John Dunning Best First Feature Award

{{Short description|Special Canadian film award}} {{redirect-distinguish|Claude Jutra Award|Prix Jutra}} The '''John Dunning Best First Feature Award''' is a special [[Canada|Canadian]] film award, presented by the [[Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television]] to the year's best feature film by a first-time film director. Under the earlier names '''Claude Jutra Award''' and '''Canadian Screen Award for Best First Feature''', the award has been presented since the [[14th Genie Awards]] in 1993.<ref name=canenc>Paul Townend, [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/claude-jutra-award/ "Canadian Screen Award for Best First Feature"]. ''[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]'', March 7, 2010.</ref><ref name="Webster1998">{{cite book|author=Valerie J. Webster|title=Awards, Honors & Prizes: United States and Canada 1999|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rCYaAQAAMAAJ|year=1998|publisher=Gale Research|isbn=978-0-7876-1501-7|page=3}}</ref>

Formerly a [[Juried (competition)|juried]] prize whose winner was announced in advance of the ceremony, the award is now presented as a conventional category with a full shortlist of nominees.

To date six films, ''[[The Confessional (film)|The Confessional]] (Le Confessionnal)'', ''[[Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner]]'', ''[[Away from Her]]'', ''[[A Colony]] (Une colonie)'', ''[[Beans (2020 film)|Beans]]'' and ''[[Scarborough (2021 film)|Scarborough]]'', have won both the Best First Feature and [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Motion Picture|Best Picture]] awards in the same year; the directors of ''Le Confessionnal'', ''Atanarjuat'', ''Away from Her'' and ''Scarborough'' also won the award for [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Director|Best Director]] for the same films.

Under current Academy rules introduced in 2024, the category has six nominees each year if the number of eligible submissions exceeds nine, but remains at five nominees if less than nine submissions are received.<ref name="regs">[https://www.academy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2024-Canadian-Screen-Awards-Rules-Regulations-Change-Highlights.pdf "Rules and Regulation Change Highlights"]. [[Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television]], August 2023.</ref>

==History==

The award was originally named in memory of [[Claude Jutra]], a Canadian film director who died in 1986.<ref name=topalovich>Maria Topalovich, ''And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards''. [[Stoddart Publishing]], 2000. {{ISBN|0-7737-3238-1}}. pp. 199-203.</ref> Formerly part of the [[Genie Awards]] ceremonies, the Claude Jutra Award was transitioned to be part of the new [[Canadian Screen Awards]] in 2013.

Following the February 2016 publication of [[Yves Lever]]'s biography of Jutra, which contained allegations that Jutra had sexually abused underage children during his lifetime, the Academy announced that it was removing Jutra's name from the award.<ref name=pulled>[https://ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/quebec+culture+minister+asks+film+industry+yank+jutras/11725149/story.html "Claude Jutra's name to be pulled from Quebec film awards"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301100814/http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/quebec%2Bculture%2Bminister%2Basks%2Bfilm%2Bindustry%2Byank%2Bjutras/11725149/story.html |date=March 1, 2016}}. ''[[Ottawa Citizen]]'', February 17, 2016.</ref> [[Québec Cinéma]] also removed Jutra's name from its [[Prix Jutra]] ceremonies on the same day.<ref name=pulled/>

Beginning with the [[4th Canadian Screen Awards]] in 2016, the award was presented as the '''Canadian Screen Award for Best First Feature'''. In the same year the '''John Dunning Discovery Award''', named in memory of film producer [[John Dunning (film producer)|John Dunning]], was introduced to honour [[microbudget]] films. Initially it was a separate award from the Best First Feature category, with the two awards presented alongside each other to different films,<ref>[https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/canadian-screen-awards-rightly-leave-hollywood-behind/article37617239/ "Canadian Screen Awards leave Hollywood behind"]. ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', January 16, 2018.</ref> until the two awards were merged under the John Dunning Best First Feature Award name beginning with the [[7th Canadian Screen Awards]] in 2019.

