The Canadian Screen Awards (A.K.A “The Canadian Film Awards AKA “The Genies” AKA “The Canadian Oscars) are Canada’s most prestigious cinematic award ceremony.
Because I like making lists, I’ve collected all the Best Picture winners on one page to a illustrate a chronological evolution of Canada’s cinema culture. It’s way faster than having to flip through a bunch of Wikipedia pages.
For consistency, I’ve listed the year that the awards took place. Most of the time films would play a few festivals, win Best Canadian Film in the following year, and then receive a wide release.
Further Research:
I highly recommend checking out And The Genie Goes Too… by Maria Topalovich for an engaging history of the awards and a more detailed breakdown of the winners.
And for more information on this year’s awards, visit the official website of The Academy of Canadian Film and Television. If you live in Canada, I highly recommend becoming a member ($150 a pop, way cheaper if you’re a student) because the organization does a whole bunch of free member events throughout the year.
If you liked this, check out:
The Ultimate List of Canadian Film Books
“Why the Hell Don’t We Watch Canadian Cinema? “
Canadian Film Awards: 1949 – 1978
In its first incarnation, the big prize of the ceremony was the Best Film Award. In 1964, they began giving out a Best Film and a Best Feature Film award.
1949 (#1) – The Loon’s Necklace
1950 (#2) – None Awarded
1951 (#3) – None Awarded
1952 (#4) – Newfoundland Scene
1953 (#5) – Tit-Coq
1954 (#6) – The Seasons
1955 (#7) – The Stratford Adventure
1956 (#8) – None Awarded
1957 (#9) – None Awarded
1958 (#10) – City of Gold
1959 (#11) – None Awarded
1960 (#12) – None Awarded
1961 (#13) – Universe
1962 (#14) – None Awarded
1963 (#15) – Lonely Boy
The start of the Best Feature Film Award. The following will be listed as Best Film/Best Feature Film.
1964 (#16) – Pour La Suite Du Monde/A Tout Prendre
1965 (#17) – None Awarded/The Luck of Ginger Coffey
1966 (#18) – The Mills of the Gods: Viet Nam/Mission of Fear
1967 (#19) – Warrendale/Warrendale
1968 (#20) – A Place to Stand/The Ernie Game
1969 (#21) – The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar / Vertige
1970 (#22) – To See Or Not to See / Goin’ Down the Road
1971 (#23) – None Awarded / Mon oncle Antoine
1972 (#24) – None Awarded / Wedding in White
1973 (#25) – None Awarded / Slipstream
No Ceremony in 1974 (But Best Feature was awarded to
1975 (#26) – Les Ordres / Les Ordres
1976 (#27) – None Awared / Lies My Father Told Me
1977 (#28) – None Awarded / J.A. Martin photographe
1978 (#29) – None Awarded / The Silent Partner
The Genie Awards (1980 – 2012)
1980 (#30) (#1) – The Changeling
1981 (#31) (#2) – Les Bons Débarras
1982 (#32) (#3) – Ticket to Heaven
1983 (#33) (#4) – The Grey Fox
1984 (#34) (#5) – The Terry Fox Story
1986 (#36) (#7) – My American Cousin
1987 (#37) (#8) – The Decline of the American Empire
1988 (#38) (#9) – Un Zoo la Nuit
1989 (#39) (#10) – Dead Ringers
1990 (#40) (#11) – Jesus of Montreal (Jésus de Montréal)
1992 (#42) (#13) – Naked Lunch
1993 (#43) (#14) – Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould
1996 (January) (#45) (#16) – The Confessional (Le Confessionnal)
1996 (November) (#46) (#17) – Lilies
1997 (#47) (#18) – The Sweet Hereafter
No Ceremony in 1998
1999 (#48) (#19) – The Red Violin
2001 – (#50) (#21) – Maelström
2002 (#51) (#22) – Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner
2005 (#53) (#24) – The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions barbares)
2005 (#54) (#25) – The Triplets of Belleville
2007 (#56) (#27) – Bon Cop, Bad Cop
2008 (#57) (#28) – Away From Her
2009 (#58) (#29) – Passchendaele
2010 (#59) (#30) – Polytechnique
2012 (#61) (#32) – Monsieur Lazhar
The Canadian Screen Awards (2012 – Present)
In 2013, the Academy merged the Genies and the Geminis into one ceremony.
2013 (#62) (#1) – War Witch (Rebelle)
