Roger Sterling, left, played by John Slattery, and Don Draper, played by Jon Hamm, are 1960 Madison Avenue ad agency reps in Manhattan, N.Y., in the period-drama Mad Men. (AMC/CTV) Roger Sterling, left, played by John Slattery, and Don Draper, played by Jon Hamm, are 1960 Madison Avenue ad agency reps in Manhattan, N.Y., in the period-drama Mad Men. (AMC/CTV) The British documentary The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall and stylish U.S. drama Mad Men were among the top winners at the Monte Carlo Television Festival's Golden Nymph Awards on Thursday, with CBC nabbing one of four news trophies presented at the gala.

The ceremony caps the 49th edition of the five-day, star-studded TV industry festival and conference, with awards presented in 27 categories.

The dramatized documentary The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall won four awards, including best television film, outstanding director (for Rowan Joffe), the SIGNIS Prize and the Monaco Red Cross Prize — the latter two special honours. The production tells the story of the British photography student and activist who was shot in the head by an Israeli sniper in 2003 while attempting to shield children in Gaza. After spending nine months in a coma, Hurndall died.

Acclaimed U.S. series Mad Men, a period drama following life at a fictional New York ad agency in the early 1960s, nabbed a trio of trophies, including outstanding international producer (drama) and acting honours for actors John Hamm and Christina Hendricks.

The corresponding comedy trophies went to French series Desperate Parents, which won outstanding international producer (comedy) and awards for stars Bruno Salomone and Valerie Bonneton.

Other notable winners included:

  • U.S. shows House, Desperate Housewives and The Bold and the Beautiful, which won for best drama, comedy and telenovela-soap opera, respectively, in the audience awards division.
  • Irish-made series The Tudors, which won for outstanding European producer (drama) and is broadcast in Canada by CBC.
  • Belgian exposé Damned of the Sea, which won the special prize of Prince Rainier III and explores overfishing and the clash between struggling Moroccan fishermen and massive fishing companies trawling in African waters.
CBC won for London-based correspondent Adrienne Arsenault's coverage of the 2008 Zimbabwe election. CBC won for London-based correspondent Adrienne Arsenault's coverage of the 2008 Zimbabwe election. (CBC)

CBC journalism awarded

CBC correspondent Adrienne Arsenault and cameraman Richard Devey were honoured with the award for best TV news item for coverage of the Zimbabwe election in 2008. Arsenault also served as one of the jurors for the news/current affairs categories.

The award for best 24-hour news program went to British broadcaster Sky News for its Mumbai attacks coverage.

The two news documentary recipients were Escaping North Korea (France) and China in a Torrent: The Patient Parade (Japan).

The complete list of the 2009 winners is on the festival website.

Canadians had also been in the running for several drama and comedy TV series awards:

  • The Wild Roses and The Border, both broadcast by CBC-TV, were nominees in the categories of outstanding international producer in drama, outstanding dramatic actor and outstanding dramatic actress.
  • Canadian actress Evangeline Lilly and her female co-stars from U.S. series Lost were also among the outstanding dramatic actress nominees.
  • Les Parent and Tout Sur Moi, both broadcast by Radio-Canada, were nominees in the categories of outstanding international producer in comedy, outstanding comedic actor and outstanding comedic actress.

Monaco's Prince Rainier III launched the festival in 1961 to "encourage a new form of artistic expression, in the service of peace and understanding for mankind." His son, Prince Albert II, became the festival's honorary president in 1988.