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‘Monsieur Lazhar’ wins at the Genies, but top acting prizes go to non-Canadians
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Wide Screen
Canucks may have come up a little short at the Oscars this year, but the Canadian film industry can always count on the Genies. The annual Genie Awards took place in Toronto on Thursday night, recognizing the best in Canadian cinema.
The brisk, hour-long show dispensed with the pleasantries and gave out a total of 22 awards in short order, but that still didn't stop host George Stroumboulopoulos from doing his best to keep the night interesting.
Despite not being nominated for the most awards, the big winner of the night was Philippe Falardeau's "Monsieur Lazhar." The moving film tells the story of Algerian refugee Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag), a Montreal substitute teacher who helps a class come to terms with a terrible tragedy while dealing with his own troubled past. The Quebecois film took home six Genies, including Best Motion Picture, Achievement in Direction, and Best Performance by a Leading Actor.
The Best Motion Picture Genie is the second consecutive win for a Quebecois film, but director Falardeau humbly praised his fellow nominees and called it a win for all Canadian cinema. "Monsieur Lazhar" was Canada's official submission in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars this year, but lost to Iran's "A Separation." The Oscar nomination all but guaranteed a strong showing for the film at the Genies.
"Monsieur Lazhar" also claimed the most adorable moment of the night when 11-year-old Sophie Nélisse claimed the Best Supporting Actress trophy for her role in the film.
Rounding out the top of the pack was David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method." Cronenberg's star-studded story about the relationship between psychiatrists Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) was nominated for 11 awards and took home three, most notably a Best Supporting Actor win for Mortensen and the Best Original Score trophy for composer Howard Shore. Mortensen, a huge hockey fan, dedicated his award to the NHL's Montreal Canadiens, draping the Genie with a Habs flag onstage to massive cheers from the crowd.
But perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was the poor showing of Jean-Marc Vallée's "Cafe de Flore." The film came into the Genies with 13 nominations but went home with only three. The film won the Best Makeup and Visual Effects award, while French actress Vanessa Paradis (former companion of Johnny Depp) snagged the coveted Best Actress award. Vallée's film "C.R.A.Z.Y." swept the 2006 Genie Awards, but a repeat was just not in the offing.
It's interesting to note that all of the major acting awards at the Genies this year (save for "Monsieur Lazhar's" Sophie Nélisse) were given to non-Canadian actors. Fellag, Paradis, and Mortensen's respective wins were all well-deserved, but with so much great homegrown talent in the running as well, it sort of felt like the Genies were awarding star power over actual performance.
It's no coincidence that many of the most notable Canadian films in recent years -- particularly the English-language ones -- have featured top-tier international talent. The sad reality for the industry is that non-Canadian star power is sometimes the only way a Canadian film can get funding these days.
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