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Denis Villeneuve At Worldwide Box Office (Photo Credit – Facebook/IMDb)

Denis Villeneauve’s Dune: Part Two is about to hit the screens in just a few days, and this month, the first part was re-released in the theatres. The film has done well again, adding a few more million to its global collections. But besides the Dune franchise, Villeneuve has done other films as well, and today, we have brought to you a least to the best-ranked list of his movies, per their global collections.

The French-Canadian filmmaker is known for his sci-fi movies like Blade Runner 2049, Arrival, and more. He received an Oscar nomination as a director for his film Arrival. In 2021, his movie Dune came out with Timothee Chalamet in the lead role, winning six Academy Awards, including Best Sound and Visual Effects. The sequel’s early reviews have been positive, and the critics only praise it.

Maple Syrup Massacre is an editorial series where Joe Lipsett dissects the themes, conventions and contributions of new and classic Canadian horror films. Spoilers follow…

One of the darkest moments in Canadian history happened on Dec 6, 1989: a male shooter walked into the École Polytechnique de Montréal with a semi-automatic rifle. He had written several letters outlining an anti-feminist agenda and he specifically targeted women in his shooting spree, eventually killing fourteen.

For thirty-one years, the “Montreal Massacre” was Canada’s worst shooting.

Denis Villeneuve’s 2009 film Polytechnique, co-written with Jacque Davidts, recounts the events of Dec 6. The film is shot in stark black and white and takes place partially in real time during the shooting, with time jumps and other strategic technical decisions to avoid being sensational or exploitative.

The film opens with a brief burst of violence as two women are shot in a photocopy lab by an offscreen shooter.

with “Social Hygiene,” which brought him the best director prize in the Berlinale Encounters sidebar (shared with Ramon and Silvan Zürcher for “The Girl and the Spider”). The tendency to dodge from sincerity to satire and vice versa is unmistakably self-serving, but parsing the foibles of this little comedy makes a pleasant diversion, for a film that largely amounts to stagey scenes of two people bellowing petty philosophies at each other across a blustery meadow.

In the first setup, composed of two-thirds sky and one third grassy field that rolls away to distant mountains, the dissipated Antonin (Maxim Gaudette) is disappointing his sister Solveig (Larissa Corriveau). Their very names may be reminiscent of Chekhov and Ibsen, and their declamations may have a ring of 19th-century dramaturgy to them, but these characters are carefully styled to appear somewhat timeless, and their exchanges are peppered with references to Volkswