The 1st Genie Awards were presented on March 20, 1980, and honoured films released in 1979.
[ Jay Scott, "Changeling wins Genie as year's best movie". '']The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', March 21, 1980. They were given out at a gala event at the
Royal Alexandra Theatre in
Toronto with
Bruno Gerussi as host.
Awards for non-feature films were presented at a luncheon the day before the gala.
[Rick Groen, "NFB, Brittain dominate TV Genie awards". '']The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'', March 20, 1980.
The 1980 ceremonies were the first time the awards were presented as the
Genie Awards instead of the
Canadian Film Awards, and the first time they were presented by the newly organized
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.
Ceremony
The show was broadcast on
CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
, and noted for its
Oscars-like production design, with production numbers including a
jazz dance performance by
Jeff Hyslop and
Karen Kain set to the tune of "
Dancing in the Dark", and female impersonator
Craig Russell in character as
Judy Garland.
The show was not without controversy. Award winner
Christopher Plummer used his speech to criticize the distinction made between Canadian and foreign actors, calling on the Academy to treat "Canadian or Samothracian" actors equally.
The fact that no French language films won any major awards was also a source of controversy.
In addition, despite having duly released three nominations in the category of Editing in a Dramatic Film (Non-Feature), the jury used the moment of presentation to announce that they had deemed none of the three worthy of an award.
Producer
Sam Levene, in his acceptance speech for another award, called the decision an "arrogant slap in the face" to the nominees.
Several awards were presented in specialized categories which were carried over from the structure of the Canadian Film Awards, but were not retained by the Genies in future years. Many of those categories were transitioned to the shortlived new
Bijou Awards for non-feature films in 1981,
["Gems among Bijous". '' Vancouver Sun'', October 8, 1991.] but that ceremony took place only once and was not continued in subsequent years.
Award winners and nominees
References
External links
Genie Awards 1980 on imdb
{{Canadian Screen Awards
01
Genie
Genie