| 28th Genie Awards | |
|---|---|
| Date | March 3, 2008 |
| Site | Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, Ontario |
| Hosted by | Sandra Oh |
| Highlights | |
| Best Picture | Away from Her |
| Most awards | Away from Her , Eastern Promises |
| Most nominations | Eastern Promises , Shake Hands with the Devil |
| Television coverage | |
| Network | E! |
The 28th Genie Awards were held on March 3, 2008 to honour films released in 2007. The ceremony was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The show was broadcast on E! and Independent Film Channel and hosted by Sandra Oh.
The nominations for 2008 faced some controversy when director Jason Reitman issued a statement expressing his disappointment that the hit film Juno , which had a Canadian director, Canadian stars (Elliot Page [a] and Michael Cera) and a Canadian crew, and was filmed in Canada, did not qualify for a nomination. Sara Morton, the head of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, issued a statement indicating that the film — which was produced by an American film studio — had not been submitted for Genie Award consideration. [1]
The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor Sorel Etrog, who designed its statuette.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian film industry and television industry professionals, most notably through the Canadian Screen Awards. The mandate of the Academy is to honour outstanding achievements; to heighten public awareness of and increase audience attendance of and appreciation of Canadian film and television productions; and to provide critically needed, high-quality professional development programs, conferences and publications.
Shake Hands with the Devil is a 2007 Canadian war drama film starring Roy Dupuis as Roméo Dallaire, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in August 2007. Based on Dallaire's autobiographical book Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, the film recounts Dallaire's harrowing personal journey during the 1994 Rwandan genocide and how the United Nations didn’t heed Dallaire's urgent pleas for further assistance to halt the massacre.
Eastern Promises is a 2007 British-Canadian gangster film directed by David Cronenberg from a screenplay by Steven Knight. The film tells the story of Anna, a Russian-British midwife who delivers the baby of a drug-addicted 14-year-old trafficked Ukrainian girl who dies in childbirth. After Anna learns that the teen was forced into prostitution by the Russian Mafia in London, the leader of the Russian gangsters threatens the baby's life, and Anna is warned off by his menacing henchman.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Motion Picture to the best Canadian film of the year.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role to the best performance by a lead actor in a Canadian film. The award was first presented in 1968 by the Canadian Film Awards, and was presented annually until 1978 with the exception of 1969, when no eligible feature films were submitted for award consideration, and 1974 due to the cancellation of the awards that year.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television presents an annual award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role to the best performance by a lead actress in a Canadian film. The award was first presented in 1968 by the Canadian Film Awards, and was presented annually until 1978 with the exception of 1969, when no eligible feature films were submitted for award consideration, and 1974 due to the cancellation of the awards that year.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role to the best performance by a supporting actor in a Canadian film. The award was first presented in 1970 by the Canadian Film Awards, and was presented annually until 1978 with the exception of 1974 due to the cancellation of the awards that year.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role to the best performance by a supporting actress in a Canadian film. The award was first presented in 1970 by the Canadian Film Awards, and was presented annually until 1978 with the exception of 1974 due to the cancellation of the awards that year.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Achievement in Direction to the best work by a director of a Canadian film.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television presents one or more annual awards for the Best Screenplay for a Canadian film. Originally presented in 1968 as part of the Canadian Film Awards, from 1980 until 2012 the award continued as part of the Genie Awards ceremony. As of 2013, it is presented as part of the Canadian Screen Awards.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Achievement in Cinematography, to honour the best Canadian film cinematography.
The Canadian Screen Award for Best Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian film art direction/production design.
The Canadian Screen Award for Best Costume Design is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian costume designer. It was formerly called the Genie Award for Best Achievement in Costume Design before the Genies were merged into the Canadian Screen Awards.
The Canadian Screen Award for Best Live Action Short Drama is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian live action short film. Formerly part of the Genie Awards, since 2012 it has been presented as part of the Canadian Screen Awards.
Juno is a 2007 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Elliot Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting her unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney and J. K. Simmons also star. Filming spanned from early February to March 2007 in Vancouver, British Columbia. It premiered on September 8 at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, receiving a standing ovation.
Lindsey Hermer-Bell is a Canadian production designer based in Toronto, Ontario.
Peter Raymont is a Canadian filmmaker and producer and the president of White Pine Pictures, an independent film, television and new media production company based in Toronto. Among his films are Shake Hands with the Devil: The Journey of Romeo Dallaire (2005), A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman (2007), The World Stopped Watching (2003) and The World Is Watching (1988). The 2011 feature documentary West Wind: The Vision of Tom Thomson and 2009's Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould were co-directed with Michèle Hozer.
Jonathan (Jon) Goldsmith is a Canadian musician, arranger, producer, and composer. Best known as a composer of film and television scores, he has also been associated with various projects as a musician, including Nick Buzz and the Art of Time Ensemble, and production of albums by artists including Bruce Cockburn, Jane Siberry, Martin Tielli, Hugh Marsh, Bourbon Tabernacle Choir and Sarah Slean.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Feature Length Documentary. First presented in 1968 as part of the Canadian Film Awards, it became part of the Genie Awards in 1980 and the contemporary Canadian Screen Awards in 2013.
