Inuit film nominated for Genies

Genies struggle to focus Canadian eyes on homegrown filmsBenoît Pilon's Ce Qu'il Faut pour Vivre (The Necessities of Life) goes into the Genie Awards this Saturday with eight nominations and a best picture win at Quebec's Jutra Awards.

The film about an Inuit hunter confined to a Quebec sanatorium in the 1950s has earned star Natar Ungalaaq a best actor nomination and a best director nomination for Pilon.

Bernard Émond is competing for a best screenwriter Genie for his script, which details the cultural dislocation of the sick man and his tender relationship with an Inuit boy, who also has been wrenched from his family to recover from TB.

The film has been a critical darling, but has had nowhere near the box office legs of another best picture nominee, Passchendaele, Paul Gross's story of a Canadian soldier in one of the First World War's most tragic battles.Comment:  For more on the subject, see The Best Indian Movies.

Below:  "Natar Ungalaaq plays an Inuit hunter out of his depth in 1950s Quebec in Ce qu'il faut pour vivre. He won a Jutra Award for his performance and is nominated for a Genie." (Seville Films)