When Away from Her star Gordon Pinsent saw the Canada Aviation Museum Tuesday, he immediately loved it.
“When I was a kid in Gander, Nfld., I saw all these planes coming in,” the veteran actor, playwright, author and director said. “When I came here this morning, I knew all these planes.”
Along with Quebec actor Caroline Neron, Pinsent announced the nominees for the 29th annual Genie Awards, to be held at the museum on April 4.
Having the Genie Awards here in Ottawa will show off the nation’s capital to all Canadians, Pinsent said.
Himself a three-time Genie Award winner, Pinsent has “spent quite a bit of time in Ottawa.” He added that he would “love” to shoot a film here.
“This is a big day in the history of the Canadian capital,” said National Capital Commission CEO Marie Lemay.
The NCC is now working on Genie Week — a series of events to share the buzz with all residents, she said.
To be held from March 28-April 4, Genie Week includes free public screenings of nominated films at venues across the region, as well as workshops and educational activities.
The Canada Aviation Museum is an ideal place for the awards ceremony which, this year, has the theme Canadian Film Takes Flight, said Sara Morton, CEO of Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.
The NCC has worked for the last five years to get the Genie Awards to Ottawa, said NCC vice-president of national programming Guy Laflamme.
The awards are an amazing opportunity for Ottawa, as well as to accelerate the growth of the film industry in the capital, he said.
“It will get people to understand that the capital is a place to celebrate Canadian culture and excellence.”
Neron said she was impressed with the number of films representing Anglophone-Francophone collaborations on the nominee list.
