Barney’s Version and Incendies lead Genie nominations

Both films are hugely popular, both films are nominated for best picture and both have also received nominations in the upcoming Oscar race.

After the Toronto press conference announcing the Genie nominees, Barney’s Version co-producer Ari Lantos told Screen: “It’s been a long road, and to be recognised by our countrymen and colleagues here is what it’s all about. Recognition abroad is fantastic, but this is a film about Canadians, so to receive 11 nominations is very satisfying.”

Richard J Lewis (Barney’s Version) and Denis Villeneuve (Incendies) will go head-to-head in that category. However Incendies was shut out of the lead actor category while Paul Giamatti, who recently won the Golden Globe for Barney’s Version, tipped the scales in overall nods.

Giamatti said: “I am absolutely bowled over to be nominated like this. As an American lucky enough to have been in such a great, distinctly Canadian film, it is a tremendous honour to be recognised.”

Producer Robert Lantos’ Toronto-based Serendipity Point Films co-produced with Quebec on Barney’s Version– which also happens to be a Montreal story based on the late Mordecai Richler’s book of the same name – so across the board, Quebec is once again poised to steal the Genies show no matter which film dominates.

Quebec producer Pierre Gendron’s 10 1/2, Xavier Dolan’s Les Amours Imaginaires and sci-fi film Splice rounded out best film category. The directing category is flushed out by Quebec’s Dolan, Vincenzo Natali and Podz.

Villeneuve cleaned up last year, taking home nine trophies for Polytechnique, a tough fiction tale about the actual Montreal massacre.

Today, Villeneuve’s Incendies just passed C$3m at the Quebec box office for Seville Pictures, an affiliate of eOne Entertainment, which will release the picture in English-speaking Canada later this year. Sony will release it in the US.

Nonetheless Don Carmody, who won his first Genie as producer of Villeneuve’s Polytechnique last year, will not go home empty-handed for Resident Evil: Afterlife, as he automatically picks up the Golden Reel Award for best Canadian box office last year. Evil took in C$7.02m in Canada and its worldwide box office of $280m also makes it the top-grossing Canadian film of all time, according to a release.

The Genies ceremony takes place in Ottawa on Mar 10.

The full list of nominations follows:

BEST MOTION PICTURE
10 ½ - Pierre Gendron
Les Amours Imaginaires - Xavier Dolan, Carole Mondello, Daniel Morin
Barney’s Version - Robert Lantos
Incendies - Luc Déry, Kim McCraw
Splice - Steven Hoban

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Jay Baruchel - The Trotsky
Paul Giamatti - Barney’s Version
Robert Naylor - 10 ½
Timothy Olyphant - High Life
François Papineau - Route 132

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Lubna Azabal – Incendies
Tatiana Maslany - Grown Up Movie Star
Molly Parker – Trigger
Rosamund Pike - Barney’s Version
Tracy Wright - Trigger

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN
Gilles Aird - 10 ½
Claude Paré, Élise De Blois - Barney’s Version
Myron Hyrak - Fubar II
André Line Beauparlant – Incendies
Arv Greywal - Resident Evil: Afterlife

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
Nicoletta Massone - Barney’s Version
Beverley Wowchuk – Gunless
DENISE CRONENBERG - Resident Evil: Afterlife
Mario Davignon - The Trotsky
Patricia Mcneil - The Wild Hunt

For a full list of winners visit www.academy.ca

• Cinemavault has acquired international rights to Gangsterland, the feature debut of Jepthe Bastien, which premiered at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal under the title Exit 67. On Wednesday [Feb 2] the Academy awarded it the Claude Jutra Award for outstanding achievement by a first-time director, chosen by the Genie nomination committee, a group comprised of Academy members, filmmakers, critics and industry professionals from across Canada.