Thriller River swept most of the major awards for Canadian features at the 15th annual Whistler Film Festival, winning Best Feature, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Jamie M. Dagg’s first feature is about an American doctor (Rossif Sutherland) in Laos who goes on the run after trying to stop the sexual assault of a young woman and then being accused of his murder after the would-be rapist’s body turns up in the river. The Borsos jury — Carl Bessai, Marc-Andre Grondin and Kim McCraw — picked the thriller from about twenty Canadian features screening at the festival.
Related: Borsos Awards Films at 15th Whistler Film Festival.
The Borsos Awards:
- Best Canadian Feature Film ($15,000 sponsored by Directors Guild of Canada – BC and $15,000 post production prize sponsored by Encore Vancouver.)
- Best Director
- Best Screenplay
- Best Performance
- Best Cinematography
Paul Savoie won the Borsos award for his performance in The Diary of An Old Man, with honourable mention going to Rossif Sutherland for River and Laura Abramsen for Basic Human Needs and The Sabbatical.
He Hated Pigeons won Best Cinematography.