Stéphane Lafleur’s Tu dors Nicole matched Xavier Dolan’s Mommy with three wins in the Canadian section at the 15th Annual Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards, held at the Blackbird Public House & Oyster Bar in Vancouver on Monday night.
Lafleur’s dreamy portrait of ennui was named Best Canadian Film, with Julianne Côté earning Best Actress in a Canadian Film and Marc-André Grondin awarded Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian Film. Côté’s performance was also recognized by the VFCC with a special $500 cash prize.
Dolan’s alternately intimate and operatic film earned him Best Screenplay for a Canadian Film honours. The work of cast members Antoine-Olivier Pilon and Suzanne Clément was also celebrated, as they were named Best Actor in a Canadian Film and Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film.
Despite competing with Dolan and Lafleur, Denis Villeneuve won his third VFCC award for Best Director of a Canadian Film for his work on Enemy. Meanwhile, Harold Crooks’ The Price We Pay was awarded Best Canadian Documentary. Mark Achbar, director of The Corporation, attended the ceremony and accepted on Crooks’ behalf.
Scored by his band We Are the City and shot on location in Norway, Andrew Huculiak’s Violent walked away with three cash prizes. After being named Best First Film by a Canadian Director, with a $250 cash prize sponsored by Telefilm Canada, the evocative, affecting film went on to win Best British Columbia Film, which came with two separate $500 cash prizes.
Veteran production manager Warren Carr was named this year’s recipient of The Ian Caddell Award for Achievement (named in honour of the VFCC’s late cofounder and presented to a British Columbian who has made a significant contribution to the province’s film industry). One of the first Vancouver-based line producers enlisted by Hollywood productions shooting north of the border, Carr’s career highlights include Oscar-nominated features and Emmy-nominated television movies.
Richard Linklater’s Boyhood won best film overall. His coming-of-age odyssey was the only film to win multiple awards in the international section, with Patricia Arquette earning honours as Best Supporting Actress.
The Vancouver Film Critics Circle is composed of Vancouver-based film writers and critics from print, radio, online and television.
The complete list of winners is as follows:
INTERNATIONAL AWARDS
BEST FILM
Boyhood
BEST ACTOR
Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
BEST ACTRESS
Tilda Swinton, Only Lovers Left Alive
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
BEST DIRECTOR
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Birdman
BEST SCREENPLAY
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Force Majeure
BEST DOCUMENTARY
The Overnighters
CANADIAN AWARDS
BEST CANADIAN FILM
Tu dors Nicole
BEST ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM
Antoine-Olivier Pilon, Mommy
BEST ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM
Julianne Côté, Tu dors Nicole
($500 cash prize sponsored by the Union of BC Performers.)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM
Marc-André Grondin, Tu dors Nicole
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM
Suzanne Clément, Mommy
BEST SCREENPLAY FOR A CANADIAN FILM
Xavier Dolan, Mommy
BEST DIRECTOR OF A CANADIAN FILM
Denis Villeneuve, Enemy
BEST CANADIAN DOCUMENTARY
The Price We Pay
BEST FIRST FILM BY A CANADIAN DIRECTOR
Violent
($250 cash prize sponsored by Telefilm Canada.)
BEST BRITISH COLUMBIA FILM
Violent
(Two $500 cash prizes sponsored by the Canadian Media Production Association-BC Producers’ Branch and the Director’s Guild of Canada-BC Council.)
IAN CADDELL AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT
Warren Carr