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| Philippe Falardeau & Viggo Mortensen win at 32nd Annual Genie Awards |
Monsieur Lazhar, Canada's representative Film in the Foreign Film category at the Oscars this year, won big tonight at the 32nd Annual Genie Awards, held at the Harbour Westin Castle Conference Centre tonight. The Awards honour the best in Canadian Film and were hosted by CBC's George Stroumboulopoulos alone after Funnywoman Andrea Martin who originally was scheduled to Co-host, had to bow-out due to a scheduling conflict.
Directed by Quebec Director Philippe Falardeau, Monsieur Lazhar is a Drama about a School Teacher who helps a class of students overcome the loss of their former Teacher, winning top honour of Best Motion Picture this evening. In addition, the Film was victorious in the categories of Achievement in Direction, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Best Supporting Actress (Sophie Nelisse) and Best Actor (Mohamed Said Fellag), tallying at a total six Genies.
Making a surprise appearance tonight was Academy Award Nominee Viggo Mortensen, whose visit to Toronto confirmed rumours that he would win Best Supporting Actor for his work in David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method. The Film, which like Monsieur Lazhar is distributed in Canada by eOne Films, went on to win a total five Genies tonight including Original Score, Art Direction, Sound Editing and Overall Sound.
Another prominent Winner tonight was Alliance Films' Café de Flore, which saw Actress Vanessa Paradis go on to win for Best Actress and also get recognized for Achievement in Makeup and Visual Effects. One Security Guard tells me they were on heightened alert with rumours of Johnny Depp allegedly accompanying Paradis on a flight to Toronto, but this alas amounted to nothing more than rumour.
Although Mortensen declined a Photo while out on a Cigarette Break, he was kind enough to personalize a Photo for me (below). Moments later, it was announced that he had won Best Supporting Actor, with him proudly wrapping his Award in a Montreal Canadiens Flag and dedicating the Win to his favourite Hockey Team. The Actor can be seen later this year in On the Road Again alongside Kristen Stewart and Garrett Hedlund.
(Photo credit: Mr. Will-W./Canadian Press)
