Documentary activist and two-time Genie winner Velcrow Ripper recalls winning his first award for the lyrical ecological feature Bones of the Forest. (His second Genie came for ScaredSacred in 2004.)

‘The theme that year was vintage dress-up, so I showed up for the awards in a top hat, ruffled shirt, vintage tux and red patent leather Doc Martens,’ recalls Ripper. ‘When we won the award, my co-director Heather Frise’s mother just went ballistic, screaming in excitement.

That same night we arrived at a party at fellow filmmaker Peter Mettler’s house, and everyone had their picture taken holding our Genie. At some point it got dropped, and later, back home on Galiano Island, I asked a local plumber to fix it. It never was quite the same afterwards, and sometimes, it swivels around and the bum faces out.’