February 23, 2022

The Toronto Film Critics Association is pleased to announce internationally acclaimed filmmaker David Cronenberg as the recipient of this year’s Company 3 Clyde Gilmour Award.

The TFCA thanks Company 3 for enabling the Clyde Gilmour Award recipient to give $50,000 in services to a filmmaker of his choosing. Cronenberg will announce his designate in the days to come.

A director of often provocative works, Cronenberg first gained attention for a series of “body horror” films like Rabid, The Brood, Dead Ringers and The Fly. His themes widened but were no less audacious in later films like A History of Violence (2005 TFCA Award winner for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Canadian Film), Eastern Promises and A Dangerous Method, all three collaborations with actor Viggo Mortensen. Cronenberg returns to horror this year with his 22^nd film, Crimes of the Future, also starring Mortensen.

Cronenberg has helped put Toronto on the map in the film world, often shooting in the city and setting Dead Ringers there.

The Company 3 Clyde Gilmour Award recognizes a Canadian industry figure who has made a substantial and outstanding contribution to the advancement and/or history of Canadian cinema. This includes, but is not limited to, writers, directors, producers, distributors, actors, academics, cinematographers and technicians. Those who can viably be seen as forwarding Canadian cinema and culture through their work are eligible. In the spirit of the pay-it-forward nature of the award, the recipient names an emerging filmmaker to receive $50,000 in services from Company 3.

Bretten Hannam wins the Stella Artois Jay Scott Prize for an emerging artist, which carries a $10,000 purse. A Two-Spirited L’nu filmmaker, Hannam made their feature directorial debut with North Mountain (2015), and broke through critically with a recent follow-up feature Wildhood, about a runaway seeking their Mi’kmaw birth-mother. The movie, which is soon to be seen in Canadian theatres, is nominated for six Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Picture.

As well, the TFCA announced its Emerging Critic award for aspiring film reviewers, lawyer-turned-movie-reviewer Rachel Ho.

“This is the TFCA’s 25^th 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.

Twitter: @TFCA 
Hashtag: #TFCAawards

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