TORONTO -- Oscar-nominated Canadians came up empty at Sunday's Academy Awards, but onstage appearances from Sandra Oh and Keanu Reeves added some Canuck flair.
Writer-director Dean DeBlois of Aylmer, Que., was in the running for best animated feature for "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" but lost out to "Toy Story 4."
Vancouver-born production designer Dennis Gassner of "1917" lost in his category to "Once upon a Time...in Hollywood."
Toronto-based filmmaker Sami Khan's documentary short "St. Louis Superman" was defeated by "Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl)."
In the category of sound mixing, "1917" beat out Canadian "Ford v Ferrari" nominees David Giammarco and Paul Massey.
And two directors from Quebec were in contention for best live action short -- Meryam Joobeur for "Brotherhood" and Delphine Girard for "A Sister" -- but lost to "The Neighbors' Widow."
During the show, Toronto-bred Reeves and Diane Keaton presented the award for best original screenplay to "Parasite."
And Ottawa-raised Oh was alongside Ray Romano in presenting the makeup and hairstyling Oscar to "Bombshell."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 9, 2020.
