Canada Gives Five Awards to Ali Abbasi’s “The Apprentice”
According to cinemadrame news agency, “The Apprentice,” directed by Ali Abbasi, which chronicles Donald Trump’s early life, won five awards, including Best Motion Picture and Best Lead and Supporting Performance in a Feature Film for Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong, at the Canadian Screen Awards in Toronto.
“The Apprentice” depicts young Donald Trump’s efforts, played by Sebastian Stan, to build his real estate business in 1970s and 1980s New York, as well as his relationship with his mentor, lawyer Roy Cohn. Jeremy Strong plays Cohn, and Maria Bakalova appears as Ivana, Trump’s first wife. Gabriel Sherman, who wrote Showtime’s miniseries “The Loudest Voice” starring Russell Crowe, penned the film’s screenplay.
Daniel Bekerman, one of the producers of “The Apprentice,” a co-production between Canada, Ireland, and Denmark, stated after receiving the award: “Our film shows how young Donald Trump amassed wealth and power by taking a dilapidated building and putting his name on it as president.” He then alluded to Trump’s past efforts to annex Canada as the 51st U.S. state, adding: “Now he wants to put his name on this country.”
Bekerman noted that “The Apprentice” was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar after its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. He addressed the film’s director, who was present, saying: “But Ali, I told you that if you truly want to make it big in this industry, you have to come to Canada.”
Later in the ceremony, which was broadcast live on CBC, Molly Wickham, an Indigenous community leader and environmental activist, along with other directors of the documentary “Yintah,” took the stage to accept the award for Best Documentary. This documentary tells the story of the Indigenous struggle against fossil fuel companies seeking to occupy their land.
Wickham, with her fist raised, declared: “This fight continues, and we will never give up. Our strength is tied to collective liberation. Land back. Free Palestine.”
The award for Best Direction went to Andrew Cividino for “Universal Language,” and the series “The Way Home” won the Audience Choice Award.
