Scarborough wins eight Canadian Screen Awards, Night Raiders wins six

There was no slap on Sunday night at the Canadian Screen Awards, but the big surprise was Scarborough, the story of three kids in a low-income neighbourhood who find friendship and community in an unlikely place. Directed by Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson, Scarborough brought home eight Canadian Screen Awards, the most of any film. Its wins included Best Picture, Best Direction, the John Dunning Best First Feature Film Award, Best Actor and Best Actress in a Supporting Role. 

Last night, the other big winner was Night Raiders, with six awards, mostly in technical categories. The apocalyptic sci-fi drama directed by Danis Goulet won the Grand Prix Focus at the FNC, as well as the Emerging Talent Award at TIFF, and has been a pioneer film in reframing the way Indigenous stories are told on screen. Speaking with Cult MTL last year about her approach, directed Danis Goulet said, “It was a declaration saying, they’ve always been here, they’re still here. And they will always be here.” 

Quebec had a so-so night overall, despite Québécois films dominating in most categories. Canada’s choice for the Oscar, Drunken Birds, won for Best Achievement in Cinematography for Sara Mishara’s stunning work. Maria Chapdelaine picked up an award for best achievement in hair and L’arracheuse de temps for production design. Marianne Ploska won for best cinematography in a documentary for her work in Prayer for a Lost Mitten. As a side note, while two women won for cinematography at the Canadian Screen Awards last night, the Oscars have yet to honour a single woman in this category in its entire history. 

Les filles ne marchent pas seules la nuit directed by Katerine Martineau won for best live-action short. The film stars Amaryllis Tremblay and Nahéma Ricci as Chantal and Delphine, two young women who open up about their feelings for each other while walking home from their high school graduation party. The movie has won several festival prizes and suggests a strong promise for Martineau’s career. 

PAW Patrol: The Movie won the Golden Screen Award for the Canadian film with the best box-office results for the year. Woof! Woof!

For the full list of nominees and awards, check out the Canadian Screen Awards website. 

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