Werewolf’s night to howl at film critics’ gala

Movie about homelessness, addiction takes top honours from Toronto reviewers

Werewolf, a film about a Cape Breton couple suffering from homelessness and methadone addiction, won the grand prize at this year’s Toronto Film Critics Association (TFCA) awards gala.

Filmmaker Ashley McKenzie accepted the $100,000 prize for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award at the Carlu restaurant in downtown Toronto on Tuesday evening.

“With Werewolf, a raw, yet tender portrait of a couple in methadone recovery, Ashley McKenzie casts fresh light on a pressing issue,” said Phil Lind, vice-chair of Rogers Communications — which sponsors the awards — in a statement issued Tuesday.

McKenzie’s first feature film follows Blaise and Vanessa as they eke out a living mowing lawns and surviving outdoors.

Other nominees included Hello Destroyer, about a hockey “enforcer” coming to terms with the aggression of his minor-league hockey team, and Wexford Plaza, which follows an unexpected relationship between a Scarborough strip-mall security guard and a makeup salesman.

Peter Howell, Star movie critic and president of the TFCA, noted that all three winning films were low-budget and both Werewolf and Wexford Plaza were directed by women (McKenzie and Joyce Wong, respectively).

Meanwhile, Sofia Bohdanowicz, director of Maison de Bonheur and Never Eat Alone, won the Stella Artois Jay Scott Prize, awarded to emerging artists. Several major actors and directors were also lauded at the gala, including Greta Gerwig, who won Best Director for Lady Bird; Ruben Ostlund, who won Best Foreign Language Film for directing The Square; and Daniel Day-Lewis, winner of Best Actor award for Phantom Thread.