La genese d'une reconnaissance reflechie de la musique de film au Quebec: le prix Jutra

The Jutra Awards, an annual competition rewarding Quebec's film industry, are in their first years of a renewed and improved approach to celebrating film music and its composers. This is the result of much debate--even controversy--in the industry, with respect to the credibility of the awards in the "Best Music" category. By studying the results of the competition since its inception in 1999 and in comparison with the regulations and the histories of the Felix, the Genie, and especially of the Academy Awards, we will show that the recent updates to the rules of eligibility for music at the Jutras are justified, but also that they can still be improved upon. One objective of this paper is to better understand the concept of originality in film music, as it pertains to competition in the film industry in Quebec. A second objective will be to question the importance of recognizing, in separate categories, "dramatic" orchestral film scores, original popular music and original songs. Also, we will consider the influence of an artist's pre-established popularity on his chances of winning an award for his work. Finally, based on the rule changes made for the 2011 Jutras, we will outline some implications for the future of the competition.