FILM, ARTS, ETC.

Best Local Actor

1.          Jay Baruchel
2.          William Shatner
3.          Claude Legault
4.          Roy Dupuis
5.          Xavier Dolan
6.          Patrick Huard
7.          Tristan D. Lalla
8.          Marc-André Grondin
9.          Rémy Girard
10.         Michel Côté

Honourable mentions: Larry Day • Paul Van Dyk • George Bekiaris • Luc Picard • The entire cast of Reefer Madness: The Musical

NDG homeboy Baruchel takes the top honours, his Hollywood career continuing to roar along with flicks like The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, How to Train Your Dragon and She’s Out of My League. Perpetual favourite Shatner (recently seen in the Shit My Dad Says sitcom) comes in high as always, with local francophone heartthrob Claude Legault rocketing to third position. Tristan D. Lalla makes the list for the first time, presumably due either to his extensive theatre work or to his Funkytown appearance in the role of (seriously) Big Black Guy. The list was rounded out with It Boy Xavier Dolan (Les Amours imaginaires), tireless thespians Roy Dupuis (Mesrine) and Rémy Girard (Incendies), C.R.A.Z.Y. vets Marc-André Grondin and Michel Côté and stalwart hunk Patrick Huard (Filière 13).

 

Best Local Actress

1.          Jessica Paré
2.          Elisha Cuthbert
3.          Karine Vanasse
4.          Anne Dorval
5.          Emmanuelle Chriqui
6.          Anna Hopkins
7.          Rachelle Lefevre
8.          Alison Louder
9.          Caroline Davernhas
10.         Holly Gauthier-Frankel

Honourable mentions: Anne-Marie Cadieux • Cat Lemieux • Laurence Leboeuf • Gemma James Smith • Nico Lagarde

In a BOM upset, longtime list-topper Elisha Cuthbert (of the late 24) was dethroned by Jessica Paré. Angle mort’s Karine Vanasse, Les Amours imaginaires’ Anne Dorval and Entourage’s Emmanuelle Chriqui kept their high rankings from last year, while Alison Louder (of TV’s Being Human), hard-working Caroline Davernhas (who was in Wrecked, Devil and the miniseries The Pacific and Off the Map this year alone) and Holly Gauthier-Frankel (best known for her burlesque alter ego Miss. Sugar Puss and parts in productions like Schwartz’s: The Musical) climbed from last year’s honourable mentions to the exalted heights of the top 10.

 

Best Local Filmmaker

1.          Denis Villeneuve
2.          Xavier Dolan
3.          Denys Arcand
4.          Jacob Tierney
5.          Podz
6.          Ziad Touma
7.          Denis Côté
8.          Patricia Chica
9.          Stéphane Lafleur
10.         Adam Reider

Honourable mentions: Matthew Saliba • Olivier Perras • Robin Aubert • Alexandre Franchi • Bernard Émond • Jean-Marc Vallée • Karim Hussain • Maxime Giroux

Distinguished winner Denis Villeneuve made us proud on the international scene with the Oscar-nominated Incendies, while Xavier Dolan continues his lucky streak with Les Amours imaginaires getting the rarified U.S. release. Denys Arcand’s relative inactivity of late didn’t stop the Invasions barbares auteur from ranking high; other familiar names from last year include Jacob Tierney, who continues to ride the wave of love from last year’s The Trotsky (and his shit-disturbing remarks about the whitebread Quebec film industry); Podz, who followed up his violent debut Les 7 jours du talion with the heartfelt but still disturbing 10 ½; Patricia Chica (of Rockabilly 514 and several acclaimed short films) and international festival faves Denis Côté (Curling) and Stéphane Lafleur (En terrains connus). New to the list are Ziad Touma (who’s been keeping busy in TV with the series Chop Shop and Dussault Inc.), and Adam Reider, who must either have made a major impact on viewers with his sole short film Dogsitter, or have an assiduous group of BOM-voting friends.

