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CTV News
02-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
‘The Apprentice,' ‘Canada's Drag Race' among big winners at Canadian Screen Awards
Daniel Bekerman, producer of "The Apprentice," winner of Best Motion Picture, poses for a photo at the Canadian Screen Awards, in Toronto, Sunday, June 1, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young A film chronicling the rise of Donald Trump won best motion picture at the Canadian Screen Awards on Sunday, where its Toronto-born producer used his acceptance speech to address the U.S. president's threats to Canadian sovereignty. Daniel Bekerman is the lead producer of 'The Apprentice,' a Canada-Ireland-Denmark co-production that portrays how Trump got started in the real-estate industry and honed his persona under the mentorship of controversial fixer Roy Cohn. 'Our movie shows how the young Donald Trump amassed wealth and power by finding a dilapidated building and slapping his name on it,' said Bekerman on stage at the CBC headquarters in Toronto. 'As president, he's doing the same thing with the economy -- we'll see how that works out. But now he wants to slap his name on this country. This is a challenge, but it is a good challenge.' Bekerman went on to say he's inspired by the rise of Indigenous and queer cinema in Canada, but that he wants the country's independent film community to band together. 'When we're faced with power structures that want to silence us, we can't do it in isolation. It's time to link arms, stand our ground and tell stories with enough honesty that we can build a country that has trust at its core. So in this complex and chaotic world, we can survive and thrive together.' Sunday's show had several calls to support homegrown content amid U.S-Canada tensions, capping off a multi-day celebration of Canadian film, television and digital storytelling. Matthew Rankin's absurdist dramedy 'Universal Language' also had a strong showing, as the filmmaker took home the best director trophy. This brought the film's Screen Awards tally to six after it dominated Saturday's industry gala for cinematic arts, where it nabbed best original screenplay, casting and art direction. On the red carpet before the show, Rankin reflected on the definition of Canadian content amid political tensions with the U.S. over tariffs and sovereignty. 'We're in this political moment where we have to reckon with what Canada means, and ideally we should be thinking also about what it will mean as we go forward and what cinema can contribute to that,' the filmmaker said. 'I think of Canada as a space that should constantly be redefined. But usually, when I identify something as being Canadian, I think it feels like a President's Choice Hollywood movie,' Rankin quipped. On the TV side, Crave's drag queen competition series 'Canada's Drag Race' won best reality program, bringing its Screen Awards total to eight -- the most overall. The series took home several trophies at an industry gala earlier in the weekend, including best host for Hytes, Brad Goreski and Traci Melchor. 'Canada's Drag Race' judge Brooke Lynn Hytes thanked her fellow queens while accepting the award. 'Thank you for coming on TV, sharing your stories, and letting it all hang out literally and figuratively,' she said. 'We're all just so grateful to be here and get to celebrate queer people in queer spaces on national TV.' Citytv's 'Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent,' which led all nominees with 20, won best drama series. It wound up pocketing three awards in total, including best writing in a drama series and best sound in fiction. Comedian Lisa Gilroy opened the show with several self-deprecating jokes while also taking light jabs at celebrities and calling on Canadians to toast homegrown fare. 'We're here to celebrate an industry that's helped birth enormous global stars like Drake,' Gilroy said on stage at CBC headquarters in her opening monologue. 'And commemorate stars we've lost in the past year, like Drake.' In an opening skit, actor Will Sasso referred to Gilroy, who is from Edmonton and based in Los Angeles, as the 'Canadian Nikki Glaser only less successful,' to which she retorted, 'Exactly.' Gilroy also joked that Australian actress Cate Blanchett was in the building -- before the camera panned to a mannequin donning a dress in the audience. Blanchett later won in absentia for best lead performance in a comedy for her role in Guy Maddin's 'Rumours.' CTV's 'Children Ruin Everything' won best comedy, adding to its previous three wins, including best ensemble performance. The sitcom is created by Ottawa's Kurt Smeaton and stars Meaghan Rath and Aaron Abrams as a couple trying to carve out an identity beyond parenthood. It won four trophies overall. Andrew Phung of CBC's 'Run the Burbs' won for best lead performer in a comedy series. 'The Apprentice' won five Screen Awards in total, including best performance in a lead role for Sebastian Stan's turn as Trump, and best supporting actor for Jeremy Strong's portrayal of Cohn. Trump's team attempted to block the film's theatrical release last fall, calling it 'election interference by Hollywood elites' and threatening to file a lawsuit. Last month, Bekerman told The Canadian Press that Trump's threat to impose a 100 per cent tariff on foreign films, citing national security, felt like a veiled reference to 'The Apprentice.' Bekerman denied that his film is a national security threat but said it might instead be 'an ego security threat' for Trump. 'This is not some sort of political attack film,' Bekerman said. 'It's actually not at all what it is. It is a humanistic story about choices people make in their lives and the consequences of those choices.' By Alex Nino Gheciu This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2025. Crave, CTV News and CP24 are owned by Bell Media, which is a division of BCE.
