12 YEARS A SLAVE LEADS VANCOUVER FILM CRITICS CIRCLE INTERNATIONAL NOMINATIONS LIST WITH SIX NODS

MATT JOHNSON AND THE DIRTIES LEAD CANADIAN NOMINEES
The Dirties, a conceptually daring story of two film geeks planning a high school shooting, has secured five VFCC nominations in the Canadian category, including Best Canadian Film and Best First Film by a Canadian Director. Director-star Matt Johnson has also been nominated for Best Director of a Canadian Film and Best Actor in a Canadian film.

The Dirties will face off against Louise Archambault’s Gabrielle and Jennifer Baichwal and Edward Burtynsky’s Watermark for Best Canadian Film. Meanwhile, Johnson is joined by Archambault and Rhymes for Young Ghouls‘ Jeff Barnaby in the running for Best Director of a Canadian Film.

Johnson faces competition from Whitewash‘s Thomas Haden Church and The Dick Knost Show‘s Tom Sholte for Best Actor in a Canadian Film. Blood Pressure‘s Michelle Giroux, Picture Day‘s Tatiana Maslany and Sarah Prefers to Run‘s Sophie Desmarais contend for the honour of Best Actress in a Canadian Film.

The Vancouver Film Critics Circle is pleased to introduce a new award for Best First Film by a Canadian Director. The Dirties is joined in the category by Barnaby’s Rhymes for Young Ghouls and Chloé Robichaud’s Sarah Prefers to Run.

In addition to its Best Canadian Film nomination, Baichwal and Burtynsky’s Watermark is in the running for Best Canadian Documentary, competing against Chelsea McMullan’s My Prairie Home and Charles Wilkinson’s Oil Sands Karaoke. Karaoke is also in contention for Best British Columbia Film, vying for the award with Ben Ratner’s Down River and Jason DaSilva’s When I Walk.

A full list of nominees in the Canadian category follows.

BEST CANADIAN FILM
The Dirties
Gabrielle
Watermark

BEST ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM
Thomas Haden Church, Whitewash
Matt Johnson, The Dirties
Tom Scholte, The Dick Knost Show

BEST ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM
Michelle Giroux, Blood Pressure
Tatiana Maslany, Picture Day
Sophie Desmarais, Sarah Prefers to Run

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM
Marc Labreche, Whitewash
Alexandre Landry, Gabrielle
Owen Williams, The Dirties

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM
Romane Bohringer, Vic + Flo Saw a Bear
Lise Roy, Tom at the Farm
Gabrielle Rose, The Dick Knost Show

BEST DIRECTOR OF A CANADIAN FILM
Louise Archambault, Gabrielle
Jeff Barnaby, Rhymes for Young Ghouls
Matt Johnson, The Dirties

BEST CANADIAN DOCUMENTARY
My Prairie Home
Oil Sands Karaoke
Watermark

BEST BRITISH COLUMBIA FILM
Down River
Oil Sands Karaoke
When I Walk

BEST FIRST FILM BY A CANADIAN DIRECTOR
The Dirties
Rhymes for Young Ghouls
Sarah Prefers to Run

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ANIMATOR AL SENS WINS THE IAN CADDELL AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT
The Vancouver Film Critics Circle have announced that Canadian animation pioneer Al Sens is the winner of the 2014 Ian Caddell Award for Achievement. Presented to a British Columbian who has made a significant contribution to the province’s film industry, this award is named in honour of the VFCC’s cofounder who passed away in 2012.

A Vancouver native, the self-taught animator founded Al Sens Animation, the city’s first animation studio, in 1958. Since then, he’s amassed an impressive body of inventive work (including 1965′s The See Hear Talk Think Dream and Act Film and 1978′s Canadian Vignettes: Logger), developed his trademark “spit technique” and served as a mentor to generations of animators.

Sens, who turns 80 this week, will be presented with his award at the VFCC’s 14th annual awards ceremony, to be held at the Railway Club in Vancouver on Tuesday, January 7.