‘BlackBerry’ dominates at Canadian Screen Awards ahead of main event

TORONTO — For the first time in more than a decade, “BlackBerry” dominated on Thursday night — at least at a Canadian Screen Awards gala.

The satirical reimagining of the smartphone’s rise and fall won 11 of the 28 awards handed out at the industry event recognizing excellence in cinematic arts, including best adapted screenplay and achievement in casting and cinematography.

Glenn Howerton also nabbed the prize for best performance in a supporting role in a comedy for his portrayal of Jim Balsillie, the tech giant’s former CEO.

The film is still in contention for three prizes — best film, best director and best lead performance in a comedy — which will be handed out at a televised gala on Friday night.

It had received 17 nods, including two for best supporting performance, but lost the achievement in makeup and visual effects prizes to Brandon Cronenberg’s class warfare thriller “Infinity Pool” on Thursday.

Best original screenplay went to Ariane Louis-Seize and Christine Doyon for the French-language “Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person,” and the Golden Screen Award for the feature film with the biggest box office gross went to “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie,” which reportedly made US$202 million worldwide.

Earlier in the day, “Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. The World” led the pack at an industry gala that recognized excellence in documentary, factual, lifestyle and reality TV.

The Crave program took home six awards, including best direction, writing and picture editing.

Prime Video’s “Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe” was the other big winner this afternoon, taking home five awards that include best writing for a documentary and best direction for a documentary program.

“Broken – The Toxic Culture of Canadian Gymnastics,” which was on Crave, won best documentary program, while the streaming service’s “Thunder Bay” won both best factual series and best factual writing.

“The Marilyn Denis Show,” which wrapped up last year, was awarded best talk series, best direction of a lifestyle or information series and best host of a talk show or entertainment news.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2024.

Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press