Falardeau’s Genie blast by MATTHEW HAYS Those wondering why Pierre Falardeau’s historical epic 15 février 1839 didn’t make the short list for Genie nominations this year, take note: It seems the auteur, who is fun to chat with but is undoubtedly a bit of a crank, didn’t even enter the film for consideration. In a sternly worded letter faxed out from Christal Films headquarters (they distributed the film), Falardeau blasts the Genies for being generally lame and specifically clueless on the topic of Quebec cinema. Among other things, Falardeau says he’d really rather not have critics at the National Post, Winnipeg Free Press, Thunder Bay Herald or Moose Jaw Time (sic) deciding what constitutes Quebec cinema. He also suggests that he’s not interested in a show as “très Canadian” as the Genies, with nominations such as best sandwiches, best plywood and best driver. Falardeau is funny, you’ve got to give him that. There have certainly been cases of filmmakers dissing the Genies before. Years ago, western-based Anne Wheeler (Loyalties, Bye Bye Blues) announced she was going to skip the event, saying she’d had enough of the popularity contest it had devolved into. Rumour had it she was pissed about constantly being upstaged by Denys Arcand, a Quebec filmmaker. Such is the crisis facing virtually any Canadian cultural institution that’s attempting to be truly national in scope; regional squabbles almost always emerge, in some cases eclipsing the entire event. For the record: I truly liked Falardeau’s film and recommend renting it, award nominations or not. At least the man is up front about his politics and is thus devoid of any sleazy hidden agendas. Congrats must go out to the creativity dept. over at Bravo headquarters in T.O. The folks over at the all-arts channel are getting ready to unveil their new reality-based TV series on Feb. 9. Just so no one would know who they’re trying to rip off, they cleverly and carefully came up with a new name for the series. Are you ready? It’s called: The Real Sex in the City! The show has several sexy urban women followed by cameras as they go out on dates with various men. Way to blaze a new trail, guys! Vid and DVD distributor Facets Video has just released its very own manifesto, The 7 Deadly Sins of Library Video Collecting. In it, the authors remind those who want to accumulate meaningful film libraries to avoid certain pratfalls. Among the tips: don’t ignore newer foreign or independent films, think like a library, not a video store, don’t for a minute think that “Disney = children,” and (my favourite) don’t treat the AFI’s top 100 list as gospel. It’s a clever bit of self promotion, as the group distributes an exceptional selection of foreign and alternative fare for home collection and consumption. To order a copy of their diatribe, phone 1-800-331-6197. :   COMMENTS: mhays@mtl-mirror.com