Hollywood North: the top Oscar contenders filmed in Canada

Hollywood is more Canadian than you mightexpect: some of the films with the most Oscarnominations also have strong Canadian connections.

This year's top contender,The Shape of Water, for instance has 13 nominations and myriad ties to Canada.

"Other than [director Guillermo del Toro] and the cinematographer and some of the actors, every single person on this film was Canadian... so it absolutely is I think unprecedented, frankly, in terms of the type of recognition," producer J. Miles Dale said in January.

With the90thannual Academy Awards taking place onSunday,we look back on major Oscar finalists filmed in Canada.

Titanic

A veritable blockbuster, Titanicwon 11 trophies from its 14 Oscar nominations in 1998. Thefictional love story of Jack and Rose'sforbidden romance was wrapped into thetragic, real-life tale of the RMSTitanic sinking into the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912.

Though the ship sank off the coast of Newfoundland, Halifax became the base for recovery of victims. The city's Maritime Museumof the Atlantic houses authentic artifacts from the ship, like a small part of the famous staircase that filmmaker JamesCameron recreated for the film. By some estimates, one-third of the shots in his Oscar-winner were filmed in Halifax Harbour.

The Shape of Water

The Shape of Water is this year's most nominated film heading into Sunday's Oscars. Set in Baltimore in 1962, it tells the story of alonely cleaning woman at a top-secret researchfacilitywho forms a unique relationship with an amphibious creature held captive there.

The interiors of the film's central locationthe Occam Aerospace Research Centrewere constructed inside Toronto's CinespaceStudios, but eagle-eyed viewers might recognize the exterior as the humanities wing of the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus.The movie is also peppered with recognizablelocations from around Toronto and Hamilton, like the Don River meeting Lake Ontario, TheLakeviewRestaurant and Hamilton City Hall.

Chicago

In 2002, the hit Broadway musical was adapted into a film that picked up 13 Oscar nominations. Set in Jazz Age Chicago, filled with celebrity scandal and corruption, the tale followstwo women Velma and Roxie arrested, jailed and awaiting trial for murder.

Toronto madewaves as a prime filming location fordoubling as Chicago. The Elgin Theatre has a shining moment in the film's finaleas Roxie and Velma perform together, while many other notable sites including Union Station, OsgoodeHall, Queen'sPark andtheDanforthMusic Hall also pop up throughout the film.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Chronicling the lifespan of the title character, who is mysteriously aging in reverse, the film ultimately won three Oscars from its 13 nominations.

The epic story takesthe main character (played by Brad Pitt)on an incredible journey, with one stop being Paris in the 1950s. Old MontrealspecificallySaint-Pierre Street makes a cameoappearance standing in for the French capital. A set was also created inside the Cit du Cinma,on the outskirts of Montreal, for the film.

The Revenant

Winning threeOscars from 12nominations,The Revenanttells the tale of a frontiersman fighting for survival in 19th century Montana and South Dakota after being mauled by a bear and left fordead by members of his hunting team.

The unforgiving landscape of the film, which was inspired by a true story, famously showcases the Canadian West, including areasacross British Columbia and Alberta. Derringer Forest, the Badlands of Drumheller, Fortress Mountain Resort, the Morley Reserve,Alberta's Bow Valleyand Kananaskis County appear in the movie, with the most iconic and gruesome scene the bear attack filmed in SquamishValley.