Canadian Screen Awards: 'Alias Grace,' 'Maudie,' 'Anne With an E' Dominate

The Ethan Hawke and Sally Hawkins starrer 'Maudie' swept the film categories at the national screen awards.

The Netflix/CBC dramas Anne With an E and Alias Grace won big Sunday night at the Canadian Screen Awards, earning multiple honors.

Anne With an E, which hails from Emmy-winning writer Moira Walley-Beckett (Breaking Bad) and is based on the classic Anne of Green Gables book series, nabbed the trophy for best drama. And the historical drama Alias Grace won for best miniseries, while lead Sarah Gadon was named best dramatic miniseries actress.

Alias Grace, based on Margaret Atwood's novel, in pre-telecast award-giving earned Sarah Polley a best writing trophy and Mary Harron another for best direction. Celebrated Canadian writer Atwood, who received a career tribute during the ceremony, said the all-female creative team on Alias Grace meant "no one had to deal with the 'powerful man syndrome'" on set, in an often-repeated reference to the #MeToo movement and Time's Up initiative during the awards show.

Anne With an E, which airs as Anne on CBC, had a field-leading 13 nominations going into the Canadian Screen Awards and earlier this week saw R.H. Thomson nab the best supporting dramatic actor prize.

Another big winner was the Hulu/CTV murder-mystery drama Cardinal, which earned lead Billy Campbell a best dramatic miniseries actor award. Cardinal earned another five trophies in pre-telecast prize-giving, including Allie MacDonald winning for best supporting actress and a slew of craft honors.

The top acting, series and film prizes at the Canadian Screen Awards were handed out on Sunday night, with CBC's Kim's Convenience, Schitt's Creek and Baroness von Sketch Show dominating in the TV comedy categories. Schitt's Creek's Catherine O'Hara won for best comedic actress, and Kim's Convenience's Paul Sun-Hyung Lee was named best comedic actor.

Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany repeated as best TV drama actress, and Viking's Alexander Ludwig was tapped as best dramatic actor.

On the film front, Maudie won for best movie, while Aisling Walsh took home the best director award and Sherry White collected the best screenplay honor. The biopic about artist Maude Lewis also earned honors for Ethan Hawke (best supporting film actor) and Sally Hawkins (best film actress), as well as for best costume design and editing.

Remedy actor Nabil Rajo received the best film actor award for his star turn in Boost, while Bahar Nouhian picked up the best supporting film actress award for her role in the Iranian-Canadian drama Ava. "Representation does matter. I waited a very long time to see a character like Hakeem on the big screen," Rajo, who came to Canada from Eritrea at age 6, told the audience upon accepting his prize.

The animated feature The Breadwinner, executive produced by Angelina Jolie, was another multiple winner, including best film score honors for Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna, while Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World earned four trophies, including for best feature documentary.

The Canadian Screen Awards, organized by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television and hosted by Emma Hunter and Jonny Harris, aired live on the CBC network.