Montreal: Quebec’s newly launched film industry awards showcase, Les Prix Jutra, will have its inaugural gala broadcast live Feb. 28, 1999 on Reseau tva.

All Quebec films released commercially in calendar ’98 (defined as a minimum of one week in theaters) are eligible for prizes in 14 craft, performance and production categories including best short film, documentary and feature-length motion picture. The year’s top-grossing film will be awarded the Billet D’Or.

Eligible films will be announced Dec. 31, finalists on Jan. 14.

Producer Roger Frappier, president of the awards’ organizing body, La Grand Nuit du Cinema, told a press rally Quebec films are becoming more popular and varied, creating momentum for the new program.

‘All films and documentaries are eligible whether they are in French, English or any other language,’ says Frappier.

Pierre Curzi (Union des Artistes), Christian Larouche (cafde), Lucette Lupien (arrq), Robert Geoffrion (wgc) and industry publicist Henry Welsh are also on the executive committee.

Three finalists will be named in each category as voted by association members within their specific craft. Best film nominees will be voted exclusively by producers and distributors. All eligible films will be screened during the Rendez-vous du cinema retrospective, Feb. 11-17, 1999, with the entire Grand Nuit college (5,000-plus members) eligible to vote for winners in each category.

The new awards program is honing its definitions for eligibility and content rules.

Initial Prix Jutra program categories include best motion picture but there’s no mention of other content categories such as best coproduction contribution or best English-language motion picture.

Exec committee member Welsh says there are no plans for any best program subcategories. ‘For us, language is not relevant,’ he says. ‘It was naive, perhaps, because we really thought this could be a way of putting the English productions in a ghetto.’

The issue will be raised at the board level, and Welsh says other eligibility adjustments may also be required for the first year.

Up to 21 Quebec feature films released in ’98 are likely to be eligible.

Founding Prix Jutra organizations include cafde (distributors), the apftq (producers), arrq (French-language directors), dgc Quebec Council, sardec and wgc (screenwriters), spacq (lyricists and composers), stcvq (technicians), uda and Rendez-vous du cinema quebecois.

‘As for the Academy, we are going to help all the Quebec filmmakers who wish to participate in the Genies, as we always have, and now, even more so,’ says Andreanne Bournival, acct-Quebec president.

Seven out of about 10 or 12 eligible Quebec films including Louis Saia’s Les Boys have entered the Genies, which will be broadcast live Feb. 4, 1999 on cbc, says Patrice Lachance, acct director in Montreal. Eight or nine Quebec features registered last year.

‘There’s no fight between the Rendez-vous and the Academy,’ says Lachance. ‘We knew since last year they were going to do this.’