There was frenzy in the air at the entrance to the Gémeaux Prize Gala at the Théâtre Maisonneuve on Sunday. Glittering outfits, hugs, loud laughter: you would have thought you were in a gigantic party of the artistic colony, where our favorite stars, long-time friends, took advantage of the red carpet (instead of the tree…) to exchange the latest news.
And yet, the future of galas, in Quebec as elsewhere, has never been so fragile. TVA excluded the Artis Gala from its programming last year. Radio-Canada no longer intends to present, at least for the moment, the special red carpet shows which traditionally preceded its awards ceremonies (Gémeaux, ADISQ, Olivier), and sent the Gala Québec Cinéma waltzing away, which was however recovered by Noovo and will praise the seventh art industry for a 25e edition in December. And the audience ratings for these high masses of the trophy, although still honorable (834,500 viewers for the recent Olivier, 1,010,000 and 958,000, respectively, for ADISQ and Gémeaux in 2022), have not no longer the same shine as before.
In short, the level of enthusiasm for these evenings and the pomp that surrounds them – the sumptuous dresses, the thank-you speeches, the emotional tears and the champagne flowing freely at the pre- and post-ceremony cocktails – currently seems good ambiguous.
Among artists, opinion seems unanimous. Yes, our stars still love galas where they shine and are pampered. These events even play a crucial role in promoting our culture, they believe. But perhaps not at any price.
“It’s a great moment to celebrate the industry together and give a second wind to series,” analyzed Sophie Cadieux, winner on Sunday in the category of best supporting role: youth for her role in Lou and Sophie. “It gives pride to the artisans, feedback from our peers. »
Media crisis
Galvanized by the victories of two of its productions, Audrey came back (the most successful production abroad) and Indefensible (best daily drama series), Charles Lafortune still had in mind the bankruptcy announced, a few hours earlier, of the newspaper Metroyet another symbol of an “unparalleled media crisis”, he lamented.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
Producer Charles Lafortune, upon receiving the Gémeaux prize awarded to the series IndefensibleSunday
Private television networks lose 80% of their advertising revenue. People who do TV don’t watch TV, which freaks me out. It’s a wake-up call [appel à se réveiller], because, otherwise, we won’t have any more TV. We will return to The Little House On The Prairie at 7 p.m., and it will be really depressing!
Charles Lafortune
Antoine Bertrand, for his part, pleads for a necessary reflection on the evolution of the concept.
“The goal is always to give people the taste of consuming our culture, regardless of the form. If, at any point, things deviate and the result is no longer there, you will have to think about it and reinvent yourself…”
Go further
For now, Radio-Canada is maintaining future editions of the ADISQ and Les Olivier galas – because their impact is felt on their respective industries in the days following the celebration, which was not the case with the Gala Québec Cinéma –, but takes no oath regarding their broadcast in the more distant future. Following the same reasoning as Antoine Bertrand, the public institution believes more in event meetings than in statuettes, we understand.
We believe in big, highly entertaining shows. It’s important that the public is part of the party.
Dany Meloul, general director of Television de Radio-Canada
The killing of televised red carpets at ICI Télé is justified by a desire to provide a different proposition. Often the scene of superficial questions, these appetizers nonetheless allowed the audience at home to take the pulse of the atmosphere of a gala on site. Instead of a red carpet, this year, we relayed, before the happening driven by Pierre-Yves Lord, a special edition of Back to culture dedicated to Gemini.
“It’s a test, always with the aim of moving things forward. We wanted to go a little more in-depth than: “How did you feel when you played this role?”, with explanations in 30 seconds before we move on to another artist,” Dany Meloul further argued.
Noovo did not respond to questions from The Press to know if the next Gala Québec Cinéma, hosted by Jay Du Temple, will be enhanced with a red carpet or another special accompanying show. Same silence on the side of the producer Sphère Média.