Rebelle (War Witch) sweeps Canadian Screen Awards
Rebelle (War Witch), Montreal director Kim Nguyen’s intimate and compelling drama of an African child soldier, swept Sunday night’s inaugural edition of the Canadian Screen Awards, winning 10 of its 12 nominations. A week after the Oscars, where Rebelle inevitably lost to Amour for Best Foreign Language Film, this low budget Quebec feature triumphed over larger Canadian productions such as Midnight’s Children. And after being flown from the Democratic Republic of Congo to attend the Academy Awards, the film’s 16-year-old star, Rachel Mwanza, was on hand in Toronto to accept the CSA honour for best performance by an actress in a leading role. Mwanza, who made her acting debut in Rebelle, was a homeless street kid in Kinshasa when she was cast as 12-year-old Kimona, an orphan rape victim who tells her story to her unborn child.
Rebelle also won awards for director, original screenplay, supporting actor (Serge Kanyinda), cinematography, editing, production design and sound. That didn’t leave much for everyone else. James Cromwell took best lead actor for his role opposite Geneviève Bujold in Still Mine, its only award. Laurence Anyways, Xavier Dolan’s story of a teacher’s transsexual odyssey, won just two of its 10 nominations, for costumes and make-up. And of its eight nominations, Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children won two: Seema Biswas was named best supporting actress for Midnight’s Children, while screenwriter Salman Rushdie was awarded for adapting his own novel. David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis took best original song and score. And, as expected, Sarah Polley won the documentary feature prize for her acclaimed family memoir, Stories We Tell.
Hosted by Martin Short and broadcast live on CBC TV, the inaugural Canadian Screen Awards have melded film’s Genies and TV’s Geminis with the goal of creating a bigger, glitzier event. Short trotted out a trunk full of his beloved SCTV characters for the event—including Jiminy Glick, who dished out insults on the red carpet, and Ed Grimley, who puffed out his trouser-hoist paunch and said, “I look like Rob Ford from the back.” From his grand entrance on a swing to being cradled by Glenn Healey while giving a performance-art impression of bagpipes, Short gave a knock-out performance that put Oscar host Seth MacFarlane to shame.
Leading the TV winners were two shows that are now defunct: Flashpoint won for best dramatic series and its star, Erico Calontoni, was named best actor in a drama series, while Less Than Kind won for best comedy series, and best comedy actress (Wendy Meldrum), while Gerry D. (Mr. D) won for best comedy actor. Best actress in a dramatic series went to Meg Tilly for Bomb Girls.
The CBC led the field in news, variety and reality programming. Dragon’s Den was named best reality show, Peter Mansbridge the top news anchor, Brian Williams best sports host or analyst—and the man with the longest name, George Stroumboulopoulos, received the award with the longest title: Best Host in a Variety, Lifestyle, Reality/Competition, Performing Arts or Talk Program or Series.
The gala event, held at Toronto’s Sony Centre, had an electricity lacking at either the Genies or the Geminis. The mood was upbeat, as both the TV and film sides of the industry seemed to concur that, given the scarcity of Canadian glitz, joining forces was a good thing, although the marriage is not entirely harmonious. At the party after the show, film mogul Robert Lantos congratulated CEO Helga Stephenson, CEO of the Canadian Academy of Film and Television, for the event, but not without chiding her for letting the show climax with a TV award (for Flashpoint) rather than the prize for best film (Rebelle).
Well, film is traditionally the more prestigious medium, and at the Golden Globes the TV folk may still have to sit at the children’s table. But this Canada, where there is no star system except in television; our movie stars have mostly migrated to Hollywood. And for all last night’s inspirational hoopla, there’s still a sad disconnect between the industry and the audience that’s hard for any awards show to fix—last night’s biggest prizes went to TV shows that are off the air and movies that people haven’t seen.
Yet Martin Short did his best to make up for it, like a dynamo trying to generate his own one-man star system. An awards is only as good as its host. And as the Oscars reminded us, there are just a few people on the planet who have the whole song/dance/writing/performing/comic improv tool kit—along with a Hollywood post-grad degree in showbiz savvy. Like a younger, crisper Billy Crystal, Short is one of them. At last night’s post-show party, Martin Katz, chair of the Canadian academy, was already talking about asking him to host again next year. I’m not sure how the show played to a TV audience; I watched it in a media room backstage, amid a buzz of distractions, but afterwards the industry types who emerged from theatre seemed gratified by it.
As for the awards, as a film critic I feel unqualified to parse the TV side, but on the film side the Rebelle sweep is perhaps not the healthiest outcome. A strong but modest film about a vital subject, Rebelle triumphed over more ambitious but less gem-like pictures, such as Lawrence Anyways, Midnight’s Children, Cosmopolis and Goon. And the historic imbalance between Quebec cinema over English Canadian film was especially evident this year. Only five of the 19 awards for feature-length films went to movies shot in English Canada. And all four of the film acting awards went to non-Canadian actors. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. But it’s an observation worth noting: for what it’s worth, we may have the most internationally inclined cinema of any country in the world.
