'Still Mine', 'Mama' Lead Directors' Guild of Canada Nominations

Geneviève Bujold and James Cromwell in Michael McGowan's Still Mine.
Photo by Ken Woroner, courtesy of Mongrel Media

The Directors’ Guild of Canada announced the nominations for its annual awards. They’re original to say the least. Best Feature Film offers a field of well-received contenders, such as Midnight’s Children, My Awkward Sexual Adventure, and Oscar-nominee Rebelle. Also nominated is Michael McGowan’s Still Mine, which seems like a shoo-in for the win being the only Best Film nominee to receive a nomination for Best Direction. The absence of Deepa Mehta and Kim Nguyen is both surprising and disappointing. David Cronenberg, who swept the awards last year with A Dangerous Method, was shut out for Cosmopolis. Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral, however, earned two nominations. Equally notable are the three nominations for the money-maker Mama, which tied Still Mine for the most citations.

Also standing out among the nominees are Sarah Polley’s doc nominee Stories We Tell and the short film Frost. As is the case with the Canadian Screen Awards, Stories We Tell was omitted outside the documentary category, as the other awards are reserved for dramatic films. It's a flaw that needs to be remedied, but the best Canadian film of the year is surely in it to win it and will bring Polley another well deserved prize for her excellent film.

The television categories are largely dominated by the series Flashpoint and the Jack Layton biopic Jack. The winners will be announced at the DGC’s annual gala on October 26^th.

BEST FEATURE FILM
Presented by Platinum Sponsor, Technicolor

Midnight's Children
My Awkward Sexual Adventure
Rebelle
Still Mine

BEST DIRECTION - FEATURE FILM
Presented by Gold Sponsor, Deluxe

Michael Clattenburg - Moving Day
Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais - Whitewash
Michael McGowan - Still Mine
Sudz Sutherland - Home Again

ALLAN KING AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN DOCUMENTARY
Presented by Rogers Group of Funds

Fight Like Soldiers Die Like Children
Playing a Dangerous Game
Stories We Tell
Vanishing Point

BEST SHORT FILM

Frost
How to Keep your Job
The Sound of Willie Nelson's Guitar
The Sweetest Hippopotamus 

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN - FEATURE FILM

André-Line Beauparlant - Inch'Allah
Emmanuel Frechette - Rebelle
Arvinder Grewal - Antiviral
Anastasia Masaro - Mama

BEST PICTURE EDITING - FEATURE FILM

Michele Conroy - Mama
Roderick Deogrades - Still Mine
Matthew Hannam - Antiviral
Kimberlee McTaggart - Blackbird

BEST SOUND EDITING - FEATURE FILM

Home Again - Mark Gingras, John Laing, Dale Lennon, James Robb & Adam Stein
Mama - Allan Fung
Resident Evil:  Retribution - Kevin Banks, Stephen Barden, Alex Bullick, Rose Gregoris, Dashen Naidoo and Jill Purdy
Silent Hill:  Revelation - David Caporale, David Evans, Krystin Hunter, Paul Germann, David McCallum, Steve Medeiros, Brent Pickett, Jill Purdy and Jane Tattersall

Full list of nominees from the DGC.