Scarborough topped the Canadian Screen Awards winners last night in the final ceremony of Canadian Screen Week. The drama by Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson based on the novel by Catherine Hernandez won eight awards including Best Film. It also scored Best Director and Best Actor (Liam Diaz) last night after nabbing wins including Best Supporting Actress (Cherish Violet Blood), Best First Feature, and Best Adapted Screenplay (Catherine Hernandez) on Friday. The winners were announced in a live ceremony via Zoom featuring presenters like Catherine O’Hara, Priyanka, and Laurence Leboeuf.
Scarborough draws upon the duo’s roots in documentary for a powerful slice of realism as it delivers an authentic and complex portrait of the Toronto community, seen through the eyes of the children in a local literacy program, the parents who raise them, and the teachers who gives her all for their future. Hernandez’s book recently wrapped CBC’s Canada Reads contest as a runner-up, and the film was a runner-up in the Toronto Film Critics Association’s race for Best Canadian Feature as well as a runner-up for the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. The CSA win capped for a strong run for a film that captured the heart and spirit of a city unlike other films.
“[T]he key to the film’s success lies with its three young stars, all first time actors who show promise well beyond their years,” wrote Emma Badame in her review for Scarborough. “Their raw and guileless performances anchor Scarborough from beginning to end, each of them bringing an undefinable something that resonates and keeps audiences invested from moment one.”
Wins for Tailfeathers, Drunken Birds
Other big winners in the night included Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers who scored a first by nabbing both Best Actress and the Ted Rogers Best Documentary Feature award in a single evening. She won the acting prize for Danis Goulet’s dystopian thriller Night Raiders and the doc award for Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy, a sobering look at the Kainai First Nation’s response to the opioid crisis. Night Raiders tied Scarborough in terms of overall nominations and won five awards on Friday’s ceremony, including Best Original Screenplay for Goulet. While reviewing Night Raiders at TIFF, Victor Stiff praised Tailfeathers’ performance for its ability to “level us with emotional gut punches until we’re raw and weary.” Meanwhile, while reviewing Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy at Hot Docs, Courtney Small wrote that the documentary “never loses faith in its subjects or their communities’ ability to rally around them.”
While Scarborough and Night Raiders took the bulk of the film prizes, other favourites netted single wins at the Canadian Screen Awards to avoid going home empty-handed. Drunken Birds, which was Canada’s submission in the Oscar race for Best International Feature, won Best Cinematography for Sara Mishara. Shot on 35mm, Mishara’s magic hour cinematography is a highlight of the film. Maria Chapdelaine scored a lone win for hairstyling. Learn to Swim nabbed Best Original Song, while Joshua Odjick took one for the Wildhood team with a win for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Pasmay, a Two-Spirit youth and dancer. Winners on the TV side of the Canadian Screen Awards included Kim’s Convenience, Transplant, Sort of, and Canada’s Drag Race.
