The Wild Turkeys win hearts but not awards (photos)

With a total of 180 nominations in a number of categories for the 2008 Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards, competition was tough for Sault Ste. Marie's Wild Turkeys.

But the five Goulaisgans were named as finalists in the Best Album category for their debut release Unplucked.

Front man Sheldon Jaaskelainen was given a nod of his own, making it to the final round in the Best Songwriter category for his original composition Hayfield Crooning.

During the awards ceremony held on Saturday evening in Sudbury, attendees were treated to performances by Paul Disalle, Konflit dramatiK, Flamenco Caravan, Cindy Doire, Angie Nussey, Paul Dunn and The Wild Turkeys.

And although our Turkeys seemed to have won the hearts of many in the short time they were in Sudbury, they unfortunately did not take home either award they were nominated for.

However, the boys were thrilled with the whole experience and took advantage of the many panels and workshops offered during the conference portion of the weekend.

The following is the official Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards announcement issued by Music and Film in Motion.

*************************

PRESS RELEASE

MUSIC AND FILM IN MOTION

*************************
Winners of the 2008 Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards announced at ceremony

Sudbury - On Saturday evening, Music and Film in Motion (MFM) announced the winners of the 2008 Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards at one of the North’s most anticipated annual events.

This year’s ceremony featured host Jowi Taylor of CBC Radio and Six String Nations, performances from this year’s music finalists including Sault Ste Marie’s Wild Turkeys and Thunder Bay’s Flamenco Caravan, film clips from The Asphodel Meadows by Sudbury’s Grant Jeffery ending the evening with a gala reception at the Radisson’s Palladium Room in Downtown Sudbury. 

“MFM is extremely excited to be celebrating the accomplishments of Northern artists in the music and film industries for the fifth year in a row,” states Dennis Landry, Executive Director of MFM. “We are happy to see strong growth in this program again this year, and look forward to showcasing more northern talent in the future.”

The Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards Program was created as a means of recognizing and celebrating the accomplishments of Northern Ontario artists in the music and film industries. 

The 2008 Northern Ontario Music and Film Award Winners are:


Best Album
Winner: Ox - American Lo Fi

Nominees: The Wild Turkeys - Unplucked, Cindy Doire - La vie en bleu

Best Songwriter
Winner: Angie Nussey - Unwritten Pages

Nominees: Christian Berthiaume & Robert Dickson - La mère de toutes les dystophies, Paul Dunn - I Don’t Wanna Write a Song, Sheldon Jaaskelainen - Hayfield Crooning

Best Film
Winner: Dave Clement & Kelly Saxberg - Seeking Bimaadiziiwin

Nominees: Grant Jeffery - The Asphodel Meadows, Paul Stark - Role Play

Best Director
Winner: Dave Clement & Kelly Saxberg - Seeking Bimaadiziiwin

Nominees: Ryan LaVia - Unsaid, Paul Stark - Role Play

Best Film Editor
Winner: Derek Burnett - The Human Error

Nominees: Dave Clement & Kelly Saxberg - Seeking Bimaadiziiwin, Andrew Simpson - Ils l’ont pendu

Best Cinematography
Winner: Dave Clement - Seeking Bimaadiziiwin

Nominees: Corey Leckie - Ils l’ont pendu, Donald Delorme - La Cathédrale

Best Screenplay
Winner: Susan Adams - The Devil’s Kitchen

Nominees: Jim Calarco - That Was Easy, Jennifer Opas - Heart Strings

Best Vocal Performance on a Recording
Winner: Angie Nussey - Don’t Give Up

Nominees: Paul DiSalle - The Search, Susanna DiGiuseppe - Mi Amor

Best Engineer
Winner: Jason Poulin

Nominees: Brian Lahaie, David Jeffrey

2008 Trailblazer Award
Confederation College’s Film Production Program

For further questions regarding the Awards Program, please contact MFM at 674-9954, toll free at 1-866-674-9954 or e-mail communications@thinknorth.ca.

Music and Film in Motion is a non-profit organization whose mandate is to foster and promote the development of the music and film industries in Northern Ontario.

*************************

More SooToday.com entertainment headlines