==Winners==

===Claude Jutra Award=== {|class="wikitable" width="100%" !width=8%|Year !width=19%|Film !width=19%|Director !width=2%|Ref |- | align="center"| 1993 [[14th Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[The Grocer's Wife]]''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[John Pozer]]''' || <ref name=canenc/> |- | align="center"| 1994 [[15th Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[Louis 19, King of the Airwaves]] (Louis 19, le roi des ondes)''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Michel Poulette]]''' || <ref name=canenc/> |- | align="center"| 1995 [[16th Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[The Confessional (film)|The Confessional]] (Le Confessionnal)''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Robert Lepage]]''' || <ref name=canenc/> |- | align="center"| 1996 [[17th Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[Joe's So Mean to Josephine]]''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Peter Wellington (director)|Peter Wellington]]''' || <ref name=canenc/> |- | align="center"| 1997 [[18th Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[The Hanging Garden (film)|The Hanging Garden]]''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Thom Fitzgerald]]''' || <ref name=canenc/> |- | align="center"| 1998 [[19th Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[Last Night (1998 film)|Last Night]]''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Don McKellar]]''' || <ref name=canenc/> |- | align="center"| 1999 [[20th Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[Post Mortem (1999 film)|Post Mortem]]''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Louis Bélanger]]''' || <ref name=canenc/> |- | align="center"| 2000 [[21st Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[The Left-Hand Side of the Fridge]] (La Moitié gauche du frigo)''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Philippe Falardeau]]''' || <ref name=canenc/> |- | align="center"| 2001 [[22nd Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner]]''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Zacharias Kunuk]]''' || <ref name=canenc/> |- | align="center"| 2002 [[23rd Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[Flower & Garnet]]''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Keith Behrman]]''' || <ref name=canenc/> |- | align="center"| 2003 [[24th Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[How My Mother Gave Birth to Me During Menopause]] (Comment ma mère accoucha de moi durant sa ménopause)''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Sébastien Rose]]''' || <ref name=canenc/> |- | align="center"| 2004 [[25th Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[White Skin (film)|White Skin]] (La Peau blanche)''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Daniel Roby]]''' || <ref name=canenc/> |- | align="center"| 2005 [[26th Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[Familia (2005 film)|Familia]]''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Louise Archambault]]''' || <ref name=canenc/> |- | align="center" rowspan=2 | 2006 [[27th Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[Eve and the Fire Horse]]''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Julia Kwan]]''' || rowspan=2| <ref name=canenc/> |- | style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[The Secret Life of Happy People]] (La Vie secrète des gens heureux)''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Stéphane Lapointe]]''' |- | align="center"| 2007 [[28th Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[Away from Her]]''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Sarah Polley]]''' || <ref name=canenc/> |- | align="center"| 2008 [[29th Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[Everything Is Fine (film)|Everything Is Fine]] (Tout est parfait)''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Yves Christian Fournier]]''' || <ref name=canenc/> |- | align="center"| 2009 [[30th Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[I Killed My Mother]] (J'ai tué ma mère)''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Xavier Dolan]]''' || <ref name=canenc/> |- | align="center"| 2010 [[31st Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[Exit 67]] (Sortie 67)''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Jephté Bastien]]''' || <ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/incendies-barney-s-version-dominate-genies-1.1078773 "Incendies, Barney's Version dominate Genies"]. [[CBC News]], March 10, 2011.</ref> |- | align="center"| 2011 [[32nd Genie Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[Nuit 1|Nuit #1]]''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Anne Émond]]''' || <ref name=emond>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/quebec-s-anne-%C3%A9mond-wins-debut-director-award-1.1217089 "Quebec's Anne Émond wins debut director award"]. [[CBC News]], February 22, 2012.</ref> |- | align="center"| 2012 [[1st Canadian Screen Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[Blackbird (2012 film)|Blackbird]]''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Jason Buxton]]''' || <ref>{{cite news|title=Blackbird director Jason Buxton wins first-film honour|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/blackbird-director-jason-buxton-wins-first-film-honour-1.1329626|access-date=January 30, 2013|publisher=[[CBC News]]|date=January 29, 2013}}</ref> |- | align="center"| 2013 [[2nd Canadian Screen Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[Whitewash (2013 film)|Whitewash]]''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais]]''' || <ref>{{cite news|title=Le Claude-Jutra à Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais|url=https://www.ledevoir.com/culture/cinema/397928/le-prix-claude-jutra-2014-a-emmanuel-hoss-desmarais|newspaper=[[Le Devoir]]|date=January 23, 2014}}</ref> |- | align="center"| 2014 [[3rd Canadian Screen Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[Bang Bang Baby]]''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Jeffrey St. Jules]]''' || <ref>[http://www.broadcastermagazine.com/news/academy-names-claude-jutra-award-winner/1003456632/ "Academy Names Claude Jutra Award Winner"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204221241/http://www.broadcastermagazine.com/news/academy-names-claude-jutra-award-winner/1003456632/ |date=2015-02-04 }}. ''Broadcaster'', February 3, 2015.</ref> |}

