Best of MTL 2021: Film & Arts in Montreal

The top local film of the year is La Déesse des mouches à feu, a ’90s Saguenay-set coming of age story that avoids the afterschool-special pitfalls of the genre — it’s the story of a teenage freefall into hedonism, based on a novel by Geneviève Pettersen. Its popularity with our readers pushed its director Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette to #4 Best Filmmaker, a category topped once again by Denis Villeneuve, whose Dune adaptation has been a victim of COVID delays but will finally come out in theatres on Oct. 1. Not surprisingly, Old Montreal’s pimped out gallery/Virtual Reality hub came out on top in the new Best Multidisciplinary Art Space category, while Best Visual Artist (also new) features multifaceted visual/sound artist Marc Gagnon, graphic designer Pony, street artist Stikki Peaches as well as two artists whose work is currently on display at the MMFA, Caroline Monnet and Manuel Mathieu.

Best Actor

1. Jay Baruchel
2. Karine Vanasse
3. Martin Richard
4. Marc-André Grondin
5. Tristan D. Lalla
6. Evelyne Brochu
7. Alex Petrachuk
8. William Shatner
9. Ryan Mendel
10. Théodore Pellerin

Best Filmmaker

1. Denis Villeneuve
2. Xavier Dolan
3. Jean-Marc Vallée
4. Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette
5. Adam Reider
6. Ricardo Trogi
7. Tracey Deer
8. Frank Appache
9. Chris Bavota & Lee Paula Springer
10. Karine Dashney

Best Local Film of 2020–2021

1. La déesse des mouches à feu
2. Beans
3. Antigone
4. Jusqu’au déclin
5. Mafia Inc.

Best Film Screening Series

1. Fantasia
2. Cinema Politica
3. Cabane à sang
4. Minuit au Parc
5. Cinéma urbain à la belle étoile

Best Theatre Company 

1. Black Theatre Workshop
2. Centaur Theatre
3. Tableau d’hôte
4. Segal Centre 
5. Geordie Theatre
6. Théâtre du nouveau monde
7. Mainline Theatre
8. D2 Productions
9. Théâtre du futur
10. La Licorne

Best Play

1. En Pointe
2. Please Thrill Me
3. Mob
4. J’aime hydro
5. Virginia Wolf

Best Dance Company 

1. Grands Ballets Canadiens
2. Cas Public
3. Compagnie Marie Chouinard
4. Les Ballets Jazz Montréal
5. Helen Simard

Best Museum

1. Museum of Fine Arts
2. Musée d’art contemporain
3. McCord Museum
4. Pointe à Callière
5. Canadian Centre for Architecture

Best Art Gallery

1. Station 16
2. PHI Centre/Fondation PHI
3. Never Apart
4. Arsenal Contemporary Art
5. BBAM! Gallery
6. Articule
7. Simon Blais
8. Galerie de Bellefeuille
9. VAV Gallery
10. Blouin Division

Best Multi-Disciplinary Art Space

1. PHI Centre
2. SAT
3. Never Apart
4. Diving Bell Social Club
5. MAI
6. Arsenal
7. Articule
8. Diving Bell Social Club

Best Living Author

1. Heather O’Neill
2. Sean Michaels
3. Kaie Kellough
4. Louise Penny
5. Saleema Nawaz
6. Michelle Franklin
7. David Goudreault
8. Patrick Sénécal
9. Simon Boulerice

Best Visual Artist

1. Marc Gagnon
2. Pony
3. Stikki Peaches
4. Caroline Monnet
5. Manuel Mathieu
6. Teenadult
7. Alexandre Goulet
8. Kristina Hansen
9. Seb Stewart
10. Marc Leduc

Best Cartoonist / Comics Artist 

1. Aislin
2. Ponto
3. Walter K. Scott
4. Jeik Dion
5. Sophie Labelle 
6. Rick Trembles
7. Michel Rabagliati
8. Kristina Hansen
9. Billy Mavreas
10. Guy Delisle

Best Comedian

1. Sugar Sammy
2. Tranna Wintour
3. Claude Crest
4. Mike Ward
5. Akeem Hoyte-Charles
6. Arnaud Soly 
7. Elspeth Wright
8. Derek Seguin
9. Walter J. Lyng
10. Virginie Fortin

Best Videogame Company

1. Ubisoft
2. Eidos
3. KO_Op Mode
4. Kitfox Games
5. Electronic Arts
6. Gameloft
7. Keywords
8. Square Enix
9. Tribute Games
10. Warner Bros.

Best Fashion Designer 

1. Jennifer Glasgow
2. Pony
3. Eliza Faulkner
4. Eve Gravel
5. Yasmine Wasfy
6. Hannah Isolde
7. Pavlos Flikas
8. Odeyalo
9. Katrin Leblond
10. Lucas Stowe

Best Graffiti Artist / Crew

1. Randy Nixon
2. Waxhead
3. K6A
4. A Shop
5. MissMe 
6. Stikki Peaches
7. Lost Claws
8. Monk.e
9. Sake

Best Festival

1. Jazz Fest
2. POP Montreal
3. Osheaga
4. Just for Laughs
5. Fantasia Festival
6. MURAL
7. Montreal Fringe
8. Metro Metro
9. Pouzza Fest
10. Heavy Montréal

See all the Best of MTL 2021 Top 5 lists in the June issue of Cult MTL.