Rebecca Jenkins – Marion Bridge

Rebecca Jenkins is nominated for her role as Theresa in the family drama Marion Bridge, directed by Wiebke von Carolsfeld and written by Daniel MacIvor. Jenkins plays the eldest of three sisters (Molly Parker, also nominated, and Stacy Smith play the others) who reunite to care for their dying mother Rose (Marguerite McNeil).

Jenkins, turning 45 this year, won a Genie in 1990 for her lead performance in Bye Bye Blues, directed by Anne Wheeler. She is also a five-time Gemini nominee, including two noms for her lead role in the series Black Harbour.

Micheline Lanctot – Comment ma mere accoucha de moi durant sa menopause

In the Quebec comedy Comment ma mere…, directed by Sebastien Rose, Micheline Lanctot plays a woman who, like her daughter, is a librarian. And that’s not all they have in common – they share the love of Rasoir (Patrick Huard).

Lanctot, also an accomplished writer and director, has been nominated for seven previous Genies, winning for direction in 1985 for Sonatine. She also won a special achievement award in 1981 and a Canadian Film Award in 1972 for her lead role in La Vraie nature de Bernadette. She won a 1999 Gemeaux for the series Le Polock.

The renaissance woman also plays a nurse in Denys Arcand’s Les Invasions barbares and can be seen in her memorable role in the recently rereleased 1974 feature The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz.

Molly Parker – Marion Bridge

Molly Parker is nominated for Marion Bridge alongside costar Rebecca Jenkins. In the film, Parker plays Agnes, the youngest of three sisters, who returns to the family home in Nova Scotia from Toronto to care for her dying mother, although her siblings question whether she is up to the task.

Parker already has two Genies on her mantel, along with two additional nominations. Her first win, in 1997, came for her breakthrough performance as a necrophile in Lynne Stopkewich’s controversial drama Kissed, followed by a win in 2001 for her supporting turn in Bruce Sweeney’s black comedy Last Wedding. She can currently be seen in the raw HBO western series Deadwood, which airs on The Movie Network and Movie Central.

Sarah Polley – My Life without Me

Sarah Polley’s fifth Genie nomination comes for her performance in the Canada/Spain copro My Life Without Me, directed by Isabel Coixet.

In the drama, Polley plays Ann, a 23-year-old who lives with her two kids and unemployed husband Don (Scott Speedman) in a trailer in her mother’s backyard. When Ann finds out she has less than two months to live, she tries to complete everything on her ‘to do’ list before she dies.

The Vancouver Film Critics Circle chose Polley for best actress in a Canadian film.

Of her previous Genie noms, I Shout Love, which the 25-year-old Polley directed, went on to win best live-action short drama at the last Genies. She has also been nominated for eight Geminis, winning twice. She is currently on screens in the hit Hollywood horror flick Dawn of the Dead.

Karine Vanasse – Seraphin: Un homme et son peche

Twenty-year-old Karine Vanasse’s star has been on the rise ever since her breakthrough in Lea Pool’s Emporte-moi (1999). Vanasse won a best actress Jutra for that performance, and won again in 2003 for box-office blockbuster Seraphin, the film for which she is also nominated for a Genie this year.

In the period piece Seraphin, Vanasse plays Donalda Laloge, a young woman who shuns true love to marry the town miser Seraphin (Pierre Lebeau) to help pay the debts of her father (Remy Girard).

Vanasse, born in Drummondville, QC, has also been nominated for a couple of Gemeaux Awards, winning in 2002 for hosting the youth program Les Debrouillards. She appears opposite Oscar winner Charlize Theron in the forthcoming Head in the Clouds.

Playback Picks

* Sarah Polley: PV, MD, IE

* Rebecca Jenkins: SD

* Karine Vanasse: LB