{{short description|1987 Canadian film by Jean-Claude Lauzon}} {{Infobox film | name = Night Zoo | native_name = {{infobox name module|fr|Un Zoo la nuit}} | image = Night Zoo.jpg | caption = Film poster | director = [[Jean-Claude Lauzon]] | producer = [[Roger Frappier]]<br />[[Pierre Gendron (producer)|Pierre Gendron]] | writer = Jean-Claude Lauzon | starring = [[Gilles Maheu]]<br />[[Lynne Adams (Canadian actress)|Lynne Adams]]<br />[[Roger Lebel]] | music = [[Jean Corriveau]] | cinematography = [[Guy Dufaux]] | editing = [[Michel Arcand]] | distributor = [[FilmDallas]] (US theatrical) | released = {{film date|1987|5||[[1987 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]]|df=yes}} | runtime = 115 minutes | country = Canada | language = [[Quebec French|French]] | budget = | gross = 1.3 million [[Canadian dollars|CAD]] }} '''''Night Zoo''''' ({{langx|fr|'''Un Zoo la nuit'''}}) is a 1987 Canadian film. It is [[film director|directed]] and [[screenwriter|written]] by [[Jean-Claude Lauzon]]. It made its debut at the [[1987 Cannes Film Festival]]. The film was selected as the Canadian entry for the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]] at the [[60th Academy Awards]], but was not accepted as a nominee.<ref>Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences</ref>
It was also the most successful film in the history of the [[Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television]]'s film awards program up to that point, winning a record 13 [[Genie Awards]] in every single category where it was nominated.<ref>"It was Un Zoo's night; Quebec film wins record 13 Genies". ''[[Montreal Gazette]]'', March 23, 1988.</ref> The film garnered 14 nominations overall;<ref>"Night Zoo thriller sets Genie record; Lauzon film wins 14 nominations". ''[[Ottawa Citizen]]'', February 17, 1988.</ref> the film's only nomination that failed to translate into a win was [[Gilles Maheu]]'s nod for Best Actor, as he lost to the film's other Best Actor nominee, [[Roger Lebel]].
==Plot== Marcel (Gilles Maheu) is released from [[prison]] after completing a two year sentence for narcotics crime, hoping to reconcile with his dying father, Albert (Roger Lebel), who seems to believe his son has been away on a vacation. His former girlfriend Julie (Lynne Adams) is now working in a [[sex club]] [[peep show]]. When he returns home, he is soon visited by a pair of dishonest police detectives who demand $200,000 in cash that they believe he still possesses from his earlier activity. One of the detectives, George (Lorne Brass) is a homosexual steeped in sadism, who frequently uses violence to attempt to break him. Amidst the threats he navigates, Marcel and Albert repair their relationship, culminating in an after hours break-in at a local zoo.
==Reception== ===Box office=== The film grossed $1 million in Quebec within three months of its release.{{sfn|Melnyk|2004|p=201-202}}
===Awards=== The film won the most [[Genie Awards]] in history, with thirteen awards.{{sfn|Melnyk|2004|p=201-202}} [[Gilles Maheu]] and [[Roger Lebel]] were both nominated for [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor|best actor]].<ref name="genie" /><ref name="genie2" /> Lebel won the 1987 [[Prix Guy-L'Écuyer]] for ''Un Zoo la nuit''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Coulombe|first=Michel|title=Le Dictionnaire du cinéma québécois|last2=Jean|first2=Marcel|publisher=Boréal|year=2006|isbn=2-7646-0427-0|edition=4th|language=fr|pages=606}}</ref>
In 1987, the film won the Grand Prix for Best Film at [[Film Fest Gent]].
===Accolades=== Its record 14 Genie Award nominations were tied by the film ''[[Brother (2022 film)|Brother]]'' at the [[11th Canadian Screen Awards]] in 2023, although that film fell one award short of matching ''Night Zoo''{{'}}s 13 wins. Its records in both nominations and wins were surpassed at the [[12th Canadian Screen Awards]] in 2024 by ''[[BlackBerry (film)|BlackBerry]]'', which took 14 awards from 17 overall nominations.
