The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) has unveiled the 2025 DGC Awards nominees for Feature Film, Documentary and Short Film, as well as the short list for this year’s Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award, recognizing emerging directors to watch this festival season.
Sci-fi thriller 40 Acres leads film category nominees with five nods, including Feature Film Crew of the Year, Outstanding Directorial Achievement for R.T. Thorne & Team, Best Production Design (Film) for Peter Cosco, Best Picture Editing (Feature Film) for Dev Singh and Sandy Pereira, and Best Sound Editing for Ed Douglas and Dermain Finlayson.
The Discovery Award short list includes Trevor Solway’s Siksikakowan: The Blackfoot Man; Sasha Leigh Henry’s Dinner with Friends; Marie Brassard for Le Train; Ava Maria Safai for Foreigner; and Sophy Romvari for Blue Heron.
The long list was revealed last week, alongside the previously-announced nominees for Television Series, Movies for Television and Mini-Series. Winners will be revealed on Saturday, Nov. 8 at Toronto’s Koerner Hall.
Find the full list of Feature Film, Documentary and Short Film nominees here:
FEATURE FILM CREW OF THE YEAR
40 Acres
Final Destination: Bloodlines
Frankenstein
Sharp Corner
The Smashing Machine
Tron 3: Ares
DRAMA SERIES CREW OF THE YEAR
From – Season 3
The Last of Us – Season 2
The Handmaid’s Tale – Season 6
The Boys – Season 4
Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent – Season 2
COMEDY SERIES CREW OF THE YEAR
North of North – Season 1
What We Do in the Shadows – Season 6
Animal Control – Season 3
Shoresy – Season 4
The Trades – Season 2
TV MOVIE CREW OF THE YEAR
A ‘90s Christmas
To Have and to Holiday
Mary J. Blige’s Family Affair
Wynonna Earp: Vengeance
Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Death at the Diner
OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN FEATURE FILM
R.T. Thorne & Team – 40 Acres
Adam B. Stein, Zach Lipovsky & Team – Final Destination: Bloodlines
Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson & Team – Rumours
Chloé Robichaud & Team– Deux femmes en or
Eva Thomas & Team – Nika & Madison
ALLAN KING AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN DOCUMENTARY
John Bolton – King Arthur’s Night
Laurie Townshend – A Mother Apart
Seth Scriver & Peter Scriver – Endless Cookie
Christopher Auchter – The Stand
Alfonso Maiorana – Goddess of Slide
BEST SHORT FILM
Alicia K. Harris – On a Sunday at Eleven
Spencer Zimmerman – Headcase
Arshia Shakiba – Who Loves the Sun
Anna Hopkins – Dish Pit
Alireza Kazemipour & Panta Mosleh – Hatch
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – FILM
Aleks Marinkovich – The Apprentice
Carol Spier – The Shrouds
Elisabeth Williams – Out Standing
Peter Cosco – 40 Acres
Brian Kane – Clown in a Cornfield
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – FILM (LIMITED BUDGET)
Ludovic Dufresne – Vil & misérable
Marie-Pier Fortier – La petite et le vieux
Liz Bischof – A Nice Indian Boy
Caroline Alder – Le dernier repas
Dom Fegan – What We Dreamed of Then
BEST PICTURE EDITING – FEATURE FILM
Dev Singh & Sandy Pereira – 40 Acres
Christopher Donaldson – The Shrouds
Jorge Weisz – Sharp Corner
Anna Catley – Paying For It
Simone Smith – Meadowlarks
BEST PICTURE EDITING – DOCUMENTARY
Sydney Cowper – Endless Cookie
Peter Denes – Degrassi: Whatever It Takes
Nick Hector – Shamed
Kent Donguines – Treasure of the Rice Terraces
Pauline Decroix – The Nest
BEST SOUND EDITING – FEATURE FILM
Nathan Robitaille, Dustin Harris, Craig MacLellan, Krystin Hunter, Josh Brown, Robert Bertola, Jack Madigan – Freaky Tales
Stephen Barden, Dashen Naidoo, Dustin Harris, Ryan Allam, Joe Bracciale, J.R. Fountain, Robert Hegedus, Stefana Fratila – Den of Thieves 2: Pantera
Ed Douglas, Dermain Finlayson – 40 Acres
Jane Tattersall, Sue Conley, David Evans, Jill Purdy, Joshua Vamos – Out Standing
Jill Purdy, Stephen Barden, Faustine Pelipel, Nelson Ferreira, Stefana Fratila, Jose Acosta – A Big Bold Beautiful Journey