===Best First Feature=== {|class="wikitable" width="100%" !width=8%|Year !width=19%|Film !width=19%|Director !width=2%|Ref |- | align="center"| 2015 [[4th Canadian Screen Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[River (2015 Canadian film)|River]]''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Jamie M. Dagg]]''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| <ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/jutra-award-dagg-river-1.3432436 "Jamie M. Dagg wins Claude Jutra Award for Laos-set thriller River"]. [[CBC News]], February 4, 2016.</ref> |- | align="center"| 2016 [[5th Canadian Screen Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[Old Stone]]''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Johnny Ma]]''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170202173141/http://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/ma-s-old-stone-gets-canadian-academy-s-best-first-feature-award-1.3268060 "Ma's 'Old Stone' gets Canadian academy's Best First Feature award"]. [[CTV News]], February 2, 2017.</ref> |- | align="center"| 2017 [[6th Canadian Screen Awards]] || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''''[[Ava (2017 Iranian film)|Ava]]''''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| '''[[Sadaf Foroughi]]''' || style="background:#FAEB86;"| <ref>[https://nationalpost.com/pmn/entertainment-pmn/sadaf-foroughis-ava-wins-best-first-feature-film-from-canadian-screen-awards "Sadaf Foroughi's 'Ava' wins best first feature film from Canadian Screen Awards"]. ''[[National Post]]'', January 31, 2018.</ref> |}

===John Dunning Discovery Award=== {|class="wikitable" width="100%" ! style="width:8%;"| Year ! style="width:19%;"| Film ! style="width:19%;"| Director ! style="width:2%;"| Ref |- | rowspan="2" align="center"| 2015 [[4th Canadian Screen Awards]] |- style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Mina Walking]]''''' | '''[[Yosef Baraki]]''' | <ref>[https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/mina-walking-honoured-with-inaugural-discovery-award-565775721.html "Mina Walking Honoured with Inaugural Discovery Award"]. ''Cision'', January 19, 2016.</ref> |- | rowspan="2" align="center"| 2016 [[5th Canadian Screen Awards]] |- style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[The Lockpicker]]''''' | '''[[Randall Okita]]''' | <ref>[http://playbackonline.ca/2017/01/12/randall-okita-to-receive-inaugural-john-dunning-discovery-award/ "Randall Okita to receive inaugural John Dunning Discovery Award"]. ''[[Playback (magazine)|Playback]]'', January 12, 2017.</ref> |- | rowspan="4" align="center"| 2017 [[6th Canadian Screen Awards]] |- style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Black Cop]]''''' | '''[[Cory Bowles]]''' | <ref>[http://playbackonline.ca/2018/04/25/northern-banner-picks-up-cory-bowles-black-cop/ "Northern Banner picks up Cory Bowles’ Black Cop"]. ''[[Playback (magazine)|Playback]]'', April 25, 2018.</ref> |- | ''[[The Devout]]'' | [[Connor Gaston]] | rowspan=2| <ref>[[Norman Wilner]], [https://nowtoronto.com/movies/features/the-canadian-screen-awards-2018-nominations/ "The Canadian Screen Awards showers love on (almost) everyone"]. ''[[Now (newspaper)|Now]]'', January 16, 2018.</ref> |- | ''[[Wexford Plaza]]'' | [[Joyce Wong (director)|Joyce Wong]] |}

