Best of MTL 2017: Film & Arts

Marc-André Grondin, Best Actor #3

François Arnaud’s turn on X Company leads us to suspect that the multitude of fans of his costar Evelyne Brochu (Best Actress #1) is behind his first appearance in the Best Actor Top 5, but he’s also had recurring small-screen roles on Midnight, Texas and Blindspot over the past year.

Other newbs in the film categories include theatre actress Alex Petrachuk (Best Actress #5) and director Darren Curtis, whose Parc Ex crime drama Boost (#5 Best Film) came out just last month. Topping the Best Film category is of course Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival — his previous movie, Sicario, also won last year, but the forthcoming Blade Runner 2049 won’t meet even our loosest of Can-con criteria for eligibility.

While your favourite festivals, museums, galleries, graffiti artists and video game companies remain largely unchanged, there’s been an almost complete overhaul in the Best Fashion Designer category, with only Jennifer Glasgow holding onto a spot from last year — her natural-world palette and socially conscious manufacturing have always been a hit with our readers.

Best Actor
1 Jay Baruchel
2 Xavier Dolan
3 Marc-André Grondin
4 William Shatner
5 François Arnaud
6 Martin Law
7 Tristan D. Lalla

Best Actress
1 Evelyne Brochu
2 Anne Dorval
3 Jessica Paré
4 Karine Vanasse
5 Alex Petrachuk
6 Leigh-Ann Taylor
7 Magalie Lépine-Blondeau
8 Holly Gauthier-Frankel
9 Alison Louder
10 Caroline Dhavernas

Best Director
1 Xavier Dolan
2 Denis Villeneuve
3 Denys Arcand
4 Jean-Marc Vallée
5 Darren Curtis
6 Adam Reider
7 Stéphane Lafleur

Best Film of 2016-2017
1 Arrival
2 Juste la fin du monde
3 Les loups
4 Le passé devant nous
5 Boost

Best Theatre Company
1 Centaur
2 Chocolate Moose
3 MainLine
4 Segal Centre
5 Black Theatre Workshop
6 Le Nouveau International
7 Théâtre du Nouveau-Monde
8 House of Laureen
9 D2 Productions
10 WISTA

House of Laureen (Anaconda LaSabrosa, Uma Gahd, Dot Dot Dot, Connie Lingua), Best Play #3. Photo by Tristan Ginger — House of Laureen (Anaconda LaSabrosa, Uma Gahd, Dot Dot Dot, Connie Lingua), Best Play #3 (*Back Door Queens*). Photo by Tristan Ginger

Best Play
1 La causeuse
Equivoc
2 Angélique
Black Theatre Workshop
3 Back Door Queens
House of Laureen
4 Prom Queen: The Musical
Segal Centre
5 Caligula
Théâtre du Nouveau-Monde
6 Empire of the Son
Centaur

Best Dance Troupe
1 Grand Ballets
2 Variations Mile-End
3 Compagnie Marie Chouinard
4 Bouge d’ici
5 Cult of Yes

Best Museum
1 Musée d’art contemporain
2 Museum of Fine Arts
3 McCord Museum
4 CCA
5 Grévin
6 Redpath
7 Pointe-à-Callière

Best Art Gallery
1 DHC/Art
2 Station 16
3 BBAM!
4 Arsenal
5 Articule
6 Mainline Gallery
7 Never Apart
8 Fresh Paint
9 Parisian Laundry
10 La Centrale

Best Living Author
1 Heather O’Neill
2 Michel Tremblay
3 Patrick Sénécal
4 Anna Leventhal
5 Dany Laferrière
6 Sean Michaels
7 Yann Martel
8 Kim Thuy

Best Cartoonist
1 Aislinn
2 Pascal Girard
3 Sophie Labelle
4 Walter Scott
5 Guy Delisle
6 Jeik Dion
7 Rick Trembles
8 Zviane

Best Videogame Company
1 Ubisoft
2 EA
3 Tribute Games
4 Bioware
5 Eidos

Best Fashion Designer
1 Guillaume Chaigne
2 UNTTLD
3 Betina Lou
4 Jennifer Glasgow
5 Denis Gagnon
6 Marie St. Pierre
7 Ramonalisa
8 Yasmine Wasfy
9 Frank & Oak

Best Graffiti Crew/Artist
1 Miss Me
2 A’Shop/K6A
3 En Masse
4 Stikki Peaches
5 Omen
6 Starchild Stela
7 Monk.e
8 What Is Adam

Best Festival
1 Jazz Fest
2 Osheaga
3 Just for Laughs
4 POP Montreal
5 Fringe Festival
6 Pouzza Fest
7 Suoni per il Popolo
8 Fantasia Film Festival
9 Folk Festival on the Canal
10 Mural Fest

See the rest of the Best of MTL here:

* PEOPLE & PLACES
* MEDIA
* NIGHTLIFE
* MUSIC
* GOODS & SERVICES
* FOOD & DRINK

(To see the results from the 2016 poll, click here.)