David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises and Jeremy Podeswa’s Fugitive Pieces led all comers with five nominations each as the Directors Guild of Canada awards unveiled nominations on Monday.

Other multiple nominees included Kari Skogland’s The Stone Angel and Denys Arcand’s L’Age des ténèbres, which along with the latest movies by Cronenberg and Podeswa will challenge in both the team feature film and best director categories.

Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises and Podeswa’s Fugitive Pieces will also compete against each other in the best production design, best picture editing and best sound editing juried categories.

The DGC Awards, which will be handed out in Toronto on Nov. 8, will also see top TV contenders Durham County with four nominations and Mayerthorpe with three compete with Guns and Iron Road — both of which have yet to air on CBC — and The Englishman’s Boy.

In the best TV movie or miniseries director category, David Wu is entered for his work on Iron Road, Ken Girotti for Mayerthorpe, veteran director John N. Smith for The Englishman’s Boy and Charles Binamé will compete for The Trojan Horse.

On the TV series front, Stephen Surjik will vie for Intelligence, Martin Wood for Stargate Atlantis, Holly Dale for Durham County, and James Marshall for Smallville.

The DGC will also hand out team awards for family-themed TV series, with Degrassi: The Next Generation, Heartland and two separate episodes of Instant Star in competition, while in the comedy category Billable Hours, Corner Gas, Robson Arms and Little Mosque on the Prairie will contend for bling.

The team documentary competition will pit Peter Raymont’s A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman against Manfred Becker’s Fatherland, Bill Spachic’s Iris Chang: The Rape of Nanking and Patrick Reed’s Triage: Dr. James Orbinski’s Humanitarian Dilemma.

The DGC awards will also honor Eric Till (Bethune) with a lifetime achievement tribute, and its longtime president Alan Goluboff with the Don Haldane distinguished service award.

CBC comic Shaun Majumder will emcee the DGC awards on Nov. 8.

Also Monday, the Directors Guild of Canada told the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance that federal film, TV and new media financing programs should be enlarged, not cut.

‘We’re at a critical juncture, and if our industry is to emerge to enjoy a vibrant, robust future, the federal government must recommit to its key role in the sector and to reinforce its programs of investment,’ Sturla Gunnarsson, the newly installed DGC president, said in a submission.

The directors’ group reminded Parliament that the Canadian film and TV industry has been hobbled by a rising Canadian dollar, lucrative tax credits on offer by U.S. states, the uncertainty created by Bill C-10, and labor instability on both sides of the border.

Brian Anthony, national executive director and CEO of the DGC, said Ottawa needed to sustain and improve federal funding programs to allow the industry to keep pace.

‘If the current situation prevails we will witness an unraveling of the growth and development we have experienced over the years,’ Anthony told the Standing Committee during its pre-budget consultations.