A Dangerous Method, the period drama about the relationship between Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, has five nominations for Directors Guild of Canada Awards, including best director for David Cronenberg.

DGC Awards selected nominees

Best film director:

  • David Cronenberg, A Dangerous Method.
  • Michael Dowse, Goon.
  • Sarah Polley, Take This Waltz.
  • David Weaver, The Samaritan

Best film:

  • A Dangerous Method.
  • Edwin Boyd.
  • Down the Road Again.
  • The Samaritan.

Best TV series direction:

  • Kelly Makin, Flashpoint.
  • Jeremy Podeswa, The Borgias.
  • Jeremy Podeswa, Camelot.
  • David Straiton, The Firm.

The wordy drama starring Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender and Keira Knightley was also nominated for best film, best production design, best picture editing and best sound editing.

Cronenberg is competing for the best director honour with Sarah Polley for the romance Take This Waltz, Michael Dowse for hockey story Goon and David Weaver for thriller The Samaritan.

The DGC announced its nominations for the best in Canadian film and television on Wednesday.

The Samaritan, starring Samuel Jackson as a man just out of prison whose past deeds catch up with him, has three nominations, including best picture and best editing.

The best picture race pits The Samaritan and A Dangerous Method against Edwin Boyd and Down the Road Again, the follow-up to Don Shebib’s classic Going Down the Road.

In the television categories, the leaders are mini-series The Kennedys with six nominations and historical series The Borgias with five.

The Borgias, a sexy historical drama that follows the medieval Italian family who controlled the Vatican, is up for best drama, along with Haven, Flashpoint and Rookie Blue.

Katie Holmes portrays Jacqueline Kennedy in a scene from the eight-part movie, The Kennedys, which earned six Directors Guild of Canada nominations.Katie Holmes portrays Jacqueline Kennedy in a scene from the eight-part movie, The Kennedys, which earned six Directors Guild of Canada nominations. (ReelzChannel/Associated Press)

Jeremy Podeswa has a double nod for best direction in a TV series for his work on both The Borgias and Camelot, another historical series.

The Kennedys’ Canadian-raised director Jon Cassar is vying for best director of a mini-series with Charles Biname for Cyberbully, Paul A. Kaufman for Magic Beyond Words: The JK Rowling Story and Jeff Woolnough for CBC’s The Wrath of Grapes: The Don Cherry Story.

Two of CBC’s new comedies are named in the best comedy category – the cancelled series Michael Tuesdays & Thursdays and teacher tale Mr. D. Heartland has a nomination for best family series.

The winners will be named at a gala hosted by comedian Sean Cullen on Oct. 20, at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto.