The Toronto Film Critics Association awarded the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award to Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson at the annual ceremony on January 5, 2016, for their film “The Forbidden Room”.

The pair scooped the $100,000 cash prize, the richest film award in Canada.

At the presentation, Don McKellar quipped:

“I’m telling you right now that’s too much money for Guy. I’m serious. That’s more than his last 45 films combined, their total budgets. If I were you, critics — and this is just a suggestion — I would give an annual stipend, like a fund of maybe $10,000 to Guy every year for life. And he would make a film for you. And you could show it in your clubhouse or whatever and say, ‘That’s our film. Guy Maddin made that for us.'”

In his acceptance speech, Guy said:

“$100,000 is enormously generous, thank you. With it, we hope to bring an NFL franchise to Winnipeg.”

Evan offered up:

“I just want to take back every negative thing I’ve ever said about film critics and — corporations.”

See video in the Globe and Mail’s report.

This is the second time Guy has won — in 2008 his “My Winnipeg” took top honours.

My take: I’m going to win this one day.