Montreal: Omerta: la loi du silence, Productions sda’s gripping crime drama, completely outdistanced the competition winning 11 Prix Gemeaux at the 11th annual Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television – Quebec tv awards show.

Penned by first-time tv writer Luc Dionne and directed by Pierre Houle, both Gemeaux winners, the series has garnered critical praise for its ‘innovative,’ non-sentimental portrayal of the deadly battles between the Montreal mob and police.

Omerta is budgeted at $10 million and is currently shooting a second 13-hour season slated to air on Radio-Canada in January. Francois Champagne and Francine Forest are the producers.

The Academy’s Grand Prix de l’Academie Gemeaux for career achievement, sponsored by Ford du Canada, went to Radio-Canada sports broadcaster Richard Garneau, with hockey legend Ken Dryden among those offering praise.

Omerta won the Hydro-Quebec Prix du Public, and Productions Sovimage’s Steinberg, directed by Mark Blandford, won the Canadian Heritage-sponsored Prix du Multiculturalisme.

Casting director Lucie Robitaille won the acct’s Prix Special.

Performance winners include Luc Picard as an undercover cop in Omerta, Nicole Leblanc for her highly dramatic role in an episode of Avec un Grand A, Michel Forget as a macho businessman in Les Machos, and Louise Portal for her role in Graffiti. Best supporting actor Gemeaux went to Sophie Lorain and Claude Blanchard, both for Omerta.

Good reviews

Press reviews for the Sept. 29 Gemeaux galas have been entirely positive.

Radio-Canada newscaster Simon Durivage, host for the rdi afternoon program, and Nomand Brathwaite for the Radio-Canada evening gala, were efficient, debonair and often hilarious.

Blanchard, who plays one of the heavies in Omerta, took home a Gemeaux and had the black-tie acct crowd squirming with deadpan commentary on dope and showbiz folks, topping it off with a personal salute to his ‘friend Frank’ in Parthenais prison.

Veteran Radio-Quebec broadcaster Janette Bertrand saved a little rancor for her Gemeaux acceptance speech. She said Avec un Grand A ‘is dead, but I’m not,’ a reference to her nasty dispute with the technicians unions at the new Tele-Quebec. Bertrand says she’ll return with new shows on Radio-Canada next season.

10th anniversaries

Tenth anniversary salutes were also part of this year’s festivities, for both Television Quatre Saisons and specialty service MusiquePlus.

tqs didn’t have all that many nominations, but its spirited management team showed up for the fun anyway.

MusiquePlus arrived with its great-looking dj lineup, pointing to the fact the service’s French-track music video collection has grown from 24 back in 1986 to 1,500 today.

The following is a complete list of the 1996 Prix Gemeaux winners.

Special awards

Grand Prix de l’Academie: Richard Garneau

Prix du Public Hydro-Quebec: Omerta: la loi du silence (Productions sda)

Patrimoine Canadien – Prix du Multiculturalisme: Steinberg (Productions Sovimage)

Prix Special: Lucie Robitaille

Program Awards

Best Drama Series: Omerta (sda).

Best Teleroman: Sous un ciel variable (Radio-Canada).

Best Drama Program: Les Grands Proces, ‘L’Affaire Nogaret’ (Sovimage/Productions Sagittaire).

Best Animation Series or Program: Spirou ii (Cine-Groupe)

Best Variety Series: L’Ecuyer (Cite-Variations)

Best Variety Special: Ginette Reno (Poly-Productions)

Best Comedy Series: Moi et l’autre (Avanti Cine Video).

Best Comedy Special: Bye Bye 95 (Radio-Canada)

Best Performing Arts Special: Saltimbanco (Telemagik)

Best Cultural Series: Vision d’Amerique (Coscient)

Best Service Series: Qui Vive! (Verseau International)

Best Public Affairs Series: Enjeux (Radio-Canada)

Best News Program: Le Telejournal (Radio-Canada).

Best Documentary d’Auteur: Le Jardin oublie – director, Marquis Lepage (nfb)

Best Documentary Series: M’aimes-tu? (Verseau International)

Best News Special: Referendum 95 (Radio-Canada).

Best Original Game Show: Les Zigotos (Productions Prisma)

Best Dramatic Youth Program or Series – 2 to 12: La Maison de Ouimzie (Cinar Films)

Best Youth News or Variety Program or Series – 2 to 12: Le Petit Journal (Television Quatre Saisons)

Best Youth Program or Series – 13 to 17: Ici Ados Canada iii (Productions Pixcom)

Best Sports Program or Series: La Soiree du hockey Molson a Radio-Canada (Radio-Canada)

Craft Awards

Best Direction of a Drama Series: Pierre Houle – Omerta (sda)

Best Direction of a Teleroman: Pierre-Yvan Dubuc – Graffiti (Radio-Quebec)

Best Direction of a Dramatic Program: Johanne Pregent – Les Grands Proces, ‘L’Affaire Nogaret’ (Sovimage/Sagittaire).

