Toronto — The first two Lord of the Rings DVD releases dominated the inaugural 2004 Canadian Entertainment Network awards Friday night.
The awards were created by the CEN trade publication to honour the best in the Canadian home entertainment industry.
Out of eight nominations, the Tolkien tales, distributed by Universal Studios/Alliance Atlantis Home Video, took seven awards.
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring — Extended Edition Gift Set took two including the CEN Readers' Choice Award. The Extended Edition (without a collectible figurine) also took two, while The Two Towers won three.
"A home entertainment awards show has been missing from the Canadian industry for years now," said Samantha Pickard, CEN's vice-president and managing director.
"Given that the Canadian DVD market has now grown beyond just another wing for U.S.-based studios, there is genuine excitement and innovation within the industry in Canada."
Best Canadian DVD went to the Paul Gross curling comedy Men With Brooms (Alliance Atlantis) while the best sports DVD went to Canada's Team of the Century (Universal Studios), about the 1972 Canada-Soviet hockey series.
Retailers and distributors were also honoured, with Rogers Video being named Canadian Retailer of the Year.
The awards were handed out at a black-tie dinner held at a midtown restaurant and hosted by Royal Canadian Air Farce comic Jessica Holmes. World Wrestling Entertainment star Trish Stratus was tabbed to present the Best Sports DVD honour.
CEN's 5,500 retail readers filled out ballots for several of the awards, while panels of industry professionals voted in the retail and distributor categories.
The qualifying period for the 29 awards ran from Sept. 1, 2002, to Aug. 31, 2003.
