The seventh Soirée des Jutra was a huge coup for Francis Leclerc’s Mémoires affectives. The intimate auteur film produced by Barbara Shrier of Montreal’s Palomar Films won four of its five nominations at the Quebec film awards, including best film, best director, best picture editing and best actor for lead Roy Dupuis.

‘We had no expectations, which just makes this so much more delicious,’ said Shrier, still a little taken aback by the results the morning after the Feb. 20 ceremony. ‘It renewed my faith in the whole system, because in all the Quebec press, Mémoires was everyone’s favorite, but no one’s prediction to win.’

The story of a veternarian who emerges from a coma with no memory of who he is or what happened to him had a limited but respectable run in theaters with close to 40,000 admissions. Mémoires is up for six Genies next month and was rereleased in Quebec by distrib Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm Feb. 25.

Ma vie en cinémascope, produced by Cinémaginaire’s Denise Robert and Daniel Louis, received a total of five awards. It was nominated in nine categories, more than any other film this year. It lost out to Mémoires for best picture and best director, but lead Pascale Bussières won best actress, and best art direction went to Normand Sarrazin. Cinémascope also won best sound, makeup and hair styling.

Yves Pelletier’s romantic comedy Les Aimants beat out Mémoires for best screenplay. It also won best music and best supporting actress for Sylvie Moreau, who shares the supporting actress award this year with Brigitte Lafleur for her role in Elles étaient cinq. In addition, Denys Arcand’s Les Invasions barbares, distributed internationally by Flash Pyramide International, won the Jutra for the film that performed best in foreign markets.

When presenting this year’s Jutra-Hommage to Michel Brault, Arcand remarked that the history of Quebec cinema reads like the Bible, ‘In the beginning there was ‘Old Michel.”

His career spans six decades, a time in which he also pioneered the cinema-direct school and the use of handheld cameras.

The Prix Jutra ceremony was broadcast live on Radio-Canada. For a complete list of winners, go to the SRC website.

With files from Playback staff.

-www.radio-canada.ca/television/jutra2005