 He launched his career in film, releasing his debut feature, "The Hanging Garden", in 1997 starring Troy Veinotte, Chris Leavins and Kerry Fox.That film won several Genie Awards, including acting awards for Peter MacNeill and Seana McKenna, and a screenplay award for Fitzgerald.It also garnered Fitzgerald the Claude Jutra Award for best feature film by a first-time director, the FIPRESCI European Critics Prize, Best Canadian Film Prize at the Atlantic Film Festival, Best Canadian Film at the Vancouver Film Festival, Best Screenplay at the Mar del Plata Festival, and a number of other awards.