Webby Award contenders include NFB docs, Obama social media

National Film Board of Canada web docs Here at Home and Bear 71 join online comedy series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and Barack Obama's social media election campaign on this year's list of nominees for the Webby Awards, dubbed the Oscars of the internet.

The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences has unveiled the nominees for the 2013 edition of the online honours, which celebrate excellence on the internet.

Canada's NFB,a perennial Webby favourite, earned a handful of nominations for its innovative, experimental andacclaimed web documentaryBear 71, a captivatingjourney through Banff National Park through the eyes of a tagged female grizzly bear.

Bear 71 garnered four nominations: best public service & activism video and best use of interactive video (online film & video section), best net art and best green website (in the websites section).

Here at Home, another noted NFB production thattracked (through short films and blogs) a compelling study that housed and offered treatment to homeless people in five Canadian cities, earned a Webby nod for best documentary series (online film & video).

Online projects by famous names are in the running for Webby honours, including Jerry Seinfeld's web comedy series Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee and the animated post-apocalyptic sci-fi series Electric City, created by producer and Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks.

Content tied to the U.S. presidential election earned nominations, including two for the Obama for America: For All Campaign (social media campaign and interactive advertising& media) and Girls creator Lena Dunham's tongue-in-cheek Obama endorsement video Your First Time.

Several dozen Canadian productions are in the running for Webbys, including nominations for ad agency DDB Canada, digital design firm Teehan+Lax and Radio Canada International's web series Democracy and Religions: From One Prayer to Another.

Now in its 17th year, The Webby Awards receive nearly 10,000 entries for consideration each year, from more than 60 countries around the globe. There are five overall categories: websites, interactive advertising & media, online film & video, mobile & apps and social. There are nearly 160 award subcategories altogether.

Organizers will unveil the winners on April 30. Each category has two winners: one chosen by designates of the academy and another chosen by thepublic through online voting.

Winners will be invited to accept their awardsand deliver one of the now-famed five-word Webby acceptance speeches at a ceremony broadcast online on May 22.