Justice and goodness prevailed in Ottawa Thursday night – and when was the last time you could use those words in that order? – as Incendies beat Barney’s Version for Best Picture at the 31st Genie Awards.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television bestowed eight prizes – including Best Actress (Lubna Azabal), Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay – upon Denis Villeneuve’s critically acclaimed drama about a brother and sister investigating their mother’s past, while Richard J. Lewis’s adaptation of Mordecai Richler’s final novel brought home seven statuettes, including Best Actor (Paul Giamatti), Best Supporting Actor (Dustin Hoffman) and Best Supporting Actress (Minnie Driver).
Incendies also took Cinematography, Film Editing, Sound and Sound Editing, while Barney’s Version won for Art Direction, Costume Design, Make-Up and Original Score.
The two movies dominated the awards so thoroughly that only one other feature managed to bring home any awards. Jacob Tierney’s The Trotsky won Best Song, for Mary Milne’s Already Gone, and Best Original Screenplay. Shut out entirely were Trigger – thought to have a shot at a posthumous Best Actress prize for Tracy Wright’s final performance – Splice, Gunless, FUBAR II, The Wild Hunt, 10½, High Life, Grown Up Movie Star and Crackie, among others.
Best Documentary Feature went to Lixin Fan’s Last Train Home the NFB’s Lipsett Diaries was named Best Animated Short, and Lisa Jackson’s Savage won Best Live-Action Short Drama.
Resident Evil: Afterlife was given the Golden Reel Award, annually bestowed upon the highest-grossing Canadian production. It’s earned more than $7 million domestically, and $280 million worldwide.
The awards were handed out in Ottawa at the National Arts Centre in a ceremony hosted by William Shatner.
