In a Genie Awards first, this year’s Claude Jutra Award will recognize two filmmakers: B.C.’s Julia Kwan for Eve & the Fire Horse and Quebec’s Stéphane Lapointe for La vie secrète des gens heureux (The Secret Life of Happy People).

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television announced the winners on Wednesday in Toronto.

Eve, about a pair of Chinese-Canadian sisters who turn to various superstitions to try to control their destinies, is otherwise nominated for five Genie Awards. The film was voted most popular Canadian feature at the Vancouver International Film Festival and nabbed a special jury prize at last year’s Sundance fest.

La Vie, about a family that lives in oblivious happiness until a young woman turns its world upside down, is up for four trophies, including best director and original screenplay for Lapointe. The film also won the Borsos award at the Whistler Film Festival.

The Claude Jutra Award, named after the late Quebec film great and given to a first-time feature director for outstanding achievement, will be presented Feb. 13 at the Genie Awards.