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="width: 100%;" |- ! scope="col"| Award ! scope="col"| Date of ceremony ! scope="col"| Category ! scope="col"| Recipient(s) ! scope="col"| Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable"| {{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference(s)}} |- ! rowspan="14" | [[Genie Awards]] | rowspan="14" | [[9th Genie Awards|22 March 1988]] | [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Motion Picture|Best Picture]] | [[Roger Frappier]], [[Pierre Gendron (producer)|Pierre Gendron]] | {{Won}} | rowspan=4| <ref name="genie">{{Cite news |date=23 March 1988 |title=All The Genie Winners |page=F5 |work=[[Vancouver Sun]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-vancouver-sun/137070814/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219162752/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-vancouver-sun/137070814/ |archive-date=19 December 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> |- | [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Director|Best Director]] | [[Jean-Claude Lauzon]] | {{Won}} |- | [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Screenplay|Best Screenplay]] | Jean-Claude Lauzon | {{Won}} |- | rowspan=2| [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] | [[Roger Lebel]] | {{Won}} |- | [[Gilles Maheu]] | {{nom}} | <ref name="genie2">{{Cite news |date=23 March 1988 |title=Quebec's brutal Night Zoo thriller wins 13 awards but glory fades 'if all Canada can't see our films' |page=B11 |work=[[Times Colonist]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-colonist/137071152/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219163234/https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-colonist/137071152/ |archive-date=19 December 2023 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> |- | [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] | [[Germain Houde]] | {{Won}} | rowspan=9| <ref name="genie" /> |- | [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Art Direction/Production Design|Best Art Direction or Production Design]] | [[Jean-Baptiste Tard]] | {{Won}} |- | [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]] | [[Guy Dufaux]] | {{Won}} |- | [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Costume Design|Best Costume Design]] | Andrée Morin | {{Won}} |- | [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Editing|Best Editing]] | [[Michel Arcand]] | {{won}} |- | [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Sound Mixing|Best Overall Sound]] | Adrian Croll<br/>[[Hans Peter Strobl]]<br/>Yvon Benoît | {{Won}} |- | [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Sound Editing|Best Sound Editing]] | Viateur Paiement<br/>Marcel Pothier<br/>Diane Boucher | {{Won}} |- | [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Original Score|Best Music Score]] | Jean Corriveau | {{Won}} |- | [[Canadian Screen Award for Best Original Song|Best Original Song]] | Jean-Pierre Bonin<br/>Daniel De Shaimes<br/>Jean Corriveau<br/>Robert Stanley | {{Won}} |}
==Availability== The film was released on videocassette and laserdisc in the United States in 1988 by [[New World]] and in Canada that same year by Cinema Plus Video. In 1991, an EP-Mode tape of the film was released by Starmaker Video. After Lauzon was killed in the northern Quebec plane crash in 1997, [[CBC Television]], [[Télé-Québec]] and [[Showcase (Canadian TV channel)|Showcase]] aired ''Night Zoo'' and ''[[Léolo]]'' in August.<ref>Playback Staff, "[http://playbackonline.ca/1997/08/25/18631-19970825/ Industry mourns Lauzon, Tougas]," ''[[Playback (magazine)|Playback]]'', 25 August 1997, URL accessed 26 August 2016.</ref> The film was released on blu ray and DVD in France as of September 2025. It was digitized and restored in May 2013 by Éléphant and is available for online rental on the [[iTunes Store]].
==See also== * [[List of submissions to the 60th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film]] * [[List of Canadian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==Works cited== * {{cite book|last=Melnyk |first=George |author-link=George Melnyk |title=One Hundred Years of Canadian Cinema |publisher=[[University of Toronto Press]] |date=2004 |url=https://archive.org/details/onehundredyearso0000meln |isbn=080203568X}}
==External links== * {{IMDb title}} * {{Rotten Tomatoes}}
{{ACCT Best Picture}} {{FFM Best Canadian Film}} {{Canadian submission for Academy Awards}}
[[Category:1987 films]] [[Category:1987 crime drama films]] [[Category:Canadian LGBTQ-related films]] [[Category:1987 LGBTQ-related films]] [[Category:Best Picture Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners]] [[Category:Films shot in Montreal]] [[Category:Films set in Montreal]] [[Category:Films directed by Jean-Claude Lauzon]] [[Category:Canadian crime drama films]] [[Category:French-language Canadian films]] [[Category:1987 Canadian films]] [[Category:LGBTQ-related crime drama films]] [[Category:Canadian neo-noir films]]