The 1st Genie Awards were presented on March 20, 1980, and honoured films released in 1979.[1]
Immediately after the
1978 Canadian Film Awards, which were nearly cancelled due to disputes and controversy, industry leaders met to design a new awards organization based on the academy system of industry nomination and secret ballot. Members of the Canadian Film Awards committee were skeptical about nominator qualifications, and about the motivations of those who wanted the academy system, fearing that they would imitate the American model and that big-budget commercial films would swamp Canadian films.[2]
After a year of discussion, it was agreed that 14 members of the CFA committee and 14 elected representatives from industry organizations would form a board to oversee a new association whose mandate was to stimulate higher standards of filmmaking, foster educational service and develop public awareness of the industry. On April 11, 1979, the creation of the
Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television was formally announced.[2]
For the first time 500 filmmakers were responsible for nomination and voting. Films were screened for members in Montreal and Toronto and then chosen by secret nomination and final ballot before being submitted to an impartial accounting firm.[2]
The event was not without controversy. Despite having duly released three nominations in the category of Editing in a Dramatic Film (Non-Feature), the jury used the moment of presentation to announce that they had deemed none worthy of an award.[7] Producer
Sam Levene, in his acceptance speech for another award, called the decision an "arrogant slap in the face" to the nominees.[7] The fact that no French language films won any major awards was an issue.[1] Award winner
Christopher Plummer used his speech to criticize the distinction made between Canadian and foreign actors, calling on the academy to treat "Canadian or Samothracian" actors equally.[1] The Foreign Actors categories were dropped in 1984.
On March 19, cartoonist
Ben Wicks hosted a luncheon for the 105 entrants in the non-feature categories.[7] Also this year, on November 6, and under the administration of the academy, the
Canadian Film Editors Guild, the
Canadian Society of Cinematographers and the Canadian Film Sound Society hosted the 1980 Film Craft Awards.[2]
Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television Note: Awards by year articles are listed here by the year of eligibility for nomination; due to variable scheduling of the ceremonies, this is not always the same year in which the awards were presented.