Grande Ourse was the big winner at the 2004 Prix Gemeaux, held in Montreal Nov. 27 and 28 to celebrate the best in French-language television. The drama series from Les Productions Point de mire won 12 of the 15 awards it was nominated for, including best dramatic series.

Meanwhile, crime drama Fortier, which was nominated for 15 awards, came up empty. The series, from producers Fabienne Larouche and Michel Trudeau of Aetios Productions, won for best dramatic series last year and was nominated in the category again this year.

Larouche, however, did receive the Grand Prix de l’Academie. The special award recognizes career achievements and is voted on by a jury of past winners, including Guy A. Lepage, who won last year.

Grande Ourse is a fantasy melodrama that also saw helmer Patrice Sauve win for best director in the drama category. Series writer Frederic Ouellet won for best dramatic screenplay, and series stars Benoit Gouin and Julie McClemens each took away best supporting actor awards. Among the HD series’ additional wins were awards for cinematography, editing, sound and original music.

Annie et ses hommes from Sphere Media Plus won for best teleroman. The show racked up five additional awards, including best lead actor awards for both Denis Bouchard and Guylaine Tremblay, as well as best writing in a teleroman for Bernard Dansereau and Annie Pierard.

Also from Sphere, Rumeurs won for best dramatic comedy and best dramatic comedy direction for helmer Pierre Theoret. Veronique Le Flaguais also won for best supporting actor for her role in the comedy series.

And best comedy special or series went to Infoman, produced by Montreal’s Zone3. Infoman won three awards, including best direction in a comedy for Philippe Desrosiers, Jean-Rene Dufort and Stephane Laporte. Infoman won best comedy last year, but will not be eligible next year, as it has been inducted into Les Immortels.

Les Immortels includes shows or individuals that have won three or more Gemeaux since the event began in 1987. Other Immortels inductions this year include shows Le grand blond avec un show sournois and Decouverte, as well as Jean-Francois Lepine, Zone libre host, and Mario Rouleau, Le Plaisir croit avec l’usage director.

For a full list of Gemeaux winners, see the ACCT website.

-www.academy.ca