# Genie Award for Best Theatrical Short Film

The Genie Award for Best Theatrical Short Film was a Canadian film award, historically presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television through its Genie Awards program to a film judged as the year's best short film. The award has been inclusive of short films in the live action drama, animated and documentary genres.
Originally presented by the Canadian Film Awards from their creation in 1949, the award was presented annually until 1964 with the exceptions of 1955, when an honourable mention was given but no formal winner was named, and 1957, when the award was not presented. The award was then not presented in 1965, 1966 or 1967.
Beginning in 1968, the Canadian Film Awards instituted separate award categories for "Film Over 30 Minutes" and "Film Under 30 Minutes". This continued for three years until 1971, when the single award for Best Theatrical Short was reinstituted. Except for 1974, when the Canadian Film Awards were entirely cancelled, the award was presented continuously thereafter until the Canadian Film Awards evolved into the Genie Awards in 1980, and continued to be presented in the early years of the Genie Awards.
After 1985, however, the Academy's presentation of the award varied from year to year, with a single award for Best Theatrical Short presented in some years, while separate awards for Best Live Action Short Drama, Best Animated Short and Best Short Documentary were presented in others. This variability continued until the 17th Genie Awards in 1996; since then, the separate genre categories have been consistently presented at all subsequent Genie or Canadian Screen Award ceremonies, and the Best Theatrical Short category is no longer in use.

## 1940s

| Year | Film | Filmmakers |
| 1949 1st Canadian Film Awards |
| 1949 1st Canadian Film Awards | Who Will Teach Your Child? | Stanley Jackson |
| 1949 1st Canadian Film Awards | Canadian Cameo Series | Bernard Norrish |

## 1950s

| Year | Film | Filmmakers |
| 1950 2nd Canadian Film Awards |
| 1950 2nd Canadian Film Awards | North Shore (La Terre de Cain) | James Beveridge |
| 1950 2nd Canadian Film Awards | Summer Is for Kids | Stanley Jackson |
| 1951 3rd Canadian Film Awards |
| 1951 3rd Canadian Film Awards | After Prison, What? | Ron Weyman |
| 1952 4th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1952 4th Canadian Film Awards | Opera School | Gudrun Parker |
| 1952 4th Canadian Film Awards | The Fruitful Earth | Bernard Norrish |
| 1952 4th Canadian Film Awards | The Man in the Peace Tower | Roger Blais |
| 1952 4th Canadian Film Awards | Struggle for Oil | Ronald Dick |
| 1953 5th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1953 5th Canadian Film Awards | The Bird Fancier (L'Homme aux oiseaux) | Bernard Devlin, Jean Palardy |
| 1953 5th Canadian Film Awards | Canine Crimebusters | Bernard Norrish |
| 1953 5th Canadian Film Awards | Citizen Varek | Gordon Burwash |
| 1953 5th Canadian Film Awards | The Roaring Game | Bernard Norrish |
| 1953 5th Canadian Film Awards | The Wind-Swept Isles (Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine) | Jean Palardy |
| 1954 6th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1954 6th Canadian Film Awards | Farewell Oak Street | Grant McLean |
| 1954 6th Canadian Film Awards | Danish Seining | Herman Noelle |
| 1954 6th Canadian Film Awards | The Settler (L'Abatis) | Bernard Devlin |
| 1955 7th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1955 7th Canadian Film Awards | High Tide in Newfoundland | Grant McLean |
| 1956 8th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1956 8th Canadian Film Awards | Gold | Colin Low |
| 1956 8th Canadian Film Awards | Jolifou Inn | Colin Low |
| 1956 8th Canadian Film Awards | The Shepherd | Julian Biggs |
| 1957 9th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1957 9th Canadian Film Awards | No award presented | No award presented |
| 1958 10th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1958 10th Canadian Film Awards | The Sceptre and the Mace | John Howe |
| 1959 11th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1959 11th Canadian Film Awards | Money Minters | Ted De Wit |
| 1959 11th Canadian Film Awards | The Quest | Nicholas Balla, Stanley Jackson |
| 1959 11th Canadian Film Awards | The Tall Country | Lew Parry, Osmond Borradaile |

