With six nominations, Up in the Air leads the  10th annual  Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards'  international categories, while J'ai tué ma mí¨re (I Killed My Mother) leads in the Canadian categories with five nominations.

The critics circle announced the nominations today (January 4).

Up in the Air, by Montreal-born director Jason Reitman, earned nominations for best film, best director, best screenplay, best actor (George Clooney), and two for best supporting actress (Anna Kendrick, Vera Farmiga).

Xavier Dolan won both best director and best actor nominations for J'ai tué ma mere, while the film also garnered nominations for best Canadian film, best actress (Anne Dorval), and best supporting actor (Franí§ois Arnaud).

As in previous years, Quebec films performed strongly. Denis Villeneuve's Polytechnique, about the 1989 Montreal massacre, followed with three nominations (best picture, best director, best actor) while Jean-Marc Vallée's The Young Victoria earned two nominations: best actress (Emily Blunt) and best supporting actress (Miranda Richardson).

The best British Columbia film nominees are comprised of Bruce Sweeney's Excited, Pete McCormack's Fighting Ali, and Vic Sarin's A Shine of Rainbows (all of which played at last year's Vancouver International Film Festival).

The documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil, about an aging Toronto metal band, will compete against The Cove and Food Inc. for best documentary.

The winners of this year's Achievement Award for Contribution to the British Columbia Film Industry are documentary filmmaker Nettie Wild and Vancouver International Film Festival founder and Festival Cinemas co-owner Leonard Schein. (A retrospective of Wild's work will be held at the Pacific Cinémathí¨que  (1131 Howe Street)  from January 15 to 17 in conjunction with the launch of the book Wild at Heart: The Films of Nettie Wild. (Straight movie reviewer Mark Harris contributed an essay to the book.)

The awards will be given out at the Railway Club on Monday (January 11).

Here is the full list of nominees:

BEST FILM
A Serious Man
The Hurt Locker
Up in the Air

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

BEST ACTRESS
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey ”˜Gabby’ Sidibe, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Alfred Molina, An Education
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

BEST DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Jason Reitman, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Anvil—The Story of Anvil
The Cove
Food Inc.

BEST SCREENPLAY
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker
Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

BEST CANADIAN FILM
J'ai tué ma mí¨re (I Killed My Mother)
Polytechnique
The Young Victoria

BEST ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM
Xavier Dolan, J'ai tué ma mí¨re (I Killed My Mother)
Sébastien Huberdeau, Polytechnique
Stephen McHattie, Pontypool

BEST ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM
Emily Blunt, The Young Victoria
Anne Dorval, J'ai tué ma mí¨re (I Killed My Mother)
Nisreen Faour, Amreeka

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A CANADIAN FILM
Franí§ois Arnaud, J'ai tué ma mí¨re (I Killed My Mother)
Daniel J. Gordon, Nurse. Fighter. Boy
John Paul Tremblay, Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A CANADIAN FILM
Lisa Houle, Pontypool
Miranda Richardson, The Young Victoria
Gabrielle Rose, Excited

BEST DIRECTOR OF A CANADIAN FILM
Cherien Dabis, Amreeka
Xavier Dolan, J'ai tué ma mí¨re (I Killed My Mother)
Denis Villeneuve, Polytechnique

BEST BRITISH COLUMBIA FILM
A Shine of Rainbows
Excited
Facing Ali

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Broken Embraces, Spain
The Headless Woman, Argentina
Summer Hours, France

ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR CONTRIBUTION TO THE FILM INDUSTRY IN BRITISH COLUMBIA
Nettie Wild
Leonard Schein