Skip to content

Coming-of-age tales top Vancouver critics' poll

Stéphane Lafleur's Tu dors Nicole and Richard Linklater's Boyhood take top honours
Film poll
Stephane Lafleur’s coming-of-age tale Tu dors Nicole was named best Canadian film of 2014 in the Vancouver Film Critics Circle poll.

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