TORONTO, Jan. 23, 2023 /CNW/ – The hit digital series CHATEAU LAURIER launches today on AppleTV with 14 Best Series Awards at festivals from Tokyo to Paris, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Vienna, and Australia. CHATEAU LAURIER picked up a total of 45 awards including, Best Director James Stewart (five awards), Best Writers Kent Staines & Emily Weedon (four awards), Best Actress Kate Ross Leckie (five awards), Best Actor Luke Humphrey (four awards), Best Actress Tymika Tafari (three awards) and Best Supporting actors Emmanual Kabongo (three awards) and Fiona Reid (two awards). CHATEAU LAURIER was honoured at the following festivals, Hong Kong Indie Film Festival, Paris International Short Festival, Hamburg Indie Film Festival, Philadelphia Arthouse Film Festival, Vienna Indie Film Festival, and the International Cosmopolitan Film Festival of Tokyo.
“The series is clearly resonating with audiences and juries worldwide and it is so gratifying to see the cast and production team recognized repeatedly for their talents,” remarked producer and director James Stewart.
Chateau Laurier is available worldwide today on AppleTV/iTunes, Google Play, Vimeo on Demand and Amazon Prime (US/UK). The lush period drama was produced, directed, and co-created by James Stewart (Bet on Yourself, Foxed!). The series was written by co-creators, and co-producers Kent Staines (Prom Queen) and Emily Weedon (Autokrator). Each of the six episodes runs approximately 10 minutes, for a total length of one hour. The web series was shot on location in Hamilton, Ontario and at Ottawa’s famed hotel, Château Laurier. Season one of CHATEAU LAURIER launched on Facebook and has over three million views and over 70,000 followers – and 11 million views on TikTok.
Marriage. Murder. Money. CHATEAU LAURIER is an expansive, serialized period drama in the tradition of Downton Abbey, with the splendor of Bridgerton, combined with the rough underworld of Boardwalk Empire. The second season continues with the ensemble cast of recurring characters. New players arrive on the scene too — vying for power in the family-run luxury hotel business — The Château Laurier.
“The success of the first season, along with the warm reception from fans, propelled us to shoot another season, which we did under challenging COVID protocols. Our amazing cast came together during a very difficult time. But along with that came the rare opportunity to shoot at Canada’s iconic Château Laurier. Now, we can’t wait for fans and audiences to enjoy this next season, as we emerge from the pandemic,” remarked producer and director James Stewart.
The first season of CHATEAU LAURIER was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award (CSA) for Best Digital Series – Fiction, as well as for a Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) Award for Best Writing in a Digital Series. The series accumulated 10 Awards, 17 Nominations for directing, acting, writing, production design, costume design and hair/makeup at 27 Art House and Web Festivals including Toronto, Melbourne, Berlin, Rio, New York City and Los Angeles. The Globe and Mail’s John Doyle acclaimed the series as, “a gem of the genre” and critic Richard Crouse remarked, “When I think of web series, I don’t think of something as elaborate as this.”
Geneva Film Co. – Ottawa-raised James Stewart is an award-winning screenwriter, producer, director, TED Speaker, artist and digital innovator. Stewart is the winner of the 2019 Telefilm Canada New Voices Award and is a writer/director best known for his award-winning film Foxed! which has over 30 million views and opened #1 on AppleTV. His gothic tragedy Daily Battles premiered at TED and has screened around the world at art galleries and over 20 film festivals. In addition, Stewart has directed over 100 commercials, 3D and VR projects. His first feature-length screenplay FOXED! won five major competitions including the 2019 Vail Film Festival $10,000 Grand Prize. FOXED is a fantasy adventure about coexistence, inclusivity, and oppression. It was shortlisted for the 2019 Sundance Screenwriters Lab. Stewart has worked with Oprah Winfrey, The Rolling Stones, Elliot Page among others. Stewart recently produced, wrote, directed the award-winning Bet on Yourself a 12 x 60 series/podcast hosted by Toronto Raptor Fred VanVleet and Derek Folk focused on amplifying BIPOC entrepreneurs – Amazon List of Best Podcasts 2021. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey follows Stewart on twitter @jamesstewart3D
CHATEAU LAURIER received production financing from Canada Media Fund (CMF) and Ontario Creates. Cinematography by Arthur E. Cooper (Shoot the Messenger), Costume Design by Melissa Bessey (Murdoch Mysteries) and Production Design by Gen Charles Landry (Frankie Drake Mysteries).
Chateau Laurier S2 Trailer from Geneva Film Co on Vimeo.
SOURCE Geneva Films
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