In the battle of the Genies vs. Kate Gosselin, it’s no competition

The Genie awards take place tonight, which means it’s time for the Canadian media to ponder their relevance (or lack thereof). Both the Globe and the CBC have taken aim, forecasting low viewership and interest, but it’s not because the awards ceremony will compete with Dancing With the Stars for viewers; it’s because the Genies kind of suck.

Calling this year’s list of obscure nominees “particularly confounding,” the CBC’s Jason Anderson writes, “It makes you wonder about the purpose and objective of the country’s annual film awards.” The Globe, meanwhile, is baffled that the most popular films of 2009 aren’t honoured. For instance, Xavier Dolan’s J’ai tué ma mere earned massive critical praise (including an Oscar nomination) but didn’t make it into any of the major categories. But that’s OK—the film’s French distributor, Louis Dussault, says the Genies are “irrelevant” and “the Genie organization is not organized” and as a result “have no credibility in Quebec.” Also snubbed are Atom Egoyan’s Adoration (a winner at Cannes and TIFF, with only two nominations), Lost Song (a TIFF winner with no Genie nod) and Cairo Time (with only a costume nomination). But let’s be honest—even if more popular films had made the cut, there’s no competing with Kate Gosselin’s latest routine.

• The Genies got it all wrong [Globe and Mail]
• Genie nominated director laments lack of screen time [CBC]
• Cinema scope:  Why are the Genie Awards so out of touch with Canadian film? [CBC]