Back Alley Film Productions facts for kids

Back Alley Film Productions is a Canadian company that creates and produces television shows. It was started in 1989 by Janis Lundman and Adrienne Mitchell. Their main offices are in Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec. Back Alley's shows are watched in over 120 countries around the world.

The company is currently making the TV series Coroner. This show stars Serinda Swan and airs on CBC. When Coroner first came out in January 2019, it was a huge hit. It became the most-watched new drama series on CBC in over four years. More than one million people watched it on average. It also had the best launch ever for Universal TV in the UK. Because it was so popular, Coroner was renewed for a second season in March 2019.

Back Alley has also produced other popular shows. These include Bellevue, which starred Anna Paquin. They also made Bomb Girls, a series about women working in a factory during World War II. This show starred Meg Tilly and won an award for Outstanding Drama at the 2013 Gracie Awards. It was also nominated for a special award at the Banff Television Festival. Back Alley later made a TV movie called Bomb Girls: Facing the Enemy. This movie won the 2015 Canadian Screen Award for Best TV Movie. Other shows include three seasons of the award-winning series Durham County. This show was sold to over 100 countries. They also produced the hip hop series Drop the Beat and Straight Up, which featured Sarah Polley.

TV Shows They Made

Back Alley Film Productions has created many different television series:

• Coroner
• Bellevue
• Played
• Bomb Girls and the TV movie Bomb Girls: Facing the Enemy
• Durham County
• Bliss
• Drop the Beat
• Straight Up

Awards and Special Mentions

The founders, Adrienne Mitchell and Janis Lundman, have received special recognition. They won the Production Award for Excellence from Women in Film & Television - Toronto. This award celebrates their great work in the industry.

In 2017, Adrienne Mitchell was honored by the Toronto ACTRA Women’s Committee. She received the Nell Shipman Award. This award recognized her efforts to help women get fair opportunities in the entertainment industry.

Awards for Bomb Girls

The Bomb Girls series and movie won several important awards:

• Bomb Girls: Facing the Enemy
  • Won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Dramatic Miniseries or TV Movie.
  • Jodi Balfour was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
  • Ali Liebert won Best Actress in a Featured Supporting Role.
• Bomb Girls - Season 2
  • Won Canadian Screen Awards for Best Costume Design and Best Achievement in Casting.
  • Meg Tilly was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
• Bomb Girls - Season 1
  • Won Canadian Screen Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Meg Tilly), Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design.
  • It was nominated for Best Dramatic Series.
  • It was nominated for a Rockie Award at the Banff Television Festival.

Awards for Durham County

The Durham County series also received many awards:

• Durham County – Season 3
  • Won a Gemini Award for Best Achievement in Casting.
  • Won a Gold Remi Award at WorldFest-Houston for TV Series - Dramatic.
  • Was nominated for 5 awards at the Monte-Carlo TV Festival.
• Durham County – Season 2
  • Won Gemini Awards for Best Main Title Design and Best Make-Up.
  • Won a Golden Nymph Award at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival. Michelle Forbes won for Outstanding Actress.
  • Won Directors Guild of Canada Awards for Best Direction and Best Production Design.
• Durham County – Season 1
  • Won 5 Canadian Gemini Awards, including Best Writing, Best Direction, Best Actress, Best Actor, and Best Sound.
  • Won 2 Directors Guild of Canada Awards for Best Editing and Direction.
  • Won a CFTPA Indie Award for Best Dramatic Series.

Other Show Awards

• Bliss
  • Won a Canadian Gemini Award for Best Sound in a Dramatic Series.
• Drop the Beat
  • Was nominated for a Canadian Gemini Award for Best Dramatic Series.
• Straight Up
  • Won a Writers Guild of Canada Award.
  • Won Canadian Gemini Awards for Best Direction and Best Youth Actor.
• Lawn and Order
  • Won a Silver Plaque for Humour at the Chicago Film Festival.
• Talk 16
  • Won a Special Jury Prize at the San Francisco Film Festival.
  • Won the Best Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the Florida Film Festival.