Director Kazik Radwanski’s Anne at 13,000 ft flew away with the richest annual film prize in Canada last night (March 9).

Announced during the Toronto Film Critics Association’s first-ever online public gala, the $100,000 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award was presented live on YouTube during a ceremony shot inside Toronto’s Paradise Theatre and hosted by The Social‘s Lainey Lui and Refinery29 Unbothered senior editor Kathleen Newman-Bremang.

“We always have a hard time choosing our Rogers Award winners, but the excellence of all three nominees made the choice this year especially difficult,” said TFCA president Peter Howell in a statement about the association’s winners. “Our selection of Anne at 13,000 ft for the TFCA’s top prize reflects our admiration of Kazik Radwanski’s masterful filmmaking and a stellar title performance by Deragh Campbell, as a woman on the verge of vertigo.”

Rogers vice chairman, who announced the big winner, also added in a statement that it is gratifying and satisfying to see the association’s critics celebrate the drama.

“It’s a movie that shows the sheer power of a single performance. It’s an achievement that is exactly what this award is designed to encourage,” Lind said.

Starring last year’s TFCA Jay Scott Award winner Deragh Campbell, Anne at 13,000 ft follows a daycare worker whose quirks develop into unpredictable and dangerous behaviours.

The project written, directed and produced by Radwanski under his Toronto-based MDFF (Medium Density Fibreboard Films) banner, in association with Film Maudit, made its world premiere at TIFF in 2019 and was the only Canadian feature selected to compete for the festival’s Platform prize, picking up an honourable mention. Radwanski’s third feature film was also previously selected for TIFF’s Top Ten list.

Notably, runners up for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award, And the Birds Rained Down‘s Louise Archambault and White Lie‘s Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas, all walked away with $5,000 from Rogers Communications.

As previously announced, former imagineNATIVE film festival executive director Jason Ryle was honoured with the Clyde Gilmour Award, while writer/director Kelly Fyffe-Marshall was recognized with the Jay Scott Prize.

The ceremony also saw virtual acceptance speeches from Nomadland filmmaker Chloé Zhao (best picture and best director), Lee Isaac Chung (best screenplay, Minari), Radha Blank (best first feature, The Forty-Year Old Version), Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart (best animated feature, Wolfwalkers), and Alexander Nanau (Allan King Documentary Film Award, Collective), to name a few.

Meanwhile, earlier this week another Canadian film critic association unveiled its 2020 winners.

On Monday (March 8), Violation picked up Best Picture as well as Best Actress for co-writer/director Madeleine Sims-Fewer’s performance from the Vancouver Film Critics Circle.

The Zoom ceremony also saw writer/director Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor secure Best Director and the prize for Best Supporting Actor for Christopher Abbott.

Meanwhile, the award for Best Screenplay went to Sean Durkin for copro The Nest, while Best Documentary was awarded to co-directors Jennifer Abbott and Joel Bakan’s The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel.

As well, writer/director Titus Heckel’s Chained walked away with Best B.C. Film and saw Heckel tie with Beans‘ Kiawenti:io Tarbell as One to Watch. Notably, Chained was recently tapped to make its Toronto premiere as part of the second annual Canadian Film Fest presented by Super Channel.

Beans‘ Rainbow Dickerson also won Best Supporting Actress, while Justin Rain from Brother, I Cry was named Best Actor.