Dartmouth's Kimberlee McTaggart was in the line-up of nominees for the inaugural Canadian Screen Awards, held in Toronto on Sunday night.
Up for the Achievement in Editing award for her work onBlackbird, this was the second nomination for McTaggart, who won a Gemini last year for her editing work on the comedy television series ‘Call Me Fitz'.
"I was absolutely thrilled when I heard the film was nominated for best editing and, I have to admit, a little surprised," McTaggart said. "Blackbird is not a flashy film in the editing sense, so I am really honoured that they chose to recognize our work in this film. And it is my feature film debut, so this makes it even more special."
Blackbird, written and directed by Chester filmmaker Jason Buxton, won the ‘Claude Jutra Award' for the best feature made by a first-time director. Buxton was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay.
War Witch, written and directed by Montreal filmmaker Kim Nguyen, won the best editing award, along with nine other awards, including best picture.
McTaggart, who has an editing studio in downtown Dartmouth, not far from her home, traveled to Toronto for the gala event. The ceremony was hosted by comedian Martin Short and replaces the former Gemini and Genie awards.
Blackbird, which tells the story of a teen accused of plotting a Columbine-style shooting in his smalltown school, has been a hit at film festivals since it debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival last September when it won best Canadian first feature film.
Blackbird will be in theatres April 5.
jveitch@ns.sympatico.ca
