John Dunning Best First Feature Award

The John Dunning Best First Feature Award is a special Canadian film award, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the year's best feature film by a first-time film director. Under the earlier names Claude Jutra Award and Canadian Screen Award for Best First Feature, the award has been presented since the 14th Genie Awards in 1993.[1][2]

Formerly a juried prize whose winner was announced in advance of the ceremony, the award is now presented as a conventional category with a full shortlist of nominees.

To date six films, The Confessional (Le Confessionnal), Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, Away from Her, A Colony (Une colonie), Beans and Scarborough, have won both the Best First Feature and Best Picture awards in the same year; the directors of Le Confessionnal, Atanarjuat, Away from Her and Scarborough also won the award for Best Director for the same films.

History

The award was originally named in memory of Claude Jutra, a Canadian film director who died in 1986.[3] Formerly part of the Genie Awards ceremonies, the Claude Jutra Award was transitioned to be part of the new Canadian Screen Awards in 2013.

Following the February 2016 publication of Yves Lever's biography of Jutra, which contained allegations that Jutra had sexually abused underage children during his lifetime, the Academy announced that it was removing Jutra's name from the award.[4]Québec Cinéma also removed Jutra's name from its Prix Jutra ceremonies on the same day.[4]

Beginning with the 4th Canadian Screen Awards in 2016, the award was presented as the Canadian Screen Award for Best First Feature. In the same year the John Dunning Discovery Award, named in memory of film producer John Dunning, was introduced to honour microbudget films. Initially it was a separate award from the Best First Feature category, with the two awards presented alongside each other to different films,[5] until the two awards were merged under the John Dunning Best First Feature Award name beginning with the 7th Canadian Screen Awards in 2019.

Winners

Claude Jutra Award

Year Film Director Ref
199314th Genie AwardsThe Grocer's WifeJohn Pozer[1]
199415th Genie AwardsLouis 19, King of the Airwaves (Louis 19, le roi des ondes)Michel Poulette[1]
199516th Genie AwardsThe Confessional (Le Confessionnal)Robert Lepage[1]
199617th Genie AwardsJoe's So Mean to JosephinePeter Wellington[1]
199718th Genie AwardsThe Hanging GardenThom Fitzgerald[1]
199819th Genie AwardsLast NightDon McKellar[1]
199920th Genie AwardsPost MortemLouis Bélanger[1]
200021st Genie AwardsThe Left-Hand Side of the Fridge (La Moitié gauche du frigo)Philippe Falardeau[1]
200122nd Genie AwardsAtanarjuat: The Fast RunnerZacharias Kunuk[1]
200223rd Genie AwardsFlower & GarnetKeith Behrman[1]
200324th Genie AwardsHow My Mother Gave Birth to Me During Menopause (Comment ma mère accoucha de moi durant sa ménopause)Sébastien Rose[1]
200425th Genie AwardsWhite Skin (La Peau blanche)Daniel Roby[1]
200526th Genie AwardsFamiliaLouise Archambault[1]
200627th Genie AwardsEve and the Fire HorseJulia Kwan[1]
The Secret Life of Happy People (La Vie secrète des gens heureux)Stéphane Lapointe
200728th Genie AwardsAway from HerSarah Polley[1]
200829th Genie AwardsEverything Is Fine (Tout est parfait)Yves Christian Fournier[1]
200930th Genie AwardsI Killed My Mother (J'ai tué ma mère)Xavier Dolan[1]
201031st Genie AwardsExit 67 (Sortie 67)Jephté Bastien[6]
201132nd Genie AwardsNuit #1Anne Émond[7]
20121st Canadian Screen AwardsBlackbirdJason Buxton[8]
20132nd Canadian Screen AwardsWhitewashEmanuel Hoss-Desmarais[9]
20143rd Canadian Screen AwardsBang Bang BabyJeffrey St. Jules[10]

Best First Feature

Year Film Director Ref
2015 4th Canadian Screen AwardsRiverJamie M. Dagg[11]
2016 5th Canadian Screen AwardsOld StoneJohnny Ma[12]
2017 6th Canadian Screen AwardsAvaSadaf Foroughi[13]

John Dunning Discovery Award

Year Film Director Ref
2015 4th Canadian Screen Awards
Mina WalkingYosef Baraki[14]
2016 5th Canadian Screen Awards
The LockpickerRandall Okita[15]
2017 6th Canadian Screen Awards
Black CopCory Bowles[16]
The DevoutConnor Gaston[17]
Wexford PlazaJoyce Wong

