The 23rd Quebec Cinema Awards were held on June 6, 2021, to honour achievements in the Cinema of Quebec in 2020.[1] A live gala was hosted by actress Geneviève Schmidt; due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, however, it was staged differently than a traditional award gala, with nominees present in the theatre but seated in a way that maintained social distancing requirements.[2] The awards were initially numbered as the 22nd Quebec Cinema Awards gala, despite being the 23rd time the awards have been presented overall, as the presentation of the 2020 awards was done by livestream instead of a traditional award ceremony; however, the awards in 2022 were numbered as the 24th Quebec Cinema Awards instead of the 23rd, indicating that the 2021 awards are now considered the 23rd.[3]
In light of the effects that the pandemic had on film distribution in 2020, the organization did not limit its public-voted Prix Public to the five most commercially successful films of the year, but simply listed all 16 feature films that received commercial theatrical screenings in 2020 as eligible for the vote. Ten days later, they also decided to add all of the eligible documentary films to the Public Prize ballot as well, bringing the total number of nominees in that category to 29.[4] After a first round of voting, the list was reduced to five nominees, including two documentaries: Call Me Human (Je m'appelle humain) and eventual winner The Rose Family (Les Rose).
Nominations were announced on April 26, where five films received ten or more nominations, a first in the ceremony's history. The artisans gala, presenting the awards in craft and technical categories, was held on June 3, 2021 while the other awards were presented on June 6.[5] [6]
Goddess of the Fireflies (La déesse des mouches à feu) tied the record for most nominations with sixteen, including five acting nominations, the third film to achieve this feat.[7] The film won seven awards, including Best Film, Best Director and two acting awards, becoming the first to win both Best Supporting Actress for Caroline Néron and Revelation of the Year for Kelly Depeault.
Underground (Souterrain) and The Vinland Club (Le club Vinland) both received thirteen nominations, with the former winning four awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Théodore Pellerin and Best Screenplay, while the latter won three awards, including Best Actor for Sébastien Ricard. (Errance sans retour) received five nominations and became the first documentary to take home multiple awards, including Best Documentary.
My Salinger Year received eleven nominations and won one award. Target Number One tied the record for most nominations without receiving a Best Film nomination and ended up losing its ten nominations. The Decline (Jusqu'au déclin), the first Québécois Netflix film, received eight nominations and won one award.
Sébastien Ricard, Émilie Bierre and Théodore Pellerin all received their second acting award during the ceremony. Ricard had previously won Best Actor for Through the Mist (Dédé, à travers les brumes), while Bierre and Pellerin had both won the Revelation of the Year award for A Colony (Une colonie) and Family First (Chien de garde) respectively.
| Nominations | Film |
|---|---|
| 16 | Goddess of the Fireflies (La déesse des mouches à feu) |
| 13 | Underground (Souterrain) |
| The Vinland Club (Le club Vinland) | |
| 11 | My Salinger Year |
| 10 | Target Number One |
| 8 | The Decline (Jusqu'au déclin) |
| 5 | Blood Quantum |
| (Errance sans retour) | |
| 4 | Call Me Human (Je m'appelle humain) |
| My Very Own Circus (Mon cirque à moi) | |
| Night of the Kings (La nuit des rois) | |
| Our Own (Les nôtres) | |
| 3 | Nadia, Butterfly |
| Prayer for a Lost Mitten (Prière pour une mitaine perdue) | |
| Vacarme | |
| Wintopia | |
| 2 | The 108 Journey |
| The Castle (Le château) | |
| The Forbidden Reel | |
| (Jongué, carnet nomade) | |
| Wins | Film |
|---|---|
| 7 | Goddess of the Fireflies (La déesse des mouches à feu) |
| 4 | Underground (Souterrain) |
| 3 | The Vinland Club (Le club Vinland) |
| (Errance sans retour) | |