Genie Special Awards

SPECIAL AWARD - Harry Gulkin

Montreal-based Harry Gulkin is one of the best-known and admired figures on the Canadian film scene. He first came to fame in 1975 when he co-produced Ted Allan's Lies My Father Told Me, the tale of a powerful bond between a young boy and his Orthodox Jewish grandfather. An international sensation, the feature garnered six Etrog Awards (predecessor to the Genies) in 1976 including Best Motion Picture and the first Golden Reel Award for highest Canadian box office for Mr. Gulkin, as well as a best foreign film Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay. He also produced such classics as Lionel Chetwynd's Two Solitudes, Mordecai Richler's Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang and Mort Ransen's Bayo.

In 1987, he joined the Quebec film-funding body now called SODEC - Société de développement des entreprises culturelles du Québec. There, Mr. Gulkin inspired many in Quebec's film business and fostered new talent until his retirement in January 2008. A mentor to generations of filmmakers, he was trusted and respected by filmmakers who consulted with him and sought his unequivocal support. Through his contributions as SODEC's project manager for 20 years, he has played a vital role in the development and success of Quebecois cinema.

A past President and Chairman of the pioneering Ottawa based Canadian Film Institute, and a past Vice-President of the Cinémathêque québécoise and the late Canadian Association of Motion Picture Producers, Mr. Gulkin was recently named to the board of Nunavut Film. In 2005, Montreal filmmaker Nicola Zavaglia made the documentary, Harry Gulkin: Red Dawn on Main Street, profiling his career and personal memoirs.

His considerable contributions to independent filmmaking have left an indelible impression on contemporary Quebec cinema. In honouring Mr. Gulkin's career, the Academy pays tribute to a person of outstanding vision and merit, who has built through his love of film a stronger and more vibrant film community, to its great pleasure and benefit.