Denys Arcand's The Barbarian Invasions continued its winning ways, earning Arcandthe Directors Guild of Canada Outstanding Achievement in Direction - FeatureFilm prize and earning the film the Outstanding Team Achievement prize.

Accepting the prize, Arcand quipped that the win was necessarybecause four months had passed since he had last received an award for thefilm. "It gets addicitve," he said.

The DGC, which representsdirectors, editors, sound editors, production designers and other behind thescenes crafts working in film and television in the country, also presented a LifetimeAchievement Award to veteran filmmaker Arthur Hiller. The award was presentedby actor Leslie Nielsen, who attended the same high school as Hiller inEdmonton, Alberta.

The 80-year-olddirector, who is best known for Love Story, said the honour was the second-mostimportant accolade of his career. The first was a recorded telephone greetingat the Edmonton cinema where Love Story played back in 1970. It said that the film starred RyanO'Neal and Ali McGraw and was directed by "Edmonton's own ArthurHiller". The tape continued: "His sister has seen it three times andcried every time."