Best Direction of a Variety Special or Series: Pierre Brochu – Ginette Reno (Poly-Productions)

Best Direction of a Comedy Special or Series: Stephane Laporte, Jean-Jacques Sheitoyan – Toute ressemblance avec des personnes connues est ben valeur pour eux autres! (Avanti Cine Video).

Best Direction of a Cultural or Service Series: Sylvie Berkowicz – Perfecto ‘Episode 202’ (MusiquePlus)

Best Direction of a Documentary, News, Public Affairs Program or Series: Jean-Pierre Maher – La Depression et la maniaco-depression (Productions Sogestalt)

Best Direction of a Youth Program or Series: Louis Choquette – Ici Ados Canada iii (Pixcom)

Best Writing in a Drama Series: Luc Dionne – Omerta (sda).

Best Writing in a Teleroman: Guy Fournier – Les Heritiers Duval (Radio-Canada)

Best Writing in a Dramatic Program: Janette Bertrand – Avec un Grand A, ‘L’Etrangleuse’ (Radio-Quebec)

Best Writing in a Comedy Special or Series: Marc Brunet, Stephan Dube – Majeurs et Vaccines, ‘Longeurs d’ondes’ (Avanti Cine Video).

Best Writing in a Youth Program or Series: Danielle Dansereau – Watatatow v (Productions jbm)

Best Research on a Cultural or Service Series: Dali Sanschagrin – Perfecto, ‘Episode 202’ (MusiquePlus)

Best Research on a News, Public Affairs, Documentary Series or Information Special: Terri Foxman, Tom Puchniak, Pierre Sormany – Steinberg (Sovimage)

Best Research on a Youth Program or Series: Lise Gobeille, Daphne Pontbriand – Betes pas Betes +, ‘L’Australie’ (Radio-Canada).

Best Photography (Video): Sylvain Brault – Saltimbanco (Telemagik)

Best Photography (Film): Louis de Ernsted – Omerta (sda)

Best Editing (Drama): Jean-Pierre Cereghetti – Omerta (sda).

Best Editing (Variety, Comedy, Performing Arts): Jose Heppell – Les Ailes du feu (Productions de l’Encrier)

Best Editing (Documentary, News, Public Affairs Series or Special): Vidal Beique – Steinberg (Sovimage)

Best Overall Sound (Drama): Luc Boudrias, Dominique Chartrand, Jerome Decarie, Antoine Morin, Viateur Paiement – Omerta (sda)

Best Overall Sound (Variety, Comedy, Performing Arts): Marc Doiron – Glenn Gould: Extasis (Radio-Canada)

Best Production Design: Jean-Claude Lajeunie – Marcel poursuivi par les chiens (Radio-Quebec)

Best Costume Design: Mireille Vachon – Omerta (sda)

Best Make-Up: Sylvie Caya, Madeleine Gouin, Guy Roy, Stephane Tessier – Bye Bye 95 (Radio-Canada).

Best Original Music Program or Series: Michel Cusson – Omerta (sda)

Best Computer-Animation: Marc-Andre Simard, Andre Vaudrin – Branche (Radio-Canada)

Best Reporting Team: Mehmet Aksin (cameraman), Faris Barsoum (director), Celine Galipeau (journalist), Irina Vesselova (editor) – Le Telejournal ‘Le Tchechenie’ (Radio-Canada).

Performance Awards

Best Performance by a Lead Actor in a Drama Program or Series: Luc Picard – Omerta (sda)

Best Performance by a Lead Actress in a Drama Program or Series: Nicole Leblanc – Avec Un Grand A, ‘L’Etrangleuse’ (Radio-Quebec)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Teleroman: Michel Forget – Les Machos (Productions Point de Mire)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Teleroman: Louise Portal – Graffiti (Radio-Quebec)

Best Supporting Actor: Claude Blanchard – Omerta (sda)

Best Supporting Actress: Sophie Lorain – Omerta (sda)

Best Performance in a Comedy Series or Special: Andre-Philippe Gagnon – Toute ressemblance avec des personnes connues est ben de valeur pour eux autres (Avanti Cine Video)

Best Performance in a Dramatic Youth Program or Series: Robert Aubert – Radio-Enfer (Tele-Action)

Best Host of a Variety Special or Series: Patrice L’Ecuyer – L’Ecuyer (Cite Variations)

Best Host of a Cultural or Service Series: Christiane Charette – Christiane Charette en direct (Radio-Canada/Productions Gignac-Charette)

Best Host of a News, Public Affairs Series or Special: Bernard Derome – Referendum 95 (Radio-Canada)

Best Interview: Sonia Benezra – Sonia Benezra rencontre Celine Dion a Los Angeles (Coscient)

Best Host of a Youth Program or Series: Christian Begin, Carol Cassistat, Elyse Marquis – Tele-Pirates v (sda)

Best Host of a Sports Program or Series: Michel Beaudry, Michel Bergeron, Andre Cote, Francois Faucher, Eric Lavallee – Le hockey Molson du Canadien (tqs)