2007 Genie Awards, Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame

Canadian talent swept over Toronto in a flurry of awards and posh receptions last week.

The Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame [CSHF] paid tribute to legend Joni Mitchell when she was honoured at the 4th Annual CSHF Gala on Jan. 28 Performances by James Taylor, Jim Cuddy, Chaka Khan and Measha Brueggergosman (among others) were impressive and inspired, even to an audience made up mostly of other musicians. Yet among the glittering starlets and copious cocktails there was one subject on everyone’s lips with reverence and awe: the music of Joni Mitchell and Jean-Pierre Ferland. Some of the songs honoured were Woodstock and Both Sides Now, both by Mitchell, and Je Reviens Chez Nous by Ferland. Local music junkie and CBC hipster Jian Ghomeshi was among the guests at the pre-award reception.

The Genie Awards were held at The Carlu on Tuesday, Feb. 13 to celebrate the best in Canadian film. Actors Roy Dupuis and Patrick Huard were the centre of attention at the gala party, attracting many with their charming smiles and newly-won accessories. Dupuis, who played hockey legend Maurice Richard in the movie The Rocket won the Genie for leading actor; just one of the nine awards given to that film.

Meanwhile, the other handsome Quebecois star and funnyman Patrick Huard celebrated as his film Bon Cop, Bad Cop took home the prize for best
motion picture. It was truly a French-Canadian evening as Robert Favreau and Gil Courtemanche were honored for best screenplay adaptation; a version of the haunting and heart wrenching novel by Courtemanche, A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali, a work that has also been awarded several literary prizes, including the Governor General’s Literary Award. The Danish Poet, which has also been nominated for an academy award in the USA, was honored with the Genie for best animated short. Creator Torill Kove, another Montreal native, is no stranger to this sort of attention; her previous animated film was also nominated for an Oscar and Genie.

Published in The Women's Post, February 27, 2007