Montreal: Nominations for the 20th annual Gemeaux Awards for French-language television were unveiled on Oct. 12, with L’Héritière de Grande Ourse, société Radio-Canada’s paranormal mystery program, in the lead with 14 nominations.

Minuit, le soir, Radio-Canada’s drama about the nightlife of an ensemble of adventurous Montrealers, and TVA’s Le Négociateur, a crime drama set in 1970, were a close second, with 11 nominations each.

All three of these series are up for best dramatic series, vying with Radio-Canada’s prison drama Temps dur and TVA’s sex-and-the-suburbs ensemble drama Vice caché. Grande Ourse was also nominated for best direction of a dramatic series (for Patrice Sauvé), as was Le Négociateur (Sylvain Archambault), Minuit, le soir (Daniel Grou), Temps dur (Louis Choquette) and Vice caché (Claude Desrosiers).

The first season of Ciao, Bella!, the Montreal-based Italian family sitcom shot in both French and English that aired on Radio-Canada and CBC, respectively, received four nominations, much to the surprise of its creator, Steve Galluccio.

‘I’m thrilled at the nominations,’ which included a nod for him for best comedy script, says Galluccio. But he adds that the noms felt ‘bizarre’ given that both nets axed the show. ‘What does it take to make a hit in this country?’ he asks. ‘We’ve done so well, we learn that we’re canceled and now we get nominated. It all seems a bit strange.’

The nominations are also noteworthy for what is absent. In April, citing dissatisfaction with the way in which the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television arrives at nominations and winners, private networks TVA and TQS declined to participate in the Gemeaux. Luc Lavoie, a spokesman for Quebecor-owned TVA, stated bluntly that he felt the Gemeaux were always tipped in favor of public broadcaster Radio-Canada, despite the fact that TVA often has ratings-grabbing programming.

TVA says this is not a boycott, but an abstention. Independent producers whose programs are broadcast on TVA were welcome to apply, says Lavoie.

And yet Julie Snyder, the popular Quebec TV personality and founder of Productions J, also declined to apply, meaning her hugely popular French-language version of American Idol, TVA’s Star Académie, is absent from the nominations.

Perhaps most notably, producer Fabienne Larouche declined to apply for any awards for her show Les Bougon. This makes one of the biggest hits in the province, the sitcom sensation about a wildly dysfunctional Quebecois family, which airs on SRC, glaringly absent from the Gemeaux list.

The abstentions point to an ongoing identity crisis for the Gemeaux, which have consistently come under attack for being elitist and too removed from the popular tastes of Quebec audiences. The rift between the Academy, which organizes the awards, and private broadcasters TVA and TQS became more pronounced this year, when both declined to broadcast the ceremony. Astral Media has stepped in to give the ceremony a broadcaster, with its Canal D airing the event on Dec. 4.

Academy officials played down the abstentions by prominent producers.

‘This is not the first time this has happened,’ says Patrice Lachance, director of the Quebec section of the ACCT. ‘They have chosen not to enter their shows, and that’s it. It’s sad in some respects, because there are performers and crew who deserved to be part of this competition.’

At the same time, Lachance insists that the Academy ‘has good relations with TVA and TQS. This is their decision.’

The Academy is quick to point out that it has been altering its rules to accommodate critics. Fees for membership have been reduced, allowing for those without big broadcaster backing to gain a vote.

Lachance argues the Gemeaux remain a great honor to winners and to all those nominated. ‘People who are nominated are still very proud of this. They deserve the recognition… There are awards like this for television all around the world. Why wouldn’t we have it in Quebec?’

Winners of the 20th annual Gemeaux Awards will be announced Dec. 4 at a ceremony at Théâtre St-Denis. A host for the show has yet to be announced.

www.academy.ca