The complete list of 2013 Canadian Screen Awards:
TELEVISION & DIGITAL MEDIA CATEGORIES
Program Categories
The Bell Media Award for Best Comedy Program or Series
Less Than Kind
(Breakthrough Entertainment, Buffalo Gal Pictures)
Ira Levy, Garry Campbell, Marvin Kaye, Phyllis Laing, Mark McKinney, Chris Sheasgreen, Paula Smith, Peter Williamson
Best Dramatic Series
Sponsored by the Independent Production Fund
Flashpoint
(Flashpoint Season IV Productions Inc.)
Anne Marie La Traverse, Bill Mustos
Best International Drama
The Borgias
(Take 5 Productions, Mid-Atlantic Films, Octagon Films)
Neil Jordan, James Flynn, Sheila Hockin, John Weber
Best Reality/Competition Program or Series
Sponsored by A&E Network
Dragons’ Den
(CBC)
Tracie Tighe, Mike Armitage, Lisa Gabriele
Performance Categories
The Shaw Media Award for Best Host in a Variety, Lifestyle, Reality/Competition, Performing Arts or Talk Program or Series
George Stroumboulopoulos – George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight – John Irving / Regis Philbin/ Haiti Special
Best News Anchor
Peter Mansbridge – CBC News The National
Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role
Gerry Dee – Mr. D – The Basketball Diaries
Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Comedic Role
Wendel Meldrum – Less Than Kind – The Fwomp
Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role
Enrico Colantoni – Flashpoint – Day Game
Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role
Meg Tilly – Bomb Girls – Armistice
Best Sports Host or Analyst in a Sports Program or Sportscast
Brian Williams – London 2012 Olympic Games
FILM CATEGORIES
BEST MOTION PICTURE / MEILLEUR FILM
Sponsor / Commanditaire : Comweb Group / William F. White International Inc.
REBELLE / WAR WITCH – Pierre Even, Marie-Claude Poulin
ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION/PRODUCTION DESIGN / MEILLEURE DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE
EMMANUEL FRECHETTE, JOSÉE ARSENAULT – Rebelle / War Witch
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY / MEILLEURES IMAGES
Sponsor / Commanditaire : Christie Digital
NICOLAS BOLDUC – Rebelle / War Witch
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN / MEILLEURS COSTUMES
XAVIER DOLAN, FRANÇOIS BARBEAU – Laurence Anyways
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION / MEILLEURE RÉALISATION
Sponsor / Commanditaire : Pinewood Toronto Studios
KIM NGUYEN – Rebelle / War Witch
ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE
RICHARD COMEAU – Rebelle / War Witch
ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKE-UP / MEILLEURS MAQUILLAGES
Sponsor / Commanditaire : Lancôme
COLLEEN QUINTON, MICHELLE CÔTÉ, KATHY KELSO, MARTIN LAPOINTE – Laurence Anyways
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC – ORIGINAL SCORE / MEILLEURE MUSIQUE ORIGINALE
HOWARD SHORE – Cosmopolis
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC – ORIGINAL SONG / MEILLEURE CHANSON ORIGINALE
Sponsor / Commanditaire : Slaight Music
EMILY HAINES, JAMES SHAW, HOWARD SHORE – Cosmopolis – Long to Live
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE
JAMES CROMWELL – Still Mine
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN
Sponsor / Commanditaire: Tribute Entertainment
SERGE KANYINDA – Rebelle / War Witch
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE
RACHEL MWANZA – Rebelle / War Witch
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN
SEEMA BISWAS – Midnight’s Children
ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND / MEILLEUR SON D’ENSEMBLE
Sponsor / Commanditaire : Deluxe Toronto Ltd.
CLAUDE LA HAYE, DANIEL BISSON, BERNARD GARIÉPY STROBL – Rebelle / War Witch
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE SONORE
MARTIN PINSONNAULT, JEAN-FRANCOIS B. SAUVÉ, SIMON MEILLEUR, CLAIRE POCHON – Rebelle / War Witch
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY / MEILLEUR SCÉNARIO
Sponsor / Commanditaire : Astral’s Harold Greenberg Fund
KIM NGUYEN – Rebelle / War Witch
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY / MEILLEURE ADAPTATION
Sponsor / Commanditaire: Starlight TV
SALMAN RUSHDIE – Midnight’s Children
ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS / MEILLEURS EFFETS VISUELS
DENNIS BERARDI, JASON EDWARDH, MATT GLOVER, TREY HARRELL, LEANN HARVEY, JO HUGHES, ETHAN LEE, SCOTT RIOPELLE, ERIC ROBINSON, KYLE YONEDA – Resident Evil: Retribution
TED ROGERS BEST FEATURE LENGTH DOCUMENTARY / PRIX TED ROGERS POUR LE MEILLEUR LONG MÉTRAGE DOCUMENTAIRE
STORIES WE TELL – Anita Lee, Sarah Polley
BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DOCUMENTAIRE
Sponsor / Commanditaire : Hot Docs
THE BOXING GIRLS OF KABUL – Annette Clarke, Ariel Nasr
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DRAMATIQUE
THROAT SONG – Miranda de Pencier, Stacey Aglok MacDonald
BEST ANIMATED SHORT / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE D’ANIMATION
PAULA – Julie Roy, Dominic Étienne Simard