Introduced in 1999, the awards are presented for Best Film and performance, writing and technical categories such as best actor, actress, director, screenplay, et cetera.
The awards maintain slightly different eligibility criteria for international coproductions, however: a coproduction which surpasses the organization's criteria for "majority Québécois" involvement is treated the same as a Quebec film, with full eligibility in all categories, while a coproduction which is classified as "minority Québécois", such as the 2015 film Brooklyn, is eligible only in categories where a resident of Quebec is the nominee, and cannot be submitted for Best Film.
[4] The awards replaced the prix Guy-L'Écuyer, created in 1987 by Les Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois in memory of actor Guy L'Écuyer.
[9] In 2022, Radio-Canada announced that due to declining ratings in recent years, it would not televise the 2023 awards, and was instead planning alternative ways to highlight Quebec film in its programming.
[10] In February 2023, Québec Cinéma indicated that it was in negotiations with other broadcasters to carry the 25th Quebec Cinema Awards;[11] as of May 2023, however, the organization had confirmed only that the ceremony would not take place in its usual June scheduling.