SBS Australia
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- SBS Australia
These mothers will have you glued to the screen
L-R: Arab Blues, Volver, The Handmaiden, Black Bear. Credit: SBS On Demand. Mothers come in all shapes and sizes. Mothers make us laugh, they make us cry, and with SBS's 'Mother is Mothering' collection , they'll also keep your eye glued to the screen with one hand in the popcorn bowl. And no, we don't just mean biological mothers – though there are definitely some wonderful ones in this collection. We mean capital-M Mothers: women that, for better or for worse, take on the world and try to make it their own. So, if you're looking to get gagged, gooped or maybe just queen out, here are the most iconic films that will leave you saying "Motherrrrrr!". This sumptuous Park Chan-wook film is set in Japanese-occupied Korea and based on Welsh writer Sarah Waters' iconic lesbian novel Fingersmith . As well as a deeply moving depiction of queer love, this film is also a pacey – sometimes gory – psychological thriller with enough twists and turns to leave you gasping. The TLDR is that Sook-hee (Kim Tae-ri), a Korean thief, gets into cahoots with a con-man (Ha Jung-woo), who gets her a gig as Japanese heiress Hideko's (Kim Min-hee) maid. His cunning plan? Get Hideko to fall in love with him, steal all her money and then consign her to an asylum, with the promise of Sook-hee getting a cut of the riches. And getting Hideko to fall in love shouldn't be too much of an ask, because she's functionally imprisoned in the house of her awful uncle, The Count (Ha Jung-woo) and forced to perform for his frequent guests. But an unexpected tenderness, and attraction, grows between Sook-hee and Hideko as they get to know one another. There's more to Hideko than meets the eye though, and the potential for betrayal lurks around every corner. Even when you don't know who is in the right and who is in the wrong, at every moment of the film, you can't help cheering for both women, whether they're together or apart. Biggest 'Yes Queen' moment: We won't spoil this twist-filled film for you, but let's just say there are multiple 'Yes Queen' moments throughout the course of this film. The Handmaiden is streaming now at SBS On Demand. A comedy drama about a Tunisian psychoanalyst who returns to Tunis after living in Paris for many years, Arab Blues explores the flood gates that open when someone is willing to really listen to you talk. From the moment Selma (Golshifteh Farahani) arrives back in Tunis to set up her own psychoanalysis office, she's met with detractors, from her aunt and uncle who reluctantly allow her to practice on their roof, to the bureaucratic system which stalls her. But there is a clear warmth throughout the film, from Selma's relationships with her clients to her bond with rebellious cousin Olfa (Aisha Ben Miled). Occasionally, the conditions of Selma's clients are played for laughs in a way that borders on dismissive. But in general, Arab Blues aptly showcases the potentially life-altering power of therapy, treating its characters with empathy and with humor. Woven throughout the film is reference to Tunisia's post-revolution political situation, seen in Selma's relationship with police officer Naim (Majd Mastoura), the trauma of the clients she takes on, and most disarmingly, a scene late in the film where she visits her aging grandfather. Farahani is excellent as Selma, a woman trying to forge a path to her future within the country of her past. Biggest 'Yes Queen' moment: When, despite the derision, Selma opens her office door and sees floods of people wanting to speak to her. In close second is an emotionally vulnerable moment late in the film when we finally see the gravity and weight of what she's trying to accomplish crack Selma's calm exterior. Arab Blues is streaming now at SBS On Demand. This critically acclaimed Spanish comedy-drama saw Penelope Cruz become the first Spanish woman nominated for an Oscar, for her role as Raimunda, a woman who will go to any length to protect her daughter Paula (Yohana Cobo) from harm. This film tackles heavy subjects, most prominently death, abuse and sexual violence, but also takes great care while exploring the complexities of the relationships between women. And perhaps unexpectedly, Volver is also a ghost story: Raimunda's mother, Irene (Carmen Maura), has apparently returned from the dead. Biggest 'Yes Queen' moment: Quite simply, Penelope Cruz. Need we say more? Volver is streaming now at SBS On Demand. A taut, gripping, psychological drama which never goes quite where you expect it to, Black Bear sees Aubrey Plaza in a standout performance as Allison, a proclaimed director who goes to a retreat run by friends-of-friends, couple Gabe (Christopher Abbott) and Blair (Sarah Gadon), who is pregnant. What follows is a sucker punch of a film, as the drama intensifies to an almost melodramatic level until an unexpected switch changes the tone completely. Highlights include the world's most uncomfortable, tense dinner party: beginning calmly, before erupting into an interpersonal clash with emotions boiling dangerously close to the surface. While this film may not end where you expect it – and might leave you needing a strong cup of tea and a lie down afterwards, if not a trawl through the internet reading peoples' analysis – it is held together by a nuanced, powerful performance by Aubrey Plaza as you've never seen her. Biggest 'Yes Queen' moment: In the latter part of the film, we meet a gay makeup artist and a costume designer who can't stop gossiping. They are icons. Black Bear is streaming now at SBS On Demand. Explore the MOTHER IS MOTHERING COLLECTION at SBS On Demand. Share this with family and friends SBS's award winning companion podcast. Join host Yumi Stynes for Seen, a new SBS podcast about cultural creatives who have risen to excellence despite a role-model vacuum.