## 1960s

| Year | Film | Filmmakers |
| 1960 12th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1960 12th Canadian Film Awards | Royal River | Gordon Sparling |
| 1961 13th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1961 13th Canadian Film Awards | Universe | Tom Daly, Colin Low, Roman Kroitor |
| 1962 14th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1962 14th Canadian Film Awards | Morning on the Lièvre | David Bairstow, Guy Glover |
| 1963 15th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1963 15th Canadian Film Awards | Nahanni | Donald Wilder |
| 1964 16th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1964 16th Canadian Film Awards | Anniversary | William Weintraub |
| 1965 17th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1965 17th Canadian Film Awards | No award presented | No award presented |
| 1966 18th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1966 18th Canadian Film Awards | No award presented | No award presented |
| 1967 19th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1967 19th Canadian Film Awards | No award presented | No award presented |
| 1968 20th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1968 20th Canadian Film Awards | Film Over 30 Minutes | Film Over 30 Minutes |
| 1968 20th Canadian Film Awards | Do Not Fold, Staple, Spindle or Mutilate | John Howe |
| 1968 20th Canadian Film Awards | This Is No Time for Romance (Ça n'est pas le temps des romans) | Fernand Dansereau |
| 1969 21st Canadian Film Awards |
| 1969 21st Canadian Film Awards | Film Over 30 Minutes | Film Over 30 Minutes |
| 1969 21st Canadian Film Awards | Vertige | Gilles Boivin, Clément Perron |
| 1969 21st Canadian Film Awards | And No Birds Sing | John Thomson |
| 1969 21st Canadian Film Awards | Hey, Cinderella! | John T. Ross, Peter Miner |
| 1969 21st Canadian Film Awards | At Home | Martin Lavut |

## 1970s

| Year | Film | Filmmakers |
| 1970 22nd Canadian Film Awards |
| 1970 22nd Canadian Film Awards | Film Over 30 Minutes | Film Over 30 Minutes |
| 1970 22nd Canadian Film Awards | A Matter of Fat | William Weintraub |
| 1970 22nd Canadian Film Awards | Blake | Bill Mason |
| 1971 23rd Canadian Film Awards |
| 1971 23rd Canadian Film Awards | Don't Knock the Ox | Tony Ianzelo |
| 1972 24th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1972 24th Canadian Film Awards | This Is a Photograph | Albert Kish |
| 1973 25th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1973 25th Canadian Film Awards | Goodbye Sousa | Tony Ianzelo |
| 1974 |
| 1974 | No award presented | No award presented |
| 1975 26th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1975 26th Canadian Film Awards | Along These Lines | Isabel Ripley, Patrick Watson, Peter Pearson |
| 1976 27th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1976 27th Canadian Film Awards | Cooperage | Phillip Borsos |
| 1977 28th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1977 28th Canadian Film Awards | Spartree | Phillip Borsos |
| 1977 28th Canadian Film Awards | Outtakes | Barry Healey |
| 1977 28th Canadian Film Awards | The Sand Castle (Le Chateau de sable) | Co Hoedeman |
| 1977 28th Canadian Film Awards | Silent Sky | Laszlo George, David Mackay, Douglas Murray |
| 1978 29th Canadian Film Awards |
| 1978 29th Canadian Film Awards | The Bronswik Affair (L'Affaire Bronswik) | Robert Awad, André Leduc |

