TORONTO — The Prism Prize, billed as the largest cash award in the world for music videos, will hold a virtual show on July 23.
The evening event replaces the annual in-person Toronto screening and awards presentation, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Organizers say the online version will celebrate the Top 20 contenders and reveal the winner of the $20,000 prize, chosen by a jury of over 120 Canadian creative arts professionals.
Each of the runner-ups listed in the Top 20 will receive a $500 cash prize.
The show will also announce the winner of the fan-voted audience prize, and hand out several honours, including the new Willie Dunn Award.
Named after Canadian singer-songwriter, director and politician William (Willie) Dunn, the award honours a Canadian industry trailblazer in the music video production community.
The Willie Dunn Award winner will get to select an emerging Canadian music video creative to receive a $5,000 cash grant.
The Top 20 Prism Prize nominees include Daniel Caesar ft. Koffee's "Cyanide Remix," from directors Keavan Yazdani and Sean Brown; Jeremy Dutcher's "Mehcinut," directed by Dutcher and Chandler Levack; and Jessie Reyez's "Far Away," from director Peter Huang.
The show will air at PrismPrize.com and the @PrismPrize Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channels.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2020.
The Canadian Press