IDEALABX

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Toronto Amazing

Dora Mavor Moore Awards (The Dora's)

A Bit of History Worth Knowing

Named after Dora Mavor Moore — a Glasgow-born director who arrived in Toronto in 1894 and spent her life building Canadian professional theatre from the ground up

First Canadian ever accepted at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1912); co-founded Toronto's first post-war professional theatre company, the New Play Society, in 1946

She died in 1979, the same year TAPA established the awards in her honour — now in their 46th year

The Doras were cancelled in 2021 when COVID shut down live production entirely, which puts this year's numbers in sharp relief

What the Award Is

Canada's oldest and largest professional awards for theatre, dance, and opera — 44 categories across 7 divisions

Presented by TAPA (Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts)

Gender-neutral performance categories since 2019 — one of the first major awards programs in North America to make that shift

This Year by the Numbers

221 nominations across 214 shows from 99 companies — the highest submission count since 2019, and widely read as confirmation the industry has fully recovered post-pandemic

Full list: tapa.ca/doras/nominees

Notable Stories This Season

Amaka Umeh — this year's host — received their 9th and 10th Dora nominations in the same announcement, for ensemble work in both Mary, Mary, Mary, Mary (Crow's Theatre) and Narnia (Soulpepper/Bad Hats/Crow's).

bahia watson is double-nominated in the same individual performance category — for Summer and Smoke and The Welkin — two separate productions. Unusual, and a strong signal she's having an exceptional season.

The Welkin (Soulpepper/Howland Company/Crow's) leads General Theatre with nominations spanning production, a 15-person ensemble, direction, costume, lighting, and scenic design. A co-production at that scale is uncommon.

Narnia — an entirely original new Canadian musical by Bad Hats Theatre — is nominated for Outstanding New Musical alongside multiple performance and design nods. A world-premiere adaptation of that property is a big swing that apparently landed.

The Green Line (In Arms Theatre/MENA Collective), dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, picked up nominations in production, new play, direction, performance, lighting, and sound — one of the more politically visible productions of the season.

In the Dance Division, Katie Adams-Gossage is nominated for Outstanding Original Choreography for gutted, presented by Fall for Dance North and Citadel + Compagnie — a well-deserved nod for a standout piece this season.

The Ceremony

June 29, 2026 · 7:30 pm · Meridian Hall, 1 Front Street East

Hosted by Amaka Umeh · Early bird tickets via Ticketmaster (on sale until June 8)

Why It's Relevant to Us

The actors, directors, designers, and choreographers recognised here regularly cross into commercial, film, and TV work — knowing who's breaking through is useful intel

Toronto's live arts scene feeds our talent pool, and this is the moment that pool gets a public spotlight

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Toronto Amazing

Rom After Dark: Locally Crafted - June 12

Rom After Dark is a recurring evening event series that takes place at the Rom and is for those who are 19+. It transforms the sprawling, historic museum into a high-energy party blending culture, music, multiple dance floors, and craft food and drinks.

On June 12th, the theme is Locally Crafted - all of the food will be supplied by Toronto restaurants + only Canadian made alcohol will be served. The provided food will be bite size, so that you can continue to walk around, mingle, and look at historic pieces.

List of Restaurants: - Hawker's a vegan restaurant that whips up incredible looking dishes. - Bandit Brewery is providing food along with drinks - Lulu's Gelato does not have a store front, but that does not stop her from driving around town on her gelato bike - Roll This Way catering. Not only do they cater sushi, they also have top-notch sushi making classes.

List of Drink Vendors: - Arterra Wines' is Canada's leading producer and marketer of award-winning, globally recognized Canadian wines. It is using vineyards that were planted in 1874 -- which is old in Canadian history! - Rosewood is known as Niagras wine and honey estate. Their on-site apiaries allow them to infuse the delicate sweetness of their estate-grown honey into select meads, creating a symphony of flavors that is unique - Couchiching Craft Beer is located in Orillia and is dedicated to paying homage to our ancestors. Their brewery restored the old building that they now occupy. - Burdock Brewery has two locations, one on Bloor, and the other in Kensington. They've been in the game since 2015 and have made a Grape Ale (a wine-inspired beer). - Bandit Brewery is located in Roncesvalle, and was started by two guys who met at a brewery. They spent a few summers making beer in one of their backyards before they decided to turn it into what it is today. - Rorschach Brewing Co. looks onto Woodbine Park as is very experimental with the beers that they brew. Think: modelo x caesar.

