The Haida Wildman stalked the Vancouver Film Critics Circle last night (January 7), taking four major prizes at the group's Canadian film awards ceremony at the Vancity Theatre. 

Besides receiving their honours as the year's best director(s), Gwaai Edenshaw and Helen Haig-Brown’s Edge of the Knife was named both best Canadian and best British Columbia film (a repeat of its VIFF successes), while Tyler York—making his debut—was given a well-deserved best actor (male) award for his hair-raising performance in the period film. (The honour comes with a $500 cash prize sponsored by UBCP/ACTRA.)

Arlen Aguayo Stewart bagged the best actor (female) honour for her role in Roads to February, as a Montrealer mourning the death of her father in Uruguay. Mirroring TIFF’s best first Canadian feature nod, writer-director Katherine Jerkovic was named the VFCC’s One to Watch for her debut feature, which begins a four-screening run at the Cinematheque starting Wednesday (January 9) as part of its New (Canadian) Cinema series.

One of the Straight’s faves from VIFF 2018, Sean Devlin’s When the Storm Fades brought best supporting actor awards to Kayla Lorette and Sunday Serviceman Aaron Read, both playing hapless aid workers in a typhoon devastated Philippines.

The remaining two prizes went to Keith Behrman for his Giant Little Ones screenplay, and ANTHROPOCENE: The Human Epoch for best Canadian documentary.

 Finally, this year’s Ian Caddell Award of Achievement, named for the VFCC’s late co-founder and legendary Georgia Straight film correspondent, was shared by the no less legendary Terry David Mulligan and Rick Staehling.