Combining business smarts with creative talents, York alumni from the Faculty of Fine Arts and the Schulich School of Business came up winners at the 2006 Gemini Awards ceremonies, held Oct. 16-18 in Toronto. A total of six awards went to York graduates and one honorary degree holder in the 21st year of the Geminis, for a variety of productions such as the latest in interactive media concepts to documentaries and children’s television shows.
A team of York graduates from the Department of Film & Video and Schulich created a combined video game-television series that won the Gemini for Best Cross Platform Project. Titled "ReGenesis", the series began airing its second season Sept. 15 on Global TV and the 
associated Web site was nominated for most-popular site in Canada. A project of Xenophile Media Inc., the game side of the creation was led by executive producer Patrick Crowe (BFA ‘90) and producer Keith Clarkson (MBA ‘93), and included Thomas Wallner (BFA ‘91) on its writing team.
Right: Wallner (left) and Crowe
"ReGenesis Extended Reality" is a groundbreaking online game that allows viewers of the television show to interact with the program’s characters and assist the team in their investigations. The game uses e-mails, phone messages, live messages and secret documents to thrust the viewer into a world of intrigue and scientific conspiracy. As the game unfolds, it becomes clear that the lives of many people may depend on the gamer solving the mystery. The Web site devoted to the game was also included in the Geminis’ short list of the most popular Web sites in Canada for an online poll.
Neil Court (MBA ‘86) was among a group to accept the award for "Bromwell High" in the category Best Animated Program or Series. Court is a partner in DECODE Entertainment, a Toronto-based production company responsible for a number of popular animated children’s series.
Left: Neil Court
CBC producer Martin Markle (BFA ‘93), who was appointed production executive at CBC’s children’s & youth department in Dec. 2005, was among the team honoured for "The Morgan Waters Show" in the category Best Children’s or Youth Fiction Program or Series.
At the awards evening for documentary, news and sports productions, Glendon 
alumnus and producer for CBC-TV’s "Marketplace" Michael Gruzuk (BA ‘97) won a Gemini for a report titled "Chasing the Cancer Answer".
Film & Video graduate Robert Crowther (BFA ’01) was among the team members from Rocket Science VFX who were honoured with a Gemini for Best Visual Effects for their work on Terry the CTV/Shaftsbury Films movie about Terry Fox.
Right: Robert Crowther
Although not among the award winners herself, York student and actor Pamela Matthews can take pride in one of the Geminis handed out – Best Sound in a Dramatic Program for One Dead Indian, a television film about Dudley George in which she starred (see the Jan. 4, 2006 issue of YFile).
CBC producer Mark Starowicz, who received an honorary degree from York in 2001, was among those accepting a Gemini award for Best Documentary Series, for the CBC production, "China Rises".
The Gemini Awards Gala will be broadcast on Global-TV Nov. 4. Individual broadcasts of the awards evenings held this week will be broadcast in the Toronto area on Rogers Television, Nov. 16-18.