I went to ROM after dark over 2 years ago, and on my recent trip I was thinking about how incredible of an experience it would have been if the BMW museum did what the ROM does. It provides a very unique experience, that only a handful of other museums across NA do.

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International Work

World Cup unisex kits

Motus Studios Inc. Community, Culture, Clothing.

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International Work

Kids of Immigrants x Nike's Total 90 Mule

Link: https://www.instagram.com/reels/DYiU_2zSd0O/

Kids of Immigrants (KOI) has collaborated with Nike on the Total 90 Mule, one of the most recognizable soccer boot lines of the 2000s. For the 2026 World Cup, KOI reimagined Nike's iconic Total 90 as a mule, comfortable, nostalgic, and debonair. 

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International Work

Team Japan x Yohji Yamamoto

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Canadian Work

Sushi Shop - Taste the Detail

Courage | Denim | Soleil Denault

Link: https://lbbonline.com/work/169569

Likely shot in Montreal, based off crew list.

DP: Ménad Kesraoui

Repped by Mantl, has a good amount of food and drink work in his past. Good to have in mind for food spots in the big MTL.

Casting: Victor Tremblay Blouin

Owner of VTB casting, which we’ve talked about on here before! Good to see his work in action. Refresher, MTL based, did that great dairy spot.

1AD: Isabelle Brutus

Art Director: Yolanda Van Leeuvenkamp

I had spoken about her during the olympics, she did Cheerios hockey ad. Seems to have good experience working with food and kitchen environments.

Could not find a stylist credited anywhere! Which is a shame because this spot had some great looking food.

This is the launch video for Sushi Shop’s larger brand refresh. Partnered with Courage and branding agency Caserne, the chain is responding to an increasingly cramped market by swearing the little stuff.

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World Cup - Burberry

A Good Sport

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Canadian Work

Safeway directed by Hannah Levy (SNL)

Out of FCB Canada

2 overnight shoot days in a Safeway in Vancouver

Director of Photography: John Houtman

Wardrobe Stylist: Mica Kayde Wardrobe Assist: Zara Huntey Hair & Makeup Stylist: @shanniereynolds

Shannon Reynolds Is A Freelance Groomer In Vancouver Who Is Specialized In Hair & Make-Up For Celebrities & The Fashion & Editorial Industry

Production Designer: Gus Ward Art Director: Mark Gribbon Locations Manager: Dave Pink

Casting Directors: @krisandkaracast Casting Associate: James Kirk

Actress: Skipper Mari

Actor: Ryan Cowie

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World Cup x Axia Time

A weekly drop of a watch collection, per Country!

Link

*Will update more before Wednesday* *Posting now so that I can hold territory*

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Canadian Work

Cold as the Rockies - Rethink

Thermal imaging cameras were originally built for science and industry — detecting heat loss in buildings, tracking engine temperatures, finding people in the dark. A handful of brands have used them as a production tool, with varying degrees of creative success.

What Infrared Actually Does

A thermal camera records heat rather than light. Everything in the frame is rendered in temperature — warm subjects glow orange and red, cool ones sit in blue and black. The practical implication for advertising: infrared can make things visible that a standard camera can't show.

Nike – Therma-Sphere Max

Shot on a FLIR SC8313 HD thermal camera, featuring NFL receiver Victor Cruz

Used to launch Nike's Therma-Sphere Max cold-weather training gear

Thermal footage showed the garment retaining heat against Cruz's body during high-speed training, making the insulation performance visible on camera

Thermal and standard footage blended throughout

Hyundai – Sonata Turbo (2015)

Shot on a FLIR SC8313

Thermal footage of the car racing through city streets — engine, exhaust, and braking system visible as heat signatures

Used for visual impact rather than product demonstration

Quaker Oats – "Share the Warmth" (UK, 2024)

Live thermal cameras mounted to JCDecaux bus shelters in Kingston, UK

Scanned passersby in real time and displayed their heat signatures on the shelter screen

