Quebec Claimed Some Oscars Hardware — But Not As Much As Some Hoped
A few Quebecers are going home happy.
Several Oscar trophies sitting on a red surface.
Though that slap might have overshadowed their accomplishments, a few Quebecers are going home happy after the 2022 Oscars.
Quebecer Patrice Vermette took home the award for Best Production Design alongside his colleague, Hungary's Zsuzsanna Sipos, for their work on Dune, directed by Denis Villeneuve.
"We don't have Hollywood in Canada, but just like in Hungary, we have a lot of creativity," Vermette told reporters after winning the Oscar.
"And I think that is an amazing gift that our communities have," he said, gesturing toward Sipos. "Both countries, Hungary and Canada, don't have the same budget as we do in the United States, and we are trained to work with very little, to work on shoestring budgets."
"And when we get the chance and the privilege to work on such big productions, I think it pays off. And I think that's a testament to the Canadian film industry."
Dune lost to CODA for Best Picture but did pick up five other awards: Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects and Best Sound.
It had 10 nominations in total.
Quebec-born director Villeneuve — who rode a wave of enthusiasm from his home province — wasn't nominated in the Best Directing category.
That award went to New Zealand's Jane Campion — the only win for The Power of The Dog, the Netflix western produced by Quebec's Roger Frappier that went into the ceremony with 12 nominations.
The 2022 Oscars will most definitely be remembered for the astonishing moment Will Smith smacked Chris Rock on stage — to the visible shock of the stars gathered in the audience — after the presenter made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Will Smith went on to win the award for Best Actor for his work in King Richard.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