 

Best Local Movie

1. Incendies
2. Barney’s Version
3. Amours imaginaires
4. BumRush
5. Funkytown
6. An Average Man
7. Curling
8. À l’origine d’un cri
9. Checkpoint
10. Sortie 67

Unsurprisingly what with the Oscar nomination and all, Incendies took the top honours, resilient Richler pride put Barney’s Version not far behind, ahead of Xavier Dolan’s sophomore effort Les Amours imaginaires. Crime flick BumRush and disco-era drama Funkytown didn’t thrill critics, but impressed our readers, who also shouted out Denis Côté’s challenging Curling, Robin Aubert’s angstful À l’origine d’un cri, and Bastien Jephté’s gangster drama Sortie 67.

 

Best Theatre Company

1.          Centaur Theatre
2.          MainLine Theatre
3.          Théâtre du Nouveau Monde
4.          Sidemart Theatrical Grocery
5.          Uncalled For
6.          Repercussion Theatre
7.          Black Theatre Workshop
8.          Processed Theatre
9.          Tableau D’Hôte Theatre
10.         Geordie Productions

 

Best Play

1. Schwartz’s: The Musical
2. Reefer Madness: The Musical
3. Romeo and Juliet
4. Medea
5. Stones in His Pockets
6. Hypnogogic Logic
7. Sexy Dirty Bloody Scary
8. A Raisin in the Sun
9. Hamlet
10. Lieutenant of Inishmore

The hammiest of the city’s stage productions beats out the competition; in fact, Schwartz’s: The Musical was so popular it’s coming back for a two week run in the summer. Improv Troupe Uncalled For make the list with Hypnogogic Logic, which showed at the Wild Side Festival alongside #9, Hamlet. It’s also nice to see Black Theatre Workshop’s remounting of A Raisin in the Sun get some love.

 

Best Dance Company/ Choreographer

1.          La La La Human Steps
2.          Dance Animal
3.          Marie Chouinard
4.          Amy Blackmore
5.          Grand Ballets Canadiens
6.          Dave St-Pierre
7.          Dead Doll Dancers
8.          8 Count
9.          Andrew Tay
10.         Rubberbandance

 

Best Spoken Word Act

1.          Lydia Lockett
2.          Catherine Kidd
3.          Kalmunity
4.          Moe Clark
5.          Lady Katalyst
6.          Alexis O’Hara
7.          Alessandra Naccarato
8.          Queen KA
9.          Fabrice Koffy
10.         Monk-e

 

Best Museum

1.          Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
2.          Musée d’art contemporain
3.          Canadian Centre for Architecture
4.          McCord
5.          Pointe-à-Callière
6.          Redpath
7.          Biodome
8.          Montreal Science Centre
9.          Centre d’histoire de Montréal
10.         Écomusée

 

 

Best Gallery

1.          Belgo
2.          Yves Laroche
3.          Parisian Laundry
4.          Ctrllab
5.          DHC/Art
6.          La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse
7.          Monastiraki
8.          Push
9.          Articule
10.         Art Mûr

There’s really no defeating the Belgo with its five-floors of art, but one Belgo gallery stood out from the rest to garner a place of its own: congratulations Push! Art Mûr squeaks into the top 10.

 

 

Best Art Exhibit

1.           The Warrior Emperor and China’s Terracotta Army (MMFA)
2.           Rouge Cabaret: The Terrifying and Beautiful World of Otto Dix (MMFA)
3.           Art Matters
4.           “We Want Miles”: Miles Davis vs. Jazz (MMFA)
5.           Shary Boyle’s Flesh and Blood (UQAM)
6.           Nuit Blanche
7.           Corno (Galerie du Festival)
8.           Anri Sala (MAC)
9.           Kent Monkman’s My Treaty is With the Crown (Leonard & Ellen Bina Gallery)
10.           Denis Gagnon Shows All (MMFA)

It’s hard to beat 2,000 years of art history, so it’s not surprising to see the famed Terracotta Warriors in top place. If you haven’t yet checked out Emperor Ying Zheng’s army, it’s on until June 26. Toronto artist (and Mirror Fall Arts Preview cover star) Shary Boyle beats out the competition with her whimsical and strange porcelain figurines, while fashion designer Denis Gagnon thrilled museum spectators by turning his designs into an art installation.

