Ottawa set to host Genie Awards

The 31st Genie Awards gala will be held in Ottawa, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television announced Thursday.

The annual awards, which have celebrated the best in Canadian film for 31 years, are scheduled to be held at the National Arts Centre on March 10.

Ottawa hosted the 29th edition of the Genies in 2009, with the ceremony coming from the Canada Aviation Museum, now known as the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.

Telefilm hosted a premiere screening of Barney's Version, based on the novel by Mordecai Richler, at the NAC last November.

"It makes sense to celebrate the Genie Awards on a national stage and we can do that in Ottawa," said Sara Morton, the CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

Nominations for awards open on Feb. 2. Leading contenders include filmmaker Denis Villeneuve's Incendies, which was adapted from a play by the NAC's Wajdi Mouawad. The film was nominated for best foreign film at the upcoming Academy Awards.

Barney's Version, Heartbeats, Modra and documentary Last Train Home are also expected to garner nominations.

The awards will be broadcast live on CBC Television.