Prism Prize Top Ten Named

By FYI Staff

The Prism Prize announced the Top Ten best Canadian music videos of the year on Tuesday, as voted by a jury of 120 Canadian music, film and media arts professionals.

After viewing hundreds of music videos, jurors selected the Prism Prize Top 10 based on originality, style, creativity, innovation and effective execution. One of these videos will be awarded the $15,000 Grand Prize at a screening and awards presentation on Monday, May 13,at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto.

THE 2019 PRISM PRIZE TOP 10 (in alphabetical order):

Belle Game - Low (Director: Kevan Funk)

Blue Hawaii - Do You Need Me (Director: Kevan Funk)

Cadence Weapon - High Rise (Director: Lester Millado)

Charlotte Cardin - The Kids (Director: Kristof Brandl)

Clairmont The Second - Gheeze (Director: Clairmont The Second)

Classified - Powerless (Director: Andrew Hines)

Daniel Caesar ft. H.E.R. - Best Part, a Visual (Directors: Keavan Yazdani & Sean Brown)

Harrison ft. Ralph - Your Girl (Directors: Ft. Langley)

Jessie Reyez - Body Count (Director: Peter Huang)

Said The Whale - UnAmerican (Director: Johnny Jansen)

“The Prism Prize Top Ten once again reads as an impressive list of creative artists, both in front of the mic and behind the camera. We could not be more proud to associate our Prize with this fantastic list of artists,” said Academy Vice-President of Programming and Prism Prize Founder Louis Calabro.

Along with the $15,000 to the best Canadian music video of the year, each of the runner-ups listed on the Prism Prize Top Ten will receive $500 cash, courtesy of Slaight Music. The Prism Prize will continue to present several special awards, with announcements to come in the lead-up to the May 13 event.  

Earlier this year, the Special Achievement Award (sponsored by Slaight Music) - was awarded to Atlanta based (Toronto born) Lacey Duke (director of H.E.R. feat. Bryson Tiller, SZA, Janelle Monae) for artistic achievements and exceptional worldwide contribution to music video art.

The Audience Award voting is open to members of the public and runs until April 19. All 20 Prism Prize shortlisted videos are eligible. Votes can registered to vote here

Finally, the Hi-Fidelity Award (sponsored by FACTOR) - an award given to a recording artist who has used video art to represent their work in a consistently creative and innovative way - will also be revealed leading up to the May 13 event.

Prism Prize hosts a comprehensive resource for music fans to watch the best Canadian music videos throughout the year at prismprize.com

ABOUT THE PRISM PRIZE

Now entering its seventh year, the Prism Prize is the largest cash prize in the world for music videos. The annual, established in 2012, recognizes outstanding artistry in Canadian music videos, and is produced by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television (The Canadian Academy).

Becoming a division of The Academy allows Prism Prize to promote and support homegrown Canadian creative projects, and bolster the Canadian music landscape. In addition to this acquisition, and through collaboration with RBC Foundation’s RBCxMusic, Prism launched their inaugural Music Video Production Project (MVP Project) grant to director/ producer/ artists represented across the country.

Previous winners of Prism Prize’s Grand Prize include Fantavious Fritz for Charlotte Day Wilson’s Work (2018), Martin C. Pariseau for Kaytranada’s Lite Spots (2017), Philip Sportel for Kalle Mattson’s Avalanche (2016), Chad VanGaalen for Timber Timbre’s Beat The Drum Slowly (2015), Emily Kai Bock for Arcade Fire’s Afterlife (2014), and Noah Pink for Rich Aucoin’s Brian Wilson is A.L.i.V.E (2013).