Canadian Film Toasts Itself At 30th Annual Genie Awards

A film that revisits the Montreal Massacre, an urban love story centred around a nurse with sickle cell anemia and a horror flick about a virus which infects a small Ontario town are all up for statuettes at the 30th Annual Genie Awards.

Filmmakers, actors, screenwriters and the like will gather at the Guvernment on Monday night, hoping for their chance to thank the Academy – the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, that is.

“This year’s nominations reflect a national cinema that is courageous in its storytelling,” ACCT CEO Sara Morton said when the nominees were announced last month.

”They are films created from the wealth of cultures, communities, and historical moments that make up the Canadian identity. As the Genie Awards celebrate its 30th anniversary, these nominees will remind us of why it is as important as ever to celebrate and cherish the best of Canadian film.”

Leading the pack with 11 nominations is Polytechnique, dubbed “unnerving” and “starkly beautiful” by CityNews. Close behind are Nurse.Fighter.Boy  (ten nominations), Before Tomorrow (nine), Grande Ourse: La clé des possibles / The Master Key (eight) and Fifty Dead Men Walking (seven).

Canadian film legend Gordon Pinsent and actress Tatiana Maslany will co-host the ceremony, which will be broadcast live on the web at 9pm.

---

Here is a partial list of the nominees:

BEST MOTION PICTURE
3 Saisons
Before Tomorrow
Fifty Dead Men Walking
Nurse.Fighter.Boy
Polytechnique

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION
Marie-Helene Cousineau, Madeline Piujuq Ivalu –  Before Tomorrow
Kari Skogland – Fifty Dead Men Walking
Charles Officer – Nurse.Fighter.Boy
Denis Villeneuve – Polytechnique
Bruce McDonald – Pontypool

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jean-Carl Boucher – 1981
Paul Dylan Ivalu – Before Tomorrow
Joshua Jackson – One Week
Clark Johnson – Nurse.Fighter.Boy
Stephen McHattie – Pontypool

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Patrick Drolet – De père en flic / Father and Guns
John Dunsworth – Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day
Maxim Gaudette – Polytechnique
Remy Girard – De père en flic / Father and Guns
Scott Speedman – Adoration

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Madeline Piujuq Ivalu – Before Tomorrow
Karen Leblanc – Nurse.Fighter.Boy
Carinne Leduc – 3 Saisons
Gabrielle Rose – Mothers&Daughters
Karine Vanasse – Polytechnique

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Liane Balaban – One Week
Marie Brassard – Les grandes chaleurs / Heat Wave
Martha Burns – Love & Savagery
Isabel Richer – Babine
Sonia Vachon – 5150, rue des Ormes / 5150 Elm’s Way

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Atom Egoyan – Adoration
Émile Gaudreault, Ian Lauzon – De père en flic / Father and Guns
Charles Officer, Ingrid Veninger – Nurse.Fighter. Boy
Jacques Davidts – Polytechnique
David Bezmozgis – Victoria Day

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Marie-Helene Cousineau, Susan Avingaq, Madeline Piujuq Ivalu – Before Tomorrow
Kari Skogland – Fifty Dead Men Walking
Tony Burgess – Pontypool

BEST FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY
A Hard Name
Les dames en bleu / Ladies in Blue – Claude Demers
Inside Hana’s Suitcase
Prom Night in Mississippi
RIP: A Remix Manifesto

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY
The Delian Mode
Passages
Petropolis: Aerial Perspectives on the Alberta Tar Sands

For the full list (PDF), click here.