When the Genie Awards are handed out on March 21, the question likely to be asked by cinephiles across English Canada is: What are the chances that more of the Quebec films being honoured will hit multiplex screens outside of French Canada?
The fact that even the most ardent film enthusiasts in Toronto or Vancouver may not have heard of some of the most praised Quebec films this year seems a shame, since Quebec cinema, like last year, was a key presence at the announcement of the 2005 Genie nominees in Toronto yesterday.
Ma vie en cin émascope, Mémoires affectives (Looking for Alexander) and the francophone international co-production Le s Triplettes de Belleville (The Triplets of Belleville) were all nominated for best picture.
Only two English-language films, the small-budget comedy Love, Sex & Eating the Bones and the Canadian co-production Being Julia, made it onto the list for best picture. Similarly, Quebec films dominated the list for best leading actress, earning four out of five nominations, and the nominees for best leading actor, where the ratio of French to English was three to two.
Two highly praised performances shown during yesterday's Genie Awardsannouncement included Pascale Bussières's portrayal of the internationally popular, though troubled Quebec singer Alys Robi in Ma vie en cinémascope and Roy Dupuis as an amnesiac piecing together his life in Mémoires affectives.
"I really believe that it was another exceptional year for Quebec cinema. It's reflected in their box office and critical accolades," said Paul Gratton, chairman of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, which administers the Genie Awards.
But, he added, "It's going to be a little bit more interesting this year, because I don't think you have an obvious choice [to win best picture]like The Barbarian Invasions last year. There's going to be some coin flipping that'll go on between the three main Quebec movies. They're all equally strong and anchored by strong, central performances."
Another theme for this year's 25th anniversary Genie Awards was the strong showing by small, independent films, such as first-time feature-film director Sudz Sutherland's Love, Sex & Eating the Bones, a comedy about a photographer, who also works as a part-time security guard, trying to overcome an addiction to pornography. In addition to its nod for best picture, Sutherland was nominated for best director and best original screenplay.
When the film's nominations were announced, it drew a happy gasp of surprise from some attending the Genie press conference, for this was such a small film, promoted on such a grassroots level, that its filmmakers even offered a money-back guarantee at one point if any audience member didn't like the film, Gratton noted.
Other small movies among the nominatees include director Jerry Ciccoritti's experimental, digital-video adaptation of the Tom Walmsley play Blood, which is up for best adapted screenplay and with Emily Hampshire nominated for best leading actress, for her role as a brooding, manipulative addict. Meanwhile, veteran British actor Ian McKellen was nominated for best leading actor for his role in Carl Bessai's Victoria, B.C.-shot film E mile, about a professor returning to Canada to reconnect with his family.
The Genie nominations also showed the increasing presence of international co-productions within Canadian cinema. Being Julia and The Triplets of Belleville, for instance, both made by a multinational mix of filmmakers, indicated how borderless filmmaking, and particularly film financing, has become. Meanwhile, the Charlize Theron/Penelope Cruz vehicle, Head in the Clouds, partly shot in Montreal, received seven nominations in various technical categories, from best achievement in cinematography to best sound.
This year's Genies will be broadcast for the second year by CHUM on its various stations and cable networks across Canada. Sticking to last year's Golden Globe-style format, with the stars seated at tables in front of the stage, this year's award show will be hosted by SCTV alumna Andrea Martin.
Top 2005 Genie nominations
Best Motion Picture
Being Julia -- Robert Lantos
(producer)
Love, Sex & Eating the Bones -- Jennifer Holness (producer)
Ma vie en cinémascope -- Denise Robert, Daniel Louis (producers)
Looking for Alexander -- Barbara Shrier (producer)
The Triplets of Belleville -- Paul
Cadieux (producer)
Performance by an actress
in a leading role
Isabelle Blais -- Love and Magnets
Céline Bonnier -- Machine Gun Molly
Pascale Bussières -- Ma vie
en cinémascope
Emily Hampshire -- Blood
Jacinthe Lagüe -- The Five of Us Performance by an actor
in a leading role
Michel Coté -- The Last Tunnel
Roy Dupuis -- Looking for
Alexander
David La Haye -- Nouvelle-France
Ian McKellen -- Emile
Nick Stahl -- Twist Performance by an actress
in a supporting role
Juliette Gosselin -- Nouvelle-France
Jennifer Jason Leigh -- Childstar
Sylvie Moreau -- Love and
Magnets
Ellen Page -- Wilby Wonderful
Susana Salazar -- A Silent Love Performance by an actor
in a supporting role
Gary Farmer -- Twist
Brendan Fehr -- Sugar
Bruce Greenwood -- Being Julia
Jean Lapointe -- The Last Tunnel
Kyle MacLachlan -- Touch of Pink Achievement in direction
Denise Filiatrault -- Ma vie
en cinémascope
Pierre Houle -- Machine Gun Molly
Bronwen Hughes -- Stander
Francis Leclerc -- Looking
for Alexander
David (Sudz) Sutherland -- Love, Sex & Eating the Bones Original screenplay
Denise Filiatrault -- Ma vie
en cinémascope
Federico Hidalgo, Paulina Robles -- A Silent Love
Francis Leclerc, Marcel Beaulieu -- Looking for Alexander
Don McKellar, Michael Goldbach -- Childstar
David (Sudz) Sutherland -- Love, Sex & Eating the Bones Adapted screenplay
Joël Champetier, Daniel Roby -- White Skin
Jerry Ciccoritti -- Blood
Luc Dionne, Sylvain Guy --
Machine Gun Molly
Todd Klinck, Jaie Laplante, John Palmer -- Sugar
Jacob Tierney -- Twist Achievement in cinematography
Louis de Ernsted -- Nouvelle-France
Bernard Couture -- The Last
Tunnel
Pierre Mignot -- Ma vie
en cinémascope
Paul Sarossy -- Head in the Clouds
André Turpin -- Childstar Achievement in editing
Jean-François Bergeron -- The Last Tunnel
Richard Comeau -- The Five of Us
Dominique Fortin -- Head in the Clouds
Reginald Harkema -- Childstar
Yvann Thibodeau -- Ma vie
en cinémascope Achievement in music
-- original score
Benoit Charest -- The Triplets
of Belleville
Michel Corriveau -- The Last
Tunnel
Pierre Duchesne -- Looking
for Alexander
Terry Frewer -- Head in the Clouds
Charles Papasoff -- So the Moon Rises Achievement in music
-- original song
Rebecca Jenkins -- Wilby
Wonderful -- "Something's
Coming"
Kyprios -- Childstar -- "Ignorance is Beautiful (Help Me)"
Luc Plamondon, Patrick Doyle -- Nouvelle-France -- "Ma Nouvelle France"
Ron Proulx, Jacob Tierney -- Twist -- "Pantaloon in Black"
Lorraine Richard, Michel Cusson, Pierre Houle -- Machine Gun Molly -- "Le Blues de Monica" Achievement in art direction
or production design
André-Line Beauparlant -- Camping Sauvage
Jean Bécotte -- The Last Tunnel
Jonathan Lee, Gilles Aird -- Head in the Clouds
Michel Proulx -- Machine
Gun Molly
Jean-Baptiste Tard -- Nouvelle-France