The 1st Genie Awards were the first ever Genie Awards. They were presented on March 20, 1980 and honoured films released in 1979. They were given out at a gala event at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto with Bruno Gerussi as host. A luncheon the day before the gala saw the non-feature film awards presented. The show was broadcast on CBC Television and was noted for its Oscars-like production design. The show was not without controversy: Award winner Christopher Plummer used his speech to criticize the distinction made between Canadian and foreign actors. The fact that no French language films won any major awards was also a source of some controversy.
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