beginning in 2016, the prize revised its process. A longlist of 20 nominees was announced on February 9, 2016,[14] a shortlist of 10 finalists was announced on March 22, and the winner was named on May 15.[14]

Shortlist

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Longlist

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2017

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Winners

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Shortlist

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Longlist

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2018

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Winners

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Shortlist

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Longlist

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2019

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Winners

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Shortlist

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Longlist

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2020

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The longlist for the 2020 Prism Prize was announced in February 2020, with the shortlist originally slated to be announced on April 2 and the winner to be announced on May 11.[16] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, however, the prize committee cancelled the May 11 event, and postponed the announcement of the winners to July 22 for the special awards, and July 23 for the topline categories. In addition, they opted not to issue a shortlist, instead announcing that all 20 longlisted nominees would be eligible for the final awards.[17]

Winners

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Longlist

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2021

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The longlisted nominees for the 2021 Prism Prize were announced on April 29, 2021,[20] with the shortlist announced on June 9 and the winners announced on July 26.

Winners

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Shortlist

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Longlist

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2022

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Winners

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Shortlist

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2023

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Winners

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Shortlist

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2024

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Winners

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Shortlist

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Prism Prize reveals its shortlist for best Canadian music video" Archived 2014-02-28 at the Wayback Machine. The Grid, February 15, 2013.
  2. ^ "Inaugural Prism Prize to award best Canadian music video of 2012". BlogTO, September 29, 2012.
  3. ^ Nick Krewen, "The Prism Prize began just as TV music videos were waning, but TikTok has given it new prominence". Toronto Star, July 30, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Rich Aucoin Wins First-Ever Prism Prize". Exclaim!, March 24, 2013.
  5. ^ "Prism Prize Reveals Two New Award Categories". Broadway World, February 4, 2014.
  6. ^ "Prism Prize: Arcade Fire's Afterlife Named Best Canadian Music Video". Huffington Post, March 24, 2014.
  7. ^ "Emily Kai Bock Wins Prism Prize". Torontoist, March 24, 2014.
  8. ^ a b c d e "2020 Prism Prize Special Award Winners Announced". FYI Music News, July 22, 2020.
  9. ^ "Videos by Arcade Fire, Grimes, Drake Nominated for Canada's Inaugural Prism Prize". Exclaim!, February 14, 2013.
  10. ^ a b "Prism Prize short list features Shad, Drake and a double dose of Arcade Fire". CBC Music, February 18, 2014.
  11. ^ "Emily Kai Bock wins Prism Prize for Arcade Fire video". Global News, March 23, 2014.
  12. ^ "Prism Prize announces Top 10 best Canadian music videos of 2014". Vancouver Sun, February 12, 2015.
  13. ^ a b c "Chad VanGaalen Wins 2015 Prism Prize for Timber Timbre Video". Exclaim!, March 29, 2015.
  14. ^ a b "Prism Prize Announces Top 20 Finalists for 2016". Exclaim!, February 9, 2016.
  15. ^ a b c d e "Prism Prize 2017: Kaytranada Takes Home Award"[usurped]. chartattack.com, May 15, 2017.
  16. ^ Sarah Murphy, "Here are the 2020 Prism Prize Finalists". Exclaim!, February 27, 2020.
  17. ^ "A Note on Prism 2020". Prism Prize, April 3, 2020.
  18. ^ a b "Jessie Reyez video wins Prism Prize for Far Away". CBC News, July 24, 2020.
  19. ^ Chris Jancelewicz, "Daniela Andrade wins 2020 Prism Prize Hi-Fidelity Award for music video innovation". Global News, July 23, 2020.
  20. ^ Alex Nino Gheciu, "These Are the Top 20 Canadian Music Videos Nominated for the 2021 Prism Prize". Complex, April 29, 2021.
  21. ^ a b c d e f "Haviah Mighty's Thirteen wins 2021 Prism Prize for top Canadian music video". CBC News. July 26, 2021.
  22. ^ a b c David Friend, "Toronto musician Mustafa wins $20,000 Prism Prize for his music video ‘Ali’". The Globe and Mail, July 8, 2022.
  23. ^ a b c Matt Bobkin, "Mustafa Wins 2022 Prism Prize". Exclaim!, July 8, 2022.
  24. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Allie Gregory, "Here Are the Top 10 Prism Prize Nominees for 2022". Exclaim!, May 18, 2022.
  25. ^ "Snotty Nose Rez Kids’ ‘Damn Right’ wins Prism Prize for top music video". Toronto Star, July 7, 2023.
  26. ^ a b c d Ben Okazawa, "Prism Prize Announces 2023 Special Award Honourees". Exclaim!, June 27, 2023.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Emilie Richardson-Dupuis, "Here Are the Top 10 Prism Prize Nominees for 2023". Exclaim!, May 17, 2023.
  28. ^ a b c d e f Kerry Doole, "Mustafa Wins 2024 Prism Prize As 'Name Of God' Named Best Canadian Music Video of the Year". Billboard, June 25, 2024.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Here are the 10 Canadian music videos vying for the 2024 Prism Prize". CBC Music, May 15, 2024.
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