The Toronto Film Critics Association has announced David Cronenberg as the winner of the esteemed Company 3 Clyde Gilmour Award. The award, named for late critic Clyde Gilmour, recognizes a Canadian who has made a significant contribution to the history and understanding of Canadian cinema. Cronenberg will received the honour on the 25th anniversary of the TFCA. As this year’s winner, Cronenberg gets to choose an emerging filmmaker to receive $50,000 in post-production services from Company 3. The recipient will be named at a later date.
Cronenberg is among Canada’s most distinguished filmmakers. His body of work includes canonical films like Videodrome, Dead Ringers, Rabid, Naked Lunch, Crash, The Fly, and A History of Violence. His films have been celebrated at major international festival from Toronto to Cannes and helped put Canadian film on the world stage. Cronenberg’s filmography has also spotlighted Toronto and bolstered the careers of numerous Canadians along the way, including stars like Sarah Gadon. His films have been invaluable in shaping a canon for Canadian cinema, as noted by the 1983 retrospective by Toronto International Film Festival (the first for any Canadian director), while his hand in establishing the film co-op (CFMDC) demonstrates how the Canadian film scene has grown alongside his career.
The TFCA also announced Bretten Hannam as the winner of the Stella Artois Jay Scott Prize. The prize, named for late critic Jay Scott, spotlights an emerging artist and considers their body of work to date. The award carries a cash prize of $10,000, courtesy of Stella Artois.
A Two-Spirited L’nu filmmaker, Hannam made their feature directorial debut with North Mountain (2015), and a recent follow-up feature Wildhood, about a runaway seeking their Mi’kmaw birth mother. Wildhood is currently nominated for six Canadian Screen Awards including Best Picture. It will be released in theatres on March 11. The film has been widely acclaimed as a breakthrough for Two-Spirited filmmaking within the canon of queer Canadian cinema.
Finally, the critics named Rachel Ho the winner of this year’s TFCA Emerging Critic Award. Ho began reviewing films in 2021 as a getaway from her career as a lawyer. She has contributed to outlets including POV, Exclaim!, and That Shelf.
“This is the TFCA’s 25th anniversary, and our three prize winners are perfect examples of what we’re about,” said TFCA President Johanna Schneller. “Company 3 Clyde Gilmour Award winner David Cronenberg is a visionary whose lifelong body of work has made the world thrill to Canadian filmmaking, while nurturing talent at home and bringing international stars here, to further enrich our cinema.
Schneller added, “Bretten Hannam is exactly the kind of talent the Stella Artois Jay Scott Prize was created for: As a Two-Spirited L’nu filmmaker who didn’t see their life depicted onscreen, they went out and made it happen themselves. We can’t wait to see what they do next. And our Emerging Critic Rachel Ho, a practicing lawyer who is pivoting into a new career, is proof that a love of movies is a powerful, even life-changing, thing.”
The Toronto Film Critics Association will announce the coveted Rogers Best Canadian Film Award, by far Canada’s richest film prize at $100,000, with $5,000 going to each of two runners-up. The winner will be announced at the 25th annual TFCA Awards, a gala dinner held at The Omni King Edward Hotel Toronto on Monday, March 7, 2022. This year’s nominees are Beans, Night Raiders, and Scarborough.
The TFCA is extremely grateful to founding sponsor Rogers Communications for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award, to returning sponsors Labatt’s for the Stella Artois Jay Scott Prize for an emerging artist, and to Cineplex Entertainment for the awards cocktail reception. The TFCA welcomes new sponsor Netflix as the official dinner sponsor and Company 3 for the Company 3 Clyde Gilmour Award. The TFCA also thanks sponsor G.H. Mumm Champagne and salutes stalwart supporters Zoomer Magazine, Chairman Mills and TAXI Toronto. The TFCA is grateful to AV-Canada, L-eat Catering, Reel Medics in Motion, Sarah Melissa Designs and The Printing House.
