Quebec and Croneberg lead Genies

Café de Flore leads the field competing in the 32nd annual Genie Awards with a total of 13 nominations, including best picture and director. The film marks a virtuosic return to form for C.R.A.Z.Y director Jean-Marc Vallée after his rather subdued work-for-hire, The Young Victoria. By vaulting ahead of the pack in the Genie nominations, which were announced today, Vallée wins some vindication after being repeatedly upstaged  by Philippe Falardeau’s Monsieur Lazhar—which won TIFF’s $30,000 award for best Canadian feature, the Toronto Film Critics Association’s $15,000 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award—and was picked as Canada’s official submission slot at the Oscars for best foreign-language film. Monsieur Lazhar ranked third among the Genie nominations, scoring in eight categories, behind David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method, which received 11 nominations.

The big shock among the nominees was that Take This Waltz, the star-studded second feature from writer-director Sarah Polley received just two nominations—best actress for Michelle Williams and best make-up. That’s extraordinary given the depth of talent in the cast (Seth Rogen, Luke Kirby, Sarah Silverman) and the fact that Polley’s sensational feature debut, Away From Her, won seven Genies and received two Oscar nominations.

The Genies’ top three Canadian features—the same trio chosen by the TFCA—reveals once again the traditional strength of Quebec cinema compared to its English Canadian counterpart. The most nominated English Canadian films are, curiously, all co-productions: A Dangerous Method and The Whistleblower (which scored six nominations) are both German co-pros. The Bang Bang Club, with seven nominations, is a  South African co-pro.

It’s also worth noting that all these films are set outside Canada and based on true stories of non-Canadian characters. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.)  A Dangerous Method is about Jung, Freud and the birth of psychoanalysis; The Bang Bang Club is about photojournalists braving the front lines in the last days of apartheid; and The Whistleblower, which premiered at TIFF 2010,  makes a heroine of Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska cop who served as a peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia and outed the U.N. for covering up a sex scandal.

By contrast, writer-director Nathan Morlando’s impressive feature debut, Edwin Boyd, could not be more Canadian. The film, which received five Genie nominations, is based on the true story of a notorious Toronto bank robber who became a folk hero before his eventual arrest in 1952.

Here is the full list of Genie nominations:

BEST MOTION PICTURE

A DANGEROUS METHOD – Martin Katz, Marco Mehlitz, Jeremy Thomas
CAFÉ DE FLORE – Pierre Even, Marie-Claude Poulin, Jean-Marc Vallée
MONSIEUR LAZHAR – Luc Déry, Kim McCraw
STARBUCK – André Rouleau
THE WHISTLEBLOWER – Christina Piovesan, Celine Rattray

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION

JEAN BÉCOTTE – Funkytown
AIDAN LEROUX, ROB HEPBURN – Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster
JAMES MCATEER – A Dangerous Method
PATRICE VERMETTE – Café de Flore
EMELIA WEAVIND – The Bang Bang Club

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

MIROSLAW BASZAK, C.S.C. – The Bang Bang Club
PIERRE COTTEREAU – Café de Flore
JON JOFFIN – Daydream Nation
JEAN-FRANÇOIS LORD – Snow & Ashes
RONALD PLANTE – Monsieur Lazhar

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN

DENISE CRONENBERG – A Dangerous Method
FARNAZ KHAKI-SADIGH – Afghan Luke
GINETTE MAGNY, EMMANUELLE YOUCHNOVSKI – Café de Flore
HEATHER NEALE – Keyhole
MARIE-CHANTALE VAILLANCOURT – Funkytown

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION

DAVID CRONENBERG – A Dangerous Method
STEVEN SILVER – The Bang Bang Club
JEAN-MARC VALLÉE – Café de Flore
PHILIPPE FALARDEAU – Monsieur Lazhar
LARYSA KONDRACKI – The Whistleblower

ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING

JEAN-FRANÇOIS BERGERON – The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom
MICHAEL CZARNECKI – In Darkness
PATRICK DEMERS – Jaloux
STÉPHANE LAFLEUR – Monsieur Lazhar
RONALD SANDERS, C.C.E. A.C.E. – A Dangerous Method

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKE-UP

CHRISTIANE FATTORI, FRÉDÉRIC MARIN – Café de Flore
AMBER MAKAR – Amazon Falls
VIRGINIE PARÉ – BumRush
TAMMY LOU PATE – Snow & Ashes
LESLIE ANN SEBERT, DAVID R. BEECROFT – Take This Waltz

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC – ORIGINAL SCORE

RAMACHANDRA BORCAR – Jaloux
MYCHA
MARTIN LÉON – Monsieur Lazhar
PHILIP MILLER – The Bang Bang Club
HOWARD SHORE – A Dangerous Method

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC – ORIGINAL SONG

JAY BRANNAN – Cloudburst – My Love My Love
CAROLE FACAL – Starbuck – Quelque part
MALAJUBE – Good Neighbours – Oeil pour Oeil
STEVEN PAGE – French Immersion – A Different Sort of Solitude
JEAN ROBITAILLE, STEVE GALLUCCIO – Funkytown – Waiting for your Touch

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

FELLAG – Monsieur Lazhar
GARRET DILLAHUNT – Oliver Sherman
MICHAEL FASSBENDER – A Dangerous Method
PATRICK HUARD – Starbuck
SCOTT SPEEDMAN – Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