===John Dunning Best First Feature Award=== {| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;" |- style="background:#bebebe;" ! style="width:8%;"| Year ! style="width:19%;"| Film ! style="width:19%;"| Director ! style="width:2%;"| Ref |- | rowspan="6" align="center"| 2018 [[7th Canadian Screen Awards]] |- style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[A Colony]] (Une colonie)''''' | '''[[Geneviève Dulude-De Celles]]''' | <ref name=quebecois>[https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1161646/prix-ecrans-canadiens-2019-gagnants "Les Québécois remportent plus de la moitié des trophées à l'avant-gala des prix Écrans canadiens"]. [[Ici Radio-Canada]], March 31, 2019.</ref> |- | ''[[Family First (film)|Family First]] (Chien de garde)'' | [[Sophie Dupuis]] | rowspan=4| <ref name=quebecois/> |- | ''[[Firecrackers (film)|Firecrackers]]'' | [[Jasmin Mozaffari]] |- | ''[[The Nest (2018 film)|The Nest]] (Le nid)'' | [[David Paradis]] |- | ''[[Touched (2017 film)|Touched]]'' | [[Karl R. Hearne]] |- | rowspan="6" align="center"| 2019 [[8th Canadian Screen Awards]] |- style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Murmur (2019 film)|Murmur]]''''' | '''[[Heather Young (filmmaker)|Heather Young]]''' | <ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/filmmaker-saint-john-screen-award-1.5593386 "Filmmaker from Saint John wins Canadian Screen Award"]. [[CBC News]] New Brunswick, June 1, 2020.</ref> |- | ''[[Black Conflux]]'' | [[Nicole Dorsey]] | rowspan=4| <ref>Norman Wilner, [https://nowtoronto.com/movies/features/canadian-screen-awards-nominations-2020/ "Canadian Screen Awards 2020: Prepare for a Schitt's show"]. ''[[Now (newspaper)|Now]]'', February 18, 2020.</ref> |- | ''[[Mad Dog Labine]]'' | [[Jonathan Beaulieu-Cyr]], [[Renaud Lessard]] |- | ''[[Sympathy for the Devil (2019 film)|Sympathy for the Devil]] (Sympathie pour le diable)'' | [[Guillaume de Fontenay]] |- | ''[[The Twentieth Century (film)|The Twentieth Century]]'' | [[Matthew Rankin]] |- | rowspan="6" align="center"| 2020 [[9th Canadian Screen Awards]] |- style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Beans (2020 film)|Beans]]''''' | '''[[Tracey Deer]]''' | <ref>Naman Ramachandran, [https://variety.com/2021/tv/global/schitts-creek-blood-quantum-canadian-screen-awards-1234978520/ "‘Schitt’s Creek,’ ‘Blood Quantum’ Triumph at Canadian Screen Awards"]. ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', May 21, 2021.</ref> |- | ''[[The Kid Detective]]'' | [[Evan Morgan (filmmaker)|Evan Morgan]] | rowspan=4| <ref>{{Cite web|title=Canadian Screen Awards Announces 2021 Film Nominations|url=https://etcanada.com/news/762082/canadian-screen-awards-announces-2021-film-nominations/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210330161247/https://etcanada.com/news/762082/canadian-screen-awards-announces-2021-film-nominations/|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 30, 2021|date=March 30, 2021|website=[[ET Canada]]|author=Brent Furdyk|language=en-US}}</ref> |- | ''[[Tito (2019 film)|Tito]]'' | [[Grace Glowicki]] |- | ''[[Vacarme (2020 film)|Vacarme]]'' | [[Neegan Trudel]] |- | ''[[Violation (film)|Violation]]'' | [[Madeleine Sims-Fewer]], [[Dusty Mancinelli]] |- | rowspan="6" align="center"| 2021 [[10th Canadian Screen Awards]] |- style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Scarborough (2021 film)|Scarborough]]''''' | '''[[Shasha Nakhai]], [[Rich Williamson (filmmaker)|Rich Williamson]]''' | <ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/night-raiders-scarborough-csa-night-five-1.6414141 "Night Raiders, Scarborough emerge victorious at 5th night of Canadian Screen Awards"]. [[CBC News]], April 8, 2022.</ref> |- | ''[[Islands (2021 film)|Islands]]'' | [[Martin Edralin]] | rowspan=4| <ref>Brent Furdyk, [https://web.archive.org/web/20220215130202/https://etcanada.com/news/867531/2022-canadian-screen-awards-nominees-announced/ "2022 Canadian Screen Award Nominees Announced, ‘Sort Of’ & ‘Scarborough’ Lead The Pack"]. ''[[ET Canada]]'', February 15, 2022.