‘The Apprentice’ wins best film at Canadian Screen Awards

By Canadian Press on June 1, 2025.

“The Apprentice,” a Canada-Ireland-Denmark co-production about the early years of U.S. President Donald Trump, won best motion picture at Sunday’s Canadian Screen Awards.

Toronto’s Daniel Bekerman is the lead producer of the Ontario-shot film, which portrays how Trump honed his persona, power tactics and media savvy under the mentorship of controversial fixer Roy Cohn.

The drama bested “Universal Language,” “Darkest Miriam,” “Gamma Rays,” “Village Keeper” and “Who Do I Belong To.”

The film has won five Screen Awards in total, including best performance in a lead role for Sebastian Stan’s turn as Trump, and best supporting actor for Jeremy Strong’s portrayal of Cohn.

Back in May, Bekerman told The Canadian Press that Trump’s threat to impose a 100 per cent tariff on foreign films, citing national security, felt like a veiled reference to “The Apprentice.”

Bekerman denied that his film is a national security threat but said it might instead be “an ego security threat” for Trump.

“This is not some sort of political attack film,” Bekerman said.

“It’s actually not at all what it is. It is a humanistic story about choices people make in their lives and the consequences of those choices.”

Trump’s team attempted to block the film’s theatrical release last fall, calling it “election interference by Hollywood elites” and threatening to file a lawsuit.

This year’s Canadian Screen Awards bash was hosted by Edmonton-born comedian Lisa Gilroy in Toronto, capping off a multi-day celebration of Canadian film, television and digital storytelling.

The televised ceremony put a bow on three days of awards shows, where major winners included the documentary “The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal” and Matthew Rankin’s film “Universal Language.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2025.

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press