Canada Celebrates Oscars: Poutine, Sarah Polley Rocks Dr. Martens, and Talking Jake Gyllenhaal’s Upcoming Projects

Zaib Shaikh, Canada’s Consul General to Los Angeles, hosted the country’s annual Canada at the Oscars soiree Thursday at his official residence in Hancock Park.

The event was the first stop of the night for many Oscar-nominated Canadians including “Women Talking’s” Sarah Polley, Sheila McCarthy and Kate Hallet. Polley was headed to the Macro party. Other attendees were going to the Oscar Wilde Awards or the South Asian Excellence Pre-Oscars Celebration.

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Also in attendance were “Turning Red’s” Domee Shi, who landed an Oscar for best animated feature, Brendan Fraser and “The Whale” prosthetics makeup designer Adrien Morot.

The night celebrated Canadian Oscar winners and nominees, past and present.

Last year’s nominated makeup artist for “Dune,” Donald Mowat, spoke with Variety about his upcoming work with frequent collaborator Jake Gyllenhaal. On the TV series, “Presumed Innocent,” Mowat said, “He gets to be a heartbroken lawyer with a chiseled body and is married to Ruth Negga. It’s the easiest job I’ve done.”

Their other collaboration, “The Covenant,” directed by Guy Ritchie, is headed to theaters in April. The film follows Gyllenhaal’s character as Sergeant John on his last tour of duty in Afghanistan. Dar Salim also stars. “It is an anti-war movie. It’s pro-American about Americans who do something good. He looks gorgeous in it,” Mowat teased.

Mowat did say he has finished work on the “Dune 2” sequel due out later this year. He kept those makeup secrets under lock and key. But he did offer something. “Florence Pugh and Zendaya… gorgeous,” he said as he put his fingers to his lips and blew a chef’s kiss.

During his toast, Shaikh celebrated the boost to Canadian filmmaking from productions. He said, “The world over is bringing millions of dollars into the economy not only on behalf of Canada but here as part of the Hollywood storytelling machine. That’s over $10 billion to bring brought to the economy of Canada. “

As the night came to a close and guests made their way home, a poutine truck awaited them in the driveway. Polley expressed her love for the Candian dish that consists of French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. Hallet and co-star Kira Guloien made sure to stop for some.

And Polley deserves a prize for best footwear of the night. Under her gown, she was rocking Dr. Martens boots. “They’re so comfortable,” she said before saying adieu and making her way to the next event. Be on the lookout — as Polley did hint at what shoes she will be wearing on Oscars Sunday.

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