John Dunning Best First Feature Award

Year Film Director Ref
2018 7th Canadian Screen Awards
A Colony (Une colonie)Geneviève Dulude-De Celles[18]
Family First (Chien de garde)Sophie Dupuis[18]
FirecrackersJasmin Mozaffari
The Nest (Le nid)David Paradis
TouchedKarl R. Hearne
2019 8th Canadian Screen Awards
MurmurHeather Young[19]
Black ConfluxNicole Dorsey[20]
Mad Dog LabineJonathan Beaulieu-Cyr, Renaud Lessard
Sympathy for the Devil (Sympathie pour le diable)Guillaume de Fontenay
The Twentieth CenturyMatthew Rankin
2020 9th Canadian Screen Awards
BeansTracey Deer[21]
The Kid DetectiveEvan Morgan[22]
TitoGrace Glowicki
VacarmeNeegan Trudel
ViolationMadeleine Sims-Fewer, Dusty Mancinelli
2021 10th Canadian Screen Awards
ScarboroughShasha Nakhai, Rich Williamson[23]
IslandsMartin Edralin[24]
Night RaidersDanis Goulet
The Noise of Engines (Le Bruit des moteurs)Philippe Grégoire
Without Havana (Sin la Habana)Kaveh Nabatian
2022 11th Canadian Screen Awards
Falcon LakeCharlotte Le Bon[25]
The MaidenGraham Foy[26]
Noemie Says Yes (Noémie dit oui)Geneviève Albert
Rodeo (Rodéo)Joëlle Desjardins Paquette
WolvesDanny Dunlop
2023 12th Canadian Screen Awards
In FlamesZarrar Kahn[27]
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant)Ariane Louis-Seize[28]
KanavalHenri Pardo
RichelieuPier-Philippe Chevigny
Something You Said Last NightLuis De Filippis
Through the Night (Quitter la nuit)Delphine Girard
2024 13th Canadian Screen Awards
Village KeeperKaren Chapman[29]
Deaner '89Sam McGlynn[30]
Hunting Daze (Jour de chasse)Annick Blanc
MongrelsJerome Yoo
SeedsKaniehtiio Horn
Who Do I Belong ToMeryam Joobeur

See also

References

  1. ^ abcdefghijklmnopqrPaul Townend, "Canadian Screen Award for Best First Feature". The Canadian Encyclopedia, March 7, 2010.
  2. ^Valerie J. Webster (1998). Awards, Honors & Prizes: United States and Canada 1999. Gale Research. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-7876-1501-7.
  3. ^Maria Topalovich, And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-7737-3238-1. pp. 199-203.
  4. ^ ab"Claude Jutra's name to be pulled from Quebec film awards"Archived March 1, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Ottawa Citizen, February 17, 2016.
  5. ^"Canadian Screen Awards leave Hollywood behind". The Globe and Mail, January 16, 2018.
  6. ^"Incendies, Barney's Version dominate Genies". CBC News, March 10, 2011.
  7. ^"Quebec's Anne Émond wins debut director award". CBC News, February 22, 2012.
  8. ^"Blackbird director Jason Buxton wins first-film honour". CBC News. January 29, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  9. ^"Le Claude-Jutra à Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais". Le Devoir. January 23, 2014.
  10. ^"Academy Names Claude Jutra Award Winner"Archived 2015-02-04 at the Wayback Machine. Broadcaster, February 3, 2015.
  11. ^"Jamie M. Dagg wins Claude Jutra Award for Laos-set thriller River". CBC News, February 4, 2016.
  12. ^"Ma's 'Old Stone' gets Canadian academy's Best First Feature award". CTV News, February 2, 2017.
  13. ^"Sadaf Foroughi's 'Ava' wins best first feature film from Canadian Screen Awards". National Post, January 31, 2018.
  14. ^"Mina Walking Honoured with Inaugural Discovery Award". Cision, January 19, 2016.
  15. ^"Randall Okita to receive inaugural John Dunning Discovery Award". Playback, January 12, 2017.
  16. ^"Northern Banner picks up Cory Bowles’ Black Cop". Playback, April 25, 2018.
  17. ^Norman Wilner, "The Canadian Screen Awards showers love on (almost) everyone". Now, January 16, 2018.
  18. ^ ab"Les Québécois remportent plus de la moitié des trophées à l'avant-gala des prix Écrans canadiens". Ici Radio-Canada, March 31, 2019.
  19. ^"Filmmaker from Saint John wins Canadian Screen Award". CBC News New Brunswick, June 1, 2020.
  20. ^Norman Wilner, "Canadian Screen Awards 2020: Prepare for a Schitt's show". Now, February 18, 2020.
  21. ^Naman Ramachandran, "‘Schitt’s Creek,’ ‘Blood Quantum’ Triumph at Canadian Screen Awards". Variety, May 21, 2021.
  22. ^Brent Furdyk (March 30, 2021). "Canadian Screen Awards Announces 2021 Film Nominations". ET Canada. Archived from the original on March 30, 2021.
  23. ^"Night Raiders, Scarborough emerge victorious at 5th night of Canadian Screen Awards". CBC News, April 8, 2022.
  24. ^Brent Furdyk, "2022 Canadian Screen Award Nominees Announced, ‘Sort Of’ & ‘Scarborough’ Lead The Pack". ET Canada, February 15, 2022.
  25. ^Jenna Benchetrit, "Brother dominates with a dozen wins on third night of Canadian Screen Awards". CBC News, April 13, 2023.
  26. ^Charles-Henri Ramond, "Écrans canadiens – Viking,13 nominations". Films du Québec, February 22, 2023.
  27. ^Connie Thiessen, "Canadian Screen Awards winners: Cinematic Arts". Broadcast Dialogue, May 30, 2024.
  28. ^"BlackBerry Leads CSA Nominations". Northern Stars, March 6, 2024.
  29. ^Jamie Casemore, "CSAs ‘25: Universal Language takes five at Cinematic Arts Awards". Playback, May 31, 2025.
  30. ^Samritha Arunasalam, "Here's who is nominated for the 2025 Canadian Screen Awards". CBC News, March 26, 2025.
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