The Gala Québec Cinéma will be entitled to its 25the Sunday edition. It almost never took place, Radio-Canada having decided last year to draw a line under the ceremony. After months of negotiations, the Noovo channel finally agreed to resurrect the awards evening, which will be hosted by comedian Jay Du Temple in an avowed effort to rejuvenate the audience. In a quarter of a century, the Iris, formerly known as Jutra, will have experienced their share of crises. What’s the point of always trying to save them?
“Galas are probably not as popular as before, but they are still a good way to promote our cinema to a large audience. Even if we no longer make millions in audience ratings, if we manage to reach 500,000 or 600,000 people, it’s still interesting,” reasons Dominique Dugas, the general director of Québec Cinéma.
Interest in the gala has indeed waned over the years. Audience ratings fell below 500,000 viewers during the last two Gala Québec Cinéma broadcast by Radio-Canada in the middle of June, at the heart of the slow period in the TV industry.
Québec Cinéma, the organizer, does not set an objective for the first edition in Noovo. But obviously, it will be much less than during the first edition on TVA, in March 1999, which brought together nearly a million viewers. In 25 years, the world of television has changed. The ratings melted like snow in the sun. Galas, and not just cinema, have been victims of this, even more than other variety shows.
But in 25 years, the film industry in Quebec has evolved. In 1999, Quebec films represented barely 4% of theatrical admissions. Last year, we were at just under 9%. In the best years, Quebec cinema can hope to exceed 13% market share.
“The public loves Quebec cinema. It’s completely normal that we have our own gala, like TV and music have theirs. Why are we focusing so much on the Gala Québec Cinéma? It only highlights the excellence of our work. It’s very good that people know who did the photo direction and who edited this or that film,” insists producer Roger Frappier, tired of people questioning the existence of the Gala Québec Cinéma.
Always criticized
The one to whom we owe classics of Quebec cinema, like The decline of the American empire Or A zoo at nightwas one of the instigators of the first Quebec cinema gala at the end of the 1990s. From the start, he had to face critics, who saw in this new ceremony “a pretext for people in the cinema world to give prizes among themselves.”
It must be said that at the time, Quebec produced barely fifteen films per year, half as many as today. Some people did not see the point in creating a ceremony for such a small market. What’s more, Quebec cinema was also regularly awarded Genie Awards, awarded each year to the best Canadian films. This new Quebec gala was therefore perceived as a bit of a duplicate.
“We still needed to have our own gala. Because even though we often won in Toronto at the Génies, our films were not released in English Canada. So it gave us absolutely nothing to go there. It was better to have a gala here to make our films known to those who are likely to see them,” recalls Roger Frappier, who never questioned the relevance of having a Quebec gala.
The fault of Radio-Canada
And God knows he would have had several opportunities to doubt it in 25 years. Like in 2016, when the gala was plunged into full controversy despite itself when, thirty years after his death, Claude Jutra was targeted by serious suspicions of pedophilia. Québec Cinéma then decided to rename the statuette which had borne the name of the filmmaker since the founding of the gala. The prize will be renamed Iris, a fairly ordinary name which will not be unanimous either.
But the gala was especially weighed down in recent years by Radio-Canada’s decision to move its broadcast to the beginning of summer, according to Roger Frappier. The public broadcaster finally abandoned the gala format last year, relying instead on a special program hosted by Karine Vanasse to promote Quebec cinema.
“This is a serious mistake. Radio-Canada is increasingly abandoning its cultural mandate. Quebec cinema cannot be reduced to a variety show,” says Roger Frappier indignantly.
A sword in the water ?
The grievances of the cultural community have finally been heard. The Noovo channel took over, becoming the third broadcaster in the history of the gala. Quebec extended aid of $600,000 by maintaining the ceremony.
Film critic Michel Coulombe can only be delighted that the Gala Québec Cinéma has the right to a second life. In 1999, he participated in the creation of the first Jutra Gala as general director of the Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois. He still believes that an awards ceremony can promote our cinema to an audience that is not inclined to see Quebec films the rest of the year. But the new date that was chosen for the gala, in mid-December, is not optimal, he believes.
“It’s a date that was chosen for TV because the regular season shows ended. So there is a space that becomes available, and there are a lot of people in front of their televisions. It’s clear that it’s better than in June. But from a cinematic point of view, it’s not ideal. The films that are nominated have not been in theaters for a long time and they have often been on the platforms for a while. Those who wanted to listen to them had time to do so. Even if viking Or Baby sitter win on Sunday, It’s not clear that people will stop to go watch them. It’s already been several months since the buzz around these films has passed,” illustrates the co-author of Dictionary of Quebec cinema.
For him, the end of winter or the beginning of spring remains the ideal time for a film gala, as in the United States. In Hollywood, the big studios are used to releasing their best films at the very end of the year. They are therefore still in theaters when the Golden Globes, then the Oscars, announce their nominations. Being part of the final Oscar selection therefore has the potential to promote a film at the box office.
In Quebec, Will by Denys Arcand and Ru, the film adaptation of Kim Thúy’s novel, are still in theaters, but they will only be eligible for next year’s Iris ceremony. By the time the nominations are announced, their commercial exploitation will be a thing of the past long ago. “To do this in December is a bit of a sword in the water,” summarizes Michel Coulombe.