ANTOINE BERTRAND – Starbuck
KEVIN DURAND – Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster
MARIN GERRIER – Café de Flore
TAYLOR KITSCH – The Bang Bang Club
VIGGO MORTENSEN – A Dangerous Method

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

CATHERINE DE LÉAN – Nuit #1
PASCALE MONTPETIT – The Girl in the White Coat
VANESSA PARADIS – Café de Flore
RACHEL WEISZ – The Whistleblower
MICHELLE WILLIAMS – Take This Waltz

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

ROXANA CONDURACHE – The Whistleblower
HÉLÈNE FLORENT – Café de Flore
JULIE LEBRETON – Starbuck
SOPHIE NÉLISSE – Monsieur Lazhar
CHARLOTTE SULLIVAN – Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster

ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND

STÉPHANE BERGERON, YANN CLEARY, LISE WEDLOCK – Marécages / Wetlands
PIERRE BERTRAND, SHAUN NICHOLAS GALLAGHER, BERNARD GARIÉPY STROBL – Monsieur Lazhar
JEAN MINONDO, JOCELYN CARON, GAVIN FERNANDES, LOUIS GIGNAC – Café de Flore
LOU SOLAKOFSKI, STEPHAN CARRIER, KIRK LYNDS – The Bang Bang Club
OREST SUSHKO, CHRISTIAN COOKE – A Dangerous Method

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING

FRED BRENNAN, JAMES BASTABLE, GABE KNOX, JOHN SIEVERT – You Are Here
CLAUDE BEAUGRAND, OLIVIER CALVERT, NATALIE FLEURANT, FRANCINE POIRIER – Marécages / Wetlands
WAYNE GRIFFIN, ROB BERTOLA, TONY CURRIE, ANDY MALCOLM, MICHAEL O’FARRELL – A Dangerous Method
MARTIN PINSONNAULT, BLAISE BLANCHIER, SIMON MEILLEUR, MIREILLE MORIN, LUC RAYMOND – Café de Flore
JEREMY MACLAVERTY, DANIEL PELLERIN, GEOFF RAFFAN, JAN RUDY, JOHN SIEVERT, JAMES MARK STEWART – In Darkness

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

ANNE ÉMOND – Nuit #1
EILIS KIRWAN, LARYSA KONDRACKI – The Whistleblower
KEN SCOTT, MARTIN PETIT – Starbuck
JEAN-MARC VALLÉE – Café de Flore
RYAN WARD, MATTHEW HEITI – Son of the Sunshine

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY / MEILLEURE ADAPTATION

PHILIPPE FALARDEAU – Monsieur Lazhar
RYAN REDFORD – Oliver Sherman
DAVID SHAMOON – In Darkness
STEVEN SILVER – The Bang Bang Club

ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS

DENNIS BERARDI, MATHEW BORNETT, MIKE BORRETT, WILSON CAMERON, OVI CINAZIN, JASON EDWARDH, OLIVER HEARSEY, JIM PRICE, MILAN SCHERE, WOLCIECH ZIELINSKI – A Dangerous Method
ÉVE BRUNET, JACQUES LÉVESQUE, PHILIPPE ROBERGE – Snow & Ashes
MARC CÔTÉ, STÉPHANIE BROUSSAUD, GARY CHUNTZ, VINCENT DUDOUET, CYNTHIA MOUROU, ERIC NORMANDIN, MARTIN PENSA, LUC SANFAÇON, SYLVAIN THÉROUX, NATHALIE TREMBLAY – Café de Flore
GEOFFROY LAUZON – BumRush
TOM TURNBULL, IAN BRITTON, ROBERT CROWTHER, TONY CYBULSKI – Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster

BEST FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY

BEAUTY DAY – Jay Cheel, Kristina McLaughlin, Kevin McMahon, Roman Pizzacalla
FAMILY PORTRAIT IN BLACK AND WHITE – Julia Ivanova, Boris Ivanov
THE GUANTANAMO TRAP – Thomas Wallner, Amit Breuer, Patrick Crowe
LA NUIT, ELLES DANSENT / AT NIGHT, THEY DANCE – Isabelle Lavigne, Stéphane Thibault, Lucie Lambert
WIEBO’S WAR – David York, Nick Hector, C.C.E., Bryn Hughes, Bonnie Thompson

BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY

75 WATTS – John Cullen
DERAILMENTS – Chelsea McMullan
SIRMILIK – Zacharias Kunuk, Joel McConvey, Kristina McLaughlin, Kevin McMahon, Michael McMahon, Geoff Morrison, Ryan J. Noth

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA

DOUBLES WITH SLIGHT PEPPER – Ian Harnarine
HOPE – Pedro Pires, Phoebe Greenberg, Penny Mancuso
ORA – René Chénier, Philippe Baylaucq
LA RONDE – Élaine Hébert, Sophie Goyette

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

CHOKE – Michelle Latimer
LA CITÉ ENTRE LES MURS / INNER CITY – Alain Fournier
MUYBRIDGE’S STRINGS – Koji Yamamura, Michael Fukushima, Shuzo John Shiota, Keisuke Tsuchihashi
ROMANCE – Georges Schwizgebel, René Chénier, Marc Bertrand
WILD LIFE – Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby, Marcy Page, Bonnie Thompson

Follow Brian D. Johnson on Twitter: @briandjohnson