</ref> |- | ''[[Night Raiders (2021 film)|Night Raiders]]'' | [[Danis Goulet]] |- | ''[[The Noise of Engines]] (Le Bruit des moteurs)'' | [[Philippe Grégoire]] |- | ''[[Without Havana]] (Sin la Habana)'' | [[Kaveh Nabatian]] |- | rowspan="6" align="center"| 2022 [[11th Canadian Screen Awards]] |- style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Falcon Lake (film)|Falcon Lake]]''''' | '''[[Charlotte Le Bon]]''' | <ref>Jenna Benchetrit, [https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/csas-2023-third-night-1.6809964 "Brother dominates with a dozen wins on third night of Canadian Screen Awards"]. [[CBC News]], April 13, 2023.</ref> |- | ''[[The Maiden (film)|The Maiden]]'' | [[Graham Foy]] | rowspan=4| <ref>Charles-Henri Ramond, [https://www.filmsquebec.com/ecrans-canadiens-viking13-nominations/ "Écrans canadiens – Viking,13 nominations"]. ''Films du Québec'', February 22, 2023.</ref> |- | ''[[Noemie Says Yes]] (Noémie dit oui)'' | [[Geneviève Albert]] |- | ''[[Rodeo (2022 Canadian film)|Rodeo]] (Rodéo)'' | [[Joëlle Desjardins Paquette]] |- | ''[[Wolves (2022 film)|Wolves]]'' | [[Danny Dunlop]] |- | rowspan="7" align="center"| 2023 [[12th Canadian Screen Awards]] |- style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[In Flames (film)|In Flames]]''''' | '''[[Zarrar Kahn]]''' | <ref>Connie Thiessen, [https://broadcastdialogue.com/canadian-screen-awards-winners-cinematic-arts-2/ "Canadian Screen Awards winners: Cinematic Arts"]. ''Broadcast Dialogue'', May 30, 2024.</ref> |- | ''[[Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person]] (Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant)'' | [[Ariane Louis-Seize]] | rowspan=5| <ref>[https://www.northernstars.ca/blackberry-leads-csa-nominations/ "BlackBerry Leads CSA Nominations"]. ''Northern Stars'', March 6, 2024.</ref> |- | ''[[Kanaval (film)|Kanaval]]'' | [[Henri Pardo]] |- | ''[[Richelieu (2023 film)|Richelieu]]'' | [[Pier-Philippe Chevigny]] |- | ''[[Something You Said Last Night]]'' | [[Luis De Filippis]] |- | ''[[Through the Night (2023 film)|Through the Night]] (Quitter la nuit)'' | [[Delphine Girard]] |- | rowspan="7" align="center"| 2024 [[13th Canadian Screen Awards]] |- style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[Village Keeper]]''''' | '''[[Karen Chapman (director)|Karen Chapman]]''' | <ref>Jamie Casemore, [https://playbackonline.ca/2025/05/31/csas-25-universal-language-takes-five-at-cinematic-arts-awards/ "CSAs ‘25: Universal Language takes five at Cinematic Arts Awards"]. ''[[Playback (magazine)|Playback]]'', May 31, 2025.</ref> |- | ''[[Deaner '89]]'' | [[Sam McGlynn]] | rowspan=5| <ref>Samritha Arunasalam, [https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/canadian-screen-awards-2025-nominees-1.7491909 "Here's who is nominated for the 2025 Canadian Screen Awards"]. [[CBC News]], March 26, 2025.</ref> |- | ''[[Hunting Daze]] (Jour de chasse)'' | [[Annick Blanc]] |- | ''[[Mongrels (2024 film)|Mongrels]]'' | [[Jerome Yoo]] |- | ''[[Seeds (2024 film)|Seeds]]'' | [[Kaniehtiio Horn]] |- | ''[[Who Do I Belong To]]'' | [[Meryam Joobeur]] |- | rowspan="7" align="center"| 2025 [[14th Canadian Screen Awards]] |- style="background:#FAEB86;" | '''''[[40 Acres (film)|40 Acres]]''''' | '''[[R. T. Thorne]]''' | <ref>Jamie Casemore, [https://playbackonline.ca/2026/05/28/csas-26-r-t-thornes-40-acres-leads-cinematic-arts-winners/ "CSAs ’26: R.T. Thorne’s 40 Acres leads cinematic arts winners"]. ''[[Playback (magazine)|Playback]]'', May 28, 2026.</ref> |- | ''[[100 Sunset]]'' | [[Kunsang Kyirong]] |rowspan=5| <ref>Jackson Weaver, [https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/2026-csa-nominees-9.7140809 "North of North, Heated Rivalry, 40 Acres lead Canadian Screen Award nominees"]. [[CBC News]], March 25, 2026.</ref> |- | ''[[Blue Heron (film)|Blue Heron]]'' | [[Sophy Romvari]] |- | ''[[Dinner with Friends (2025 film)|Dinner with Friends]]'' | [[Sasha Leigh Henry]] |- | ''[[Follies (film)|Follies]] (Folichonneries)'' | [[Éric K. Boulianne]] |- | ''[[Where Souls Go]] (Où vont les âmes?)'' | [[Brigitte Poupart]] |}

==See also== *[[Prix Iris for Best First Film]] *[[Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film]]

==References== {{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Directorial debut film awards]] [[Category:Canadian Screen Award film categories]] [[Category:Awards established in 1993]]