A live temperature widget overlaid the feed; coupon values changed based on outdoor temperature — the colder the day, the bigger the discount

Drove measurable attention and bottom-funnel action per campaign results

Fiftyfifty + Havas Germany – "Winter in Germany" (2022)

Created for German homeless charity fiftyfifty

Thermal photography of unhoused people in Düsseldorf during winter

Warm pedestrians appear orange and red; homeless individuals, exposed to the cold for extended periods, have lost enough body heat to blend into the cool blue surroundings

Used infrared as a way to visualise vulnerability rather than warmth

Coors Light – "Cold As The Rockies" (Canada, June 2026)

Shot entirely on a thermal camera by agency Rethink

Summer scenes rendered in oranges and reds, with the Coors Light can appearing cold blue — a reference to the brand's colour-changing mountains

Running across META and OOH in Canada from June 1st

What These Have in Common

In each case, the thermal camera was used because it could show something a standard camera couldn't:

Nike used it to show heat retention inside a garment

Quaker used it to show body heat loss in cold weather, in real time

Fiftyfifty used it to show the physical effects of prolonged cold exposure on unhoused people

Coors used it to show cold as a visible property of their product

On the Technology

Most of the work cited here was shot on FLIR SC-series cameras — the SC8313 and SC8303 in particular

Both offer HD thermal resolution and support blending infrared and visible light footage in post

FLIR (now Teledyne FLIR) is the dominant hardware supplier for professional media use

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Canadian Work

Pretty Badass - out of Courage for Sephora & the Toronto Tempo: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZDNINmRUmJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==

Directed by Fiona Jane Burgess out of Merchant, stills shot bu Nikki Ormerod of Undivided.

Starring

Marina Mabrey

Kiki Rice

Nyara Sabally

Isabelle Harrison

Temi Fágbénlé

& head coach Sandy Brondello x Ep. 6: VIP special - Coach on the Couch - Sandy Brondello

Sephora Canada and the Toronto Tempo Redefine Beauty with ‘Pretty Badass’ Platform

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Canadian Work

Ikea Canada

Launch of its third instalment of spots from a campaign originally started in Jun 2025.

They say 'Ih' when there's a problem, 'Ké' when considering a solution, and 'Ah' when they're satisfied with the result. This staccato delivery transforms three instinctive local reactions into a memorable brand mnemonic.

Agency: Rethink

Prod Co: Nova Films

Director: François Lallier

DP: Francois Gamache (CSC)

Billingual + Quebec based.

Reccuring collaborators - this is a team we have seen before.

Past work: General Motors, Desjardins, Hydro-Québec, Loto-Québec, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Le Lait, Egg Farmers of Canada, A&W, Coors Light, No Frills, DOORDASH, Volkswagen, Canac, and the SAQ.

His cinematography for the SAAQ Clic and SAAQ Zombie campaigns earned him double nominations at the 2025 IDEA Awards.

Production Designer: Jessie Dumaresq

Billingual + Quebec based

Frequent collaborators

Past work: Canac, SAAQ, Desjardins, Familiprix, IKEA, DoorDash, CAA, Mondou, Tanguay, Loto-Québec, Érable du Québec etc.

These were builds

5 locations + 1 ikea = 4 builds + 2 on location

Stylist: Maude Belise

Bilingual + Quebec based

Loto Quebec throwback

Casting: Brigitte Viau

Montreal based agency with 25+ years in the buisness

Publicité, télévision, cinéma.

Down the line commercial comedy casting

The POV headcam in action... A simple solution.

