VANCOUVER - The story of a corporate suit whose jet-setting lifestyle of cross-country firing expeditions is turned upside down has been awarded top honours by Vancouver film critics.
They named Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air" the best film of 2009.
The comedy starring George Clooney also won best screenplay and best supporting actress for co-star Vera Farmiga, who plays his character's love interest, at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle awards on Monday.
Quebec filmmaker Xavier Dolan's J'ai tue ma mere was named the best Canadian film of the year.
The filmmaker wrote, directed and starred in the film, which is a semi-autobiographical tale of a young gay man coming of age while struggling with his tortured relationship with his mother. The Montrealer also won nods for the best Canadian director and best actor in a Canadian film.
The movie previously showed at Cannes and is Canada's entry for best foreign-language film Oscar.
Emily Blunt was named best actress in a Canadian film, for "The Young Victoria."
Anvil! The story of Anvil, a rock documentary about an aging Toronto heavy metal band, won honours for best documentary.
Kathryn Bigelow beat out Reitman and Quentin Tarantino for best director for her film The Hurt Locker. It's an edge-of-your-seat thriller about an elite army bomb squad forced to play the dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in Iraq.
