12th Genie Awards

12th Genie Awards
DateNovember 26, 1991
SitePantages Theatre, Toronto, Ontario
Hosted byLeslie Nielsen
Highlights
Best PictureBlack Robe
Most awardsBlack Robe (6)
Most nominationsBlack Robe (10)
Television coverage
NetworkCBC Television

The 12th Genie Awards were held on November 26, 1991, and honoured Canadian films released in 1990 and 1991.[1] The ceremony was hosted by actor Leslie Nielsen[1]

Following the disastrous ratings of the 1990 awards, the academy reviewed all aspects of the awards. Audience studies were conducted, production formats and venues were scrutinized, and the adjudication process was revisited.

The audience studies confirmed what the academy suspected: that Canadians were not sufficiently familiar with Canadian films. With most films now released each fall, the public needed more time to see films, so the ceremony was moved to an autumn date. There was also a fundamental change in voting procedures; now, peer juries of academy members from each award category would nominate films, and voting members in each category would choose the winners. The number of eligible voters was reduced to 130, and the ceremony's format was changed to focus on the nominees for Best Motion Picture.[2]

This year's awards covered a longer eligibility period and a larger number of eligible films than any previous Genie Awards, for which 39 features and 36 theatrical shorts and documentaries were in the final roster.[1] The awards were dominated by the Canadian/Australian co-production Black Robe, which was nominated for ten awards[3] and won six.

  1. ^ a b c "Genies undergo changes". The Globe and Mail, November 26, 1991.
  2. ^ Maria Topalovich, And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-7737-3238-1. pp. 117-199.
  3. ^ "Black Robe leads race for Genies". The Globe and Mail, October 10, 1991.