 

Best Local Living Author

1.          Leonard Cohen
2.          Michel Tremblay
3.          Dany Laferrière
4.          Heather O’Neill
5.          Rawi Hage
6.          Bill Brownstein
7.          Adam Gollner
8.          Patrick Senécal
9.          Réjean Ducharme
10.         Jeff Miller

Surprise appearances included Olivier Abbou’s horror flick Checkpoint (aka Territoires), and Olivier Perras’s no-budget An Average Man, which ranked remarkably high considering its brief two-night run at the Cinéma du Parc.

Despite leaving town for Saskatchewan back in 2005, Yann Martel almost made it onto the list again this year. New authors of note include Adam Gollner, whose non-fiction title The Fruit Hunters is currently being made into a movie; Quebecois author Réjean Ducharme, whose novel L’Avalée des avalés (The Swallower Swallowed) has become a hit in English Canada. Finally, zine-king and indie author Jeff Miller makes this year’s list after weeks on the Gazette’s best-seller list for his first book, Ghost Pine.

 

Best Cartoonist/Comic Artist

1.          Aislin
2.          Rick Trembles
3.          Michel Rabagliati
4.          Serge Chapleau
5.          Julie Douce
6.          Matt Forsythe
7.          Sherwin Tija
8.          Billy Mavreas
9.          Cameron Stewart
10.         Joe Ollmann

 

Best Video Game Company

1.          Ubisoft Montreal
2.          Visceral Games (formerly EA Montreal)
3.          Eidos Montreal
4.          Gameloft
5.          BioWare Montreal
6.          THQ Montreal
7.          Funcom
8.          Ludia
9.          Behaviour (formerly A2M)
10.         Polytron

EA Montreal’s name change notwithstanding, the big three remain entrenched atop the Best Local Game Studio ranking. Cell phone gamers made their voices heard by supporting Gameloft, and even though they haven’t even announced their first project yet, THQ Montreal’s flashy entrance onto the scene was enough to convince voters they’re worth keeping an eye on.

 

Best Fashion Designer

1.          Denis Gagnon
2.          Philippe Dubuc
3.          Marie St-Pierre
4.          Eve Gravel
5.          Travis Taddeo
6.          Andy Thê-Anh
7.          Barilà
8.          Valérie Dumaine
9.          Yasmine Wasfy (Lustre)
10.         Norwegian Wood

Honorable mentions: Dane Richards • Jennifer Glasgow • Katrin Leblond • Renata Morales

While icons of the Montreal fashion scene take the top three spots, the young’uns are coming up from behind. Barilà makes the list this year, along with Valérie Dumaine, queen of the short, sexy and edgy dress, and Norwegian Wood, aka Angie Johnson, who walked away with top prize at 2009’s Fashion Pop.

 

 

Best Graffiti Artist/Crew

1.          Omen
2.          Jays
3.          Roadsworth
4.          Zilon
5.          Castro
6.          Monk-e
7.          Jazz
8.          Sake
9.           Killa-EF
10.         En Masse

Jays rises to the top of this category, proving that he’s gone but not forgotten. Art collective En Masse makes their first showing on the list, as well as the delightfully named Jazz. To everyone who answered Bansky to this question—and there were a lot of you—do you know something we don’t?

 

Best Festival

1.          Jazz Festival
2.          Just for Laughs
3.          Pop Montreal
4.          Fringe Festival
5.          Osheaga
6.          Beer Festival
7.          High Lights/Nuit Blanche
8.          Fantasia
9.          Suoni Per Il Popolo
10.         Igloofest

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