## 1980s

| Year | Film | Filmmakers |
| 1980 1st Genie Awards |
| 1980 1st Genie Awards | Nails | Phillip Borsos |
| 1980 1st Genie Awards | Track Stars: The Unseen Heroes of Movie Sound | Terry Burke |
| 1980 1st Genie Awards | Twice Upon a Time... (Il était deux fois) | Giles Walker |
| 1981 2nd Genie Awards |
| 1981 2nd Genie Awards | The Strongest Man in the World | Halya Kuchmij |
| 1981 2nd Genie Awards | Heavy Horse Pull | Roberta King, Ronald Squire |
| 1981 2nd Genie Awards | History of the World in Three Minutes Flat | Michael Mills |
| 1982 3rd Genie Awards |
| 1982 3rd Genie Awards | Zea | André Leduc, Robert Forget, Jean-Jacques Leduc |
| 1982 3rd Genie Awards | Top Priority | Ishu Patel |
| 1982 3rd Genie Awards | Voyage de nuit | Roger Frappier, Carole Mondello |
| 1983 4th Genie Awards |
| 1983 4th Genie Awards | Elvis Gratton | Pierre Falardeau, Julien Poulin |
| 1983 4th Genie Awards | Footsteps | Scott Barrie |
| 1983 4th Genie Awards | The Only Game in Town | David Fine, Ron Mann |
| 1983 4th Genie Awards | The Toaster (Le Toasteur) | Michel Bouchard |
| 1984 5th Genie Awards |
| 1984 5th Genie Awards | Ted Baryluk's Grocery | Michael Scott, Wolf Koenig |
| 1984 5th Genie Awards | Brushstrokes | Sylvie Fefer |
| 1984 5th Genie Awards | Snow | Stephen Zoller, Tibor Takács |
| 1985 6th Genie Awards |
| 1985 6th Genie Awards | Charade | Jon Minnis |
| 1985 6th Genie Awards | I Think of You Often | Scott Barrie |
| 1985 6th Genie Awards | Productivity and Performance by Alex K. | Nicolas Stiliadis, Syd Cappe |
| 1985 6th Genie Awards | The Terrapin (La Terrapène) | Michel Bouchard, Jacques Pettigrew |
| 1986 7th Genie Awards |
| 1986 7th Genie Awards | No award presented; see separate genre lists. | No award presented; see separate genre lists. |
| 1987 8th Genie Awards |
| 1987 8th Genie Awards | No award presented; see separate genre lists. | No award presented; see separate genre lists. |
| 1988 9th Genie Awards |
| 1988 9th Genie Awards | George and Rosemary | David Fine, Alison Snowden |
| 1988 9th Genie Awards | Fashion 99 | Karen Firus |
| 1988 9th Genie Awards | Future Block | Kevin McCracken |
| 1989 10th Genie Awards |
| 1989 10th Genie Awards | No award presented; see separate genre lists. | No award presented; see separate genre lists. |

## 1990s

| Year | Film | Filmmakers |
| 1990 11th Genie Awards |
| 1990 11th Genie Awards | No award presented; see separate genre lists. | No award presented; see separate genre lists. |
| 1991 12th Genie Awards |
| 1991 12th Genie Awards | Saeed | Mehra Meh |
| 1991 12th Genie Awards | Edsville | James O'Regan |
| 1991 12th Genie Awards | Man Descending | Raymond Lorenz, Neil Grieve |
| 1991 12th Genie Awards | The Night of the Visitor (La Nuit du visiteur) | René Gueissaz |
| 1991 12th Genie Awards | The Star Turn | Donald Booth |
| 1992 13th Genie Awards |
| 1992 13th Genie Awards | No award presented; see separate genre lists. | No award presented; see separate genre lists. |
| 1993 14th Genie Awards |
| 1993 14th Genie Awards | No award presented; see separate genre lists. | No award presented; see separate genre lists. |
| 1994 15th Genie Awards |
| 1994 15th Genie Awards | Arrowhead | Emmet Sheil, Peter Lynch |
| 1994 15th Genie Awards | Bob's Birthday | David Fine, Alison Snowden |
| 1994 15th Genie Awards | Collateral Damage | Leonard Farlinger, Pamela Davenport |
| 1994 15th Genie Awards | Save My Lost Nigga Soul | Damon D'Oliveira, Clement Virgo |
| 1994 15th Genie Awards | Without Rockets | Keith Tomasek, Gary Yates |
| 1995 16th Genie Awards |
| 1995 16th Genie Awards | Magical Flowers (Les fleurs magiques) | Jean-Marc Vallée |
| 1995 16th Genie Awards | The End of the World in Four Seasons | Marcy Page, Paul Driessen |
| 1995 16th Genie Awards | Movements of the Body: "1st Movement: The Gesture" | Wayne Traudt |
| 1995 16th Genie Awards | Off Key | Karethe Linaae, Wade Ferley |
| 1995 16th Genie Awards | You Love Me I Hate You | Myra Fried, Rosamund Owen |
| 1996 17th Genie Awards |
| 1996 17th Genie Awards | The Home for Blind Women | Sandra Kybartas |
| 1996 17th Genie Awards | Curtains (Rideau) | Mark Morgenstern, Stephanie Morgenstern |
| 1996 17th Genie Awards | The Feeler | Colleen Murphy, Elizabeth Yake |