The 10th Genie Awards were held on March 22, 1989 to honour achievements of Canadian films which were released in 1988."Dead Ringers tops at Genies". Montreal Gazette, March 23, 1989. The event was held at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel in Toronto and was hosted by actor Dave Thomas.

The event was one of the most challenging in the history of the event. The venue had to be changed due to a scheduling conflict and, seven days before the show, CBC members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) went on strike. This meant that the production lost access to staging and set elements, which were built by, and stored at, the CBC. The Genies also lost 100 CUPE production staff and crew. While the CBC was still able to air the event, to allow it to proceed, the network cancelled its co-production contract, and the academy received emergency funding from Telefilm Canada, the Ontario Film Development Corporation and the federal Department of Communication. New sets were completed and, with a leaner crew, the ceremony was ready to proceed when, 45 minutes before air, a bomb threat was received. The hotel was swarmed by police, who found no bomb, and the event was able to take place."Genies going on with help". Toronto Star, March 21, 1989."The awards show must go on, especially when it's the Genies". The Globe and Mail, March 22, 1989.Maria Topalovich, And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. . pp. 117-199.

For this year, a record 35 features and 38 short films and documentaries were entered. The awards were dominated by David Cronenberg's Dead Ringers, which won ten awards.

Winners and nominees Motion Picture Direction Dead Ringers — David Cronenberg, Marc BoymanThe Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick — Stephen Foster The Revolving Doors (Les Portes tournantes) — Francyne Morin and René Malo Straight for the Heart (À corps perdu) — Robin Spry, Denise Robert A Winter Tan — Aerlyn Weissman, John Frizzell, Louise Clark, Jackie Burroughs, John Walker | valign="top" | David Cronenberg, Dead Ringers Roger Cardinal, Malarek Louise Clark, Jackie Burroughs, John Walker, Aerlyn Weissman, and John Frizzell, A Winter Tan Francis Mankiewicz, The Revolving Doors (Les Portes tournantes) Anne Wheeler, Cowboys Don't Cry Actor in a leading role Actress in a leading role Jeremy Irons, Dead Ringers Zachary Ansley, Cowboys Don't Cry Elias Koteas, Malarek Saul Rubinek, The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick Jan Rubeš, Something About Love Ron White, Cowboys Don't Cry Jackie Burroughs, A Winter Tan Geneviève Bujold, Dead Ringers Kerrie Keane, Hitting Home Josette Simon, Milk and Honey Monique Spaziani, The Revolving Doors (Les Portes tournantes) Actor in a supporting role Actress in a supporting role Rémy Girard, The Revolving Doors (Les Portes tournantes) Maury Chaykin, Iron Eagle II Ron James, Something About Love Michael Rudder, Buying Time Colleen Dewhurst, Hitting Home Janet-Laine Green, Cowboys Don't Cry Helen Hughes, Martha, Ruth and Edie Miou-Miou, The Revolving Doors (Les Portes tournantes) Susan Douglas Rubeš, The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick Original Screenplay Adapted Screenplay Glen Salzman and Trevor D. Rhone, Milk and Honey Claude Fournier, Michel Cournot, and Marie-José Raymond, The Mills of Power (Les Tisserands du pouvoir) Guy Maddin, Tales from the Gimli Hospital André Melançon and Jacques Bobet, Tadpole and the Whale (La Grenouille et la baleine) Michael Rubbo, Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller David Cronenberg and Norman Snider, Dead Ringers Douglas Bowie and Robin Spry, Hitting Home Jackie Burroughs, A Winter Tan Phil Savath, The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick Jacques Savoie and Francis Mankiewicz, The Revolving Doors (Les Portes tournantes) Best Feature Length Documentary Best Short Documentary Comic Book Confidential — Ron MannCalling the Shots — Janis Cole, Holly Dale Growing Up in America — Morley Markson A Rustling of Leaves: Inside the Philippine Revolution — Nettie Wild Witnesses: The Untold War in Afghanistan — Martyn Burke, David M. Ostriker | valign="top" | The World Is Watching — Harold Crooks, Jim Munro, Peter RaymontDying to Be Perfect — Eileen Hoeter Space Pioneers, a Canadian Story — Rudy Buttignol |- ! style="background:#EEDD82; width:50%" | Best Live Action Short Drama ! style="background:#EEDD82; width:50%" | Best Animated Short |- | valign="top" | The Mysterious Moon Men of Canada — Bruce McDonald, Colin BruntonInside/Out — Lori Spring The Job — Donald Scott The Milkman Cometh — Lorne Bailey Tenderfoot (Le Pied tendre) — Roger Boire, Viateur Castonguay | valign="top" | The Cat Came Back — Cordell Barker, Richard CondieNocturnes — Yves Leduc Primiti Too Taa — Ed Ackerman |- ! style="background:#EEDD82; width:50%" | Art Direction/Production Design ! style="background:#EEDD82; width:50%" | Cinematography |- | valign="top" | Carol Spier, Dead Ringers Vianney Gauthier, Straight for the Heart (À corps perdu) Anne Pritchard, The Revolving Doors (Les Portes tournantes) Peter Suschitzky, Dead Ringers Thomas Burstyn, Tadpole and the Whale (La Grenouille et la baleine) Karol Ike, Malarek Pierre Mignot, Straight for the Heart (À corps perdu) René Ohashi, Shadow Dancing Thomas Vámos, The Revolving Doors (Les Portes tournantes) Costume Design Editing François Barbeau, The Revolving Doors (Les Portes tournantes) Renée April, The Kiss Christine Cost and Michèle Hamel, The Mills of Power (Les Tisserands du pouvoir) Denise Cronenberg, Dead Ringers Maya Mani, Shadow Dancing Charlotte Penner, The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick Ronald Sanders, Dead Ringers Michel Arcand, Straight for the Heart (À corps perdu) Susan Martin and Allan Lee, A Winter Tan Overall Sound Sound Editing Don White, Andy Nelson and Bryan Day, Dead Ringers Don Cohen, Austin Grimaldi, Keith Elliott, and Dino Pigat, The Kiss Michael Liotta, Joe Grimaldi, Eli Yarkoni, and Dino Pigat, Iron Eagle II Michael Liotta, Don White, and Aerlyn Weissman, A Winter Tan Don White, Gabor Vadnay, Michael Liotta, and Joe Grimaldi, Hitting Home Terry Burke, Richard Cadger, David Giammarco, Wayne Griffin, and David Evans, Dead Ringers Alison Clark, Greg Glynn, Alison Grace, Andy Malcolm, and Denise McCormick, A Winter Tan David Evans, Kenneth Heeley-Ray, Richard Cadger, Robin Leigh, Drew King, Iron Eagle II Andy Malcolm, Alison Grace, Michael O'Farrell, Peter Thilaye, and Penny Hozy, The Kiss Jane Tattersall, Tony Currie, Terry Burke, Marta Nielsen Sternberg, and Wayne Griffin, Buying Time Achievement in Music: Original Score Achievement in Music: Original Song Howard Shore, Dead Ringers Billy Bryans and Aaron Davis, Office Party François Dompierre, The Revolving Doors (Les Portes tournantes) Richard Grégoire, The Heat Line (La ligne de chaleur) Osvaldo Montes, Straight for the Heart (À corps perdu) Maribeth Solomon and Micky Erbe, Milk and Honey Louis Natale and Anne Wheeler, "Cowboys Don't Cry" — Cowboys Don't Cry Louise Bennett, "You're Going Home" — Milk and Honey Normand Dubé, Guy Trépanier and Nathalie Carson, "We Are the One" — Tadpole and the Whale (La Grenouille et la baleine) Jay Gruska and Marc Jordan, "Shadow Dance" — Shadow Dancing Rufus Wainwright, "I'm Running" — Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller Special Awards Golden Reel Award: Tadpole and the Whale (La Grenouille et la baleine)

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