Genie awards hit the NAC March 10

The Genie Awards will be back in town this March, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television announced Thursday.

The 31st annual awards ceremony, which celebrates Canadian films, will take place at the National Arts Centre on March 10.

"The National Arts Centre is pleased to be the venue host for the 2011 Genie Awards," said NAC president Peter Herrndorf. "Every element of Canadian culture showcased by the NAC is captured in Canadian film and we are delighted to work with the Academy and CBC to bring it all together on one stage for this year's Genie Awards."

The Genie Awards were most recently held in Ottawa in April 2009 and Mayor Jim Watson said he is thrilled to welcome the awards back to the city.

“There is no better backdrop than the Nation’s Capital to showcase a celebration of Canadian film and the people who create and star in it,” he said in a statement.

Nominations for the ceremony are set to be announced on Tuesday.