First-time filmmakers Julia Kwan (Eve And The Fire Horse) and Stephane Lapointe (La Vie Secrete Des Gens Heureux /The Secret Life of Happy People) were announced as the recipients of the 2007 Claude Jutra Award.

It will be the first time the prize, presented annually during the Genie Awards for outstanding debut director, has been shared between two persons.

The Claude Jutra Award, sponsored by the National Film Board of Canada, was established in 1993 in honour of late Quebec auteur Claude Jutra. It will be presented to both filmmakers at the 27th Annual Genie Awards on February 13, 2007.

Coincidentally, both films are up for five Genie Awards. Lapointe is in the running for Best Director. Confusingly, Lapointe's film, which is in French, is also highly touted for Quebec's Jutra Prizes, with four nominations, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay for Lapointe.