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Recouver in Vancouver for Destination Vancouver out of Rethink, out of Untitled Films and directed by Aleysa Young

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/darling-vfx_recouver-in-vancouver-patrick-samaniego-ugcPost-7464702648408129536-qfnJ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAACFT-_EBFlGxoeb6VdVEyYDOsvskoX3ndx4

Agency: Rethink

Production: Untitled Films Director: Aleysa Young  Line Producer: John Scarth  DOP: Byron Kopman - https://www.instagram.com/byronkopman/ repped by Sesler

Editorial: Saints Editorial

Colour and VFX: Darling VFX

Untitled Films

Untitled Films is one of the leading commercial film production companies in Canada and has now been producing world-class commercial conten

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Canadian Work

Canadian Centre for Child Protection - You Would Do Anything

Client: Canadian Centre for Child Protection 

Agency: NFA 

Director: Luke Nairn 

Production Company: Felon 

DOP: John Ker

Worked with The Salmon + We The Grimshaws for this Bell Spot

Creatives: Jamie Marcovitch - ECD + Ryan Lawrence - ACD

Song: I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That) by Meat Loaf 

They based the spot off the song, a jumping off point 

The track was donated for free by the estate of the songwriter 

Casting: NFA turned to their family and friends as the on-screen talent 

Director: Luke Nairn, directed this spot for free 

Media: Media Agency, The 2045 Collective, is covering the costs of a large portion of the media, including digital ads targeted around government buildings across Canada, as well as broadcast TV, streaming TV, social, and digital

NFA x C3P Ongoing Collaboration - Past Work:

Safe Spaces - 2024

The Horse - 2023

Unwanted Followers - 2022

Happy 15th Birthday Twitter - 2021

Directed by Dylan Maranda 

Arachnid - 2017

The purpose of this specific spot is to urge the Canadian Government to enact legislation and hold tech companies accountable to protect children online, something they’ve been trying for the past 9 years

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Canadian Work (throwback)

Subway - Fresh Like That

Dentsu | Animals | Christopher Brown LINK: https://lbbonline.com/work/169853

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Casting

Project Alpha for Westpac out of Goldilocks, out of Scoundrel directed by Daniel Warwick

https://shotsvault.extremereach.com/src/source/spot-detail/512435

Hero - The everyday protagonist

4 leads kick off the spot, 30s–50s age range, Warm, non-aspirational casting, Strong micro-expression talent, Likely mixed-heritage

~50 bg / 'people' to make the chopper w 4 reaction people whilst building

Kid with the reaction at the end that goes to take the photo of the chopper

Warwick's comedy background means he gravitates toward performers who can carry warmth and light comic timing simultaneously.

His heroes tend to work by understatement: a micro-beat of recognition, a slightly-too-long pause.

The 16mm shooting format is an active casting decision. 16mm grain rewards texture in human faces and punishes anything that reads as "performed." This shifts the entire casting brief toward authenticity over polish, from hero down to background.

Warwick notes on shoots that the director–performer alignment is "spiritually" important, tone chemistry is as critical as individual performance.

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Casting - Ensemble

Rimowa - Run It Back

LINK: https://lbbonline.com/work/168920

Part of a larger series of 3 commercials from luggage company Rimowa, showing how their luggage can keep up with the hustle and bustle of a jazz lifestyle. It tells the intergenerational story of a trumpet being passed down from father to son, and the son trying to make a name for himself inspired by that legacy.

Agency was GUT Amsterdam, and produced by Smuggler under director Pantera.

Casting was handled by Kharmel Cochrane, who has been discussed on this page before! As a refresher she has done casting for films like the Drama, “Wuthering Heights”, Saltburn and Nosferatu. Her commercial style is grounded and street level, making her a great fit for this spot.

HERO:

This spot hinges on the fact that we feel what the trumpet player is going through, and I think it really pulls it off. The spot exists largely in closeups or in shots where he is the centre, so a strong performance brings the whole piece together.

Grifton Forbes-Amos plays the lead, and he is a musician/model. I think his experience in music was a great pull, as it means he can connect with the piece authentically. Also more obviously, means he can just play all the parts himself!

REACTION OCP:

This spot builds out its world in small moments, giving us brief glimpses to his band, his friends and those working around him.

It helps give perspective on those helping him reach where he is, and shows that as much it is his story, he can’t make it alone.

FEATURED EXTRAS / EXTRAS: 50+

So much of this spot takes place in transit. It’s trying to convey how he is heading somewhere, trying to reach a place but not quite being there yet. The crowded extra filled street shots help to sell the idea of motion and chaos. It keeps everything in constant motion, and sells the size and scope of the world he’s in.

Bonus Detail

The music for this spot was written by musician and producer Theo Crocker!

Here’s a link to how he did it