Alternative Film Guide

Last night, the Canadian Academy’s Genie Awards ceremony proved itself no more and no less prone to inane outcomes than those of other film academies the world over. Nine Genies went to the Québécois hockey biopic Maurice Richard / The Rocket, including awards for best director (Charles Binamé), best actor (Roy Dupuis), best actress (Julie Le Breton), and best editing (Michel Arcand). Canadian Academy-ites, however, opted for the bilingual comedy-thriller Bon Cop, Bad Cop as best Canadian film of 2006.

Whether Bon Cop, Bad Cop is bon or bad, I don’t know as I haven’t seen the film. But one would expect that the "best Canadian film of 2006" would have received top honors in another category other than best sound. In any case, no one will be able to accuse the Canadian Academy of being an elitist body that favors obscure films — at least until next year.

Bon Cop, Bad Cop is the biggest homemade box-office smash in Canada’s history, and one more piece of evidence proving that le cinéma Québécois is the engine propelling the Canadian film industry. In fact, Quebec-made films seem to be not only the engine, but the whole train.

In addition to Bon Cop, Bad Cop and Maurice Richard, other films out of Quebec that earned Genies last night include Robert Favreau’s Un dimanche à Kigali / A Sunday in Kigali, which won the best original screenplay award (for Favreau and Gil Courtemanche); Congorama, chosen best adapted screenplay (Philippe Falardeau); and Sans elle / Without Her, winner of the best score award (for Jean Robitaille). Note: Four of the five best film nominees came out of Quebec.

The winners of Quebec’s Prix Jutra will be announced on Feb. 18. Don’t expect Maurice Richard to win anything. The hockey film was included in last year’s Jutra shortlist, though it lost in every category, mostly to the local box-office sensation C.R.A.Z.Y. This Québécois drama about a young gay man growing up in the Montreal of the 1960s and 1970s also swept the 2006 Genies.

Le cinéma Québécois rules. Why? It helps to have a generous government willing to support the arts — and it helps to speak French. Instead of being swallowed whole by mega-budgeted Hollywood trash so beloved by the braindead everywhere, the Quebec film industry has been able to create its own highly successful cultural identity — or "identities," considering the variety of locally produced films. As they say, Vive la difference…

More details on the films mentioned above can be found in the 2007 Genie nominations article.

Full list of 2007 Genie Award winners and nominees

Full list of 2006 Genie Award winners and nominees

Full list of 2005 Genie Award winners and nominees

2007 Jutra Awards winners - Article

 

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