Yesterday, professionals of the Quebec cinema scene were celebrated at two prestigious ceremonies held in Montreal: The Gala Artisans ( S.A.T ) and the Gala Québec Cinéma ( Held at Radio – Canada).
In total 28 IRIS prizes were handed out to those whose talent was recognized for their brilliant contribution to Quebec cinema.
I had the pleasure of being invited to attend the Gala Québec Cinéma, walk the red carpet in my beautiful Frank Lyman Design gown and enjoy casual chit chat with some of our province’s finest cinematic talents:
Best Male Lead actor Martin Dubreuil feels that Quebec cinema can definitely reach the hearts of international audiences and that the province should continue to support locally made films and their distribution internationally. Best Female Lead winner Debbie Lynch White shared with me her deep respect for violinists and musicians in general after trying her hand at several instruments as lead actress in the film La Bolduc.
Highlights of the evening included the Red Carpet, where the best dressed were captured by the numerous media onsite, the comedy infused opening acrobatic musical number, the playful presentation of power duo Édith Cochrane and Guylaine Tremblay who presided over the Gala as masters of ceremony for their third consecutive year, and the touching memorial speeches paying homage to Jean Beaudin and Jean-Claude Labrecque.
Intermittently, past stars and gala winners such as Emmanuel Bilodeau, Michel Côté and Pascale Bussières took turns presenting the nominees and winners of each category with onscreen excerpts of their past successes.
Ultimately, it is Director Ricardo Trogi and his semi-autobiographical, comedy-drama film, 1991, who won the prestigious Iris award for Best Film and Public’s Choice award.
Newcomer Yan Giroux received the Iris for Best Screenplay / Best First Film for his redemption drama epic: À tous ceux qui ne me lisent pas.
List of WINNERS of the GALA QUÉBEC CINÉMA
Best film
1991 – Go Films – Nicole Robert
Best First film
Yan Giroux – À tous ceux qui ne me lisent pas
Best Director
Ricardo Trogi – 1991
Best Script
Guillaume Corbeil, Yan Giroux – À tous ceux qui ne me lisent pas
Public’s Choice
1991 – Ricardo Trogi | Les Films Séville | Go Films – Nicole Robert
Film that made the most impact outside of Quebec.
La Chute de l’empire américain – Denys Arcand | Cinémaginaire – Denise Robert
Best Female Lead Role
Debbie Lynch-White (Mary Travers) – La Bolduc
Best Male Lead Role
Martin Dubreuil (Yves Boisvert) – À tous ceux qui ne me lisent pas
Best Female in a Supporting Role
Sandrine Bisson (Claudette) – 1991
Best Male actor in a Supporting Role
Robin Aubert (Henri) – Une colonie
Revelation of the Year
Émilie Bierre (Mylia) – Une colonie
Best Camera Work
Sara Mishara – La grande noirceur
Best Documentary
Innu Nikamu : Chanter la résistance – Kevin Bacon Hervieux | Terre Innue – Ian Boyd, Réginald Vollant
Best Short Film / Fiction
Brotherhood – Meryam Joobeur | Cinétéléfilms – Habib Attia, Sarra Ben-Hassen | Meryam Joobeur | Laika Film & Television – Andreas Rocksén | Midi La Nuit – Maria Gracia Turgeon
Best Short Film / Animation
Le sujet – Patrick Bouchard | Office national du film du Canada – Julie Roy
The complete coverage of the Gala Artisans, the Red Carpet, the Gala Québec Cinéma and after party will be available on the site of Radio-Canada.ca/galaquebeccinema