The 3rd Genie Awards were presented on March 3, 1982, to honour Canadian films released in 1981.
[2] The ceremony took place at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto,[2][1] and was hosted by Brian Linehan, with magician Doug Henning assisting by using card tricks and other illusions to reveal the winners.
[1] Now that the Academy was firmly established, the 14 appointed board members from the Canadian Film Awards committee relinquished their positions.
The new Academy board was set at 20—three honorary appointments and 17 members elected from participating organizations.
For this year, the new board instituted the Canadian Independent Short Film Showcase for makers of short films, and the Toronto Festival of Festivals trade forum, which would eventually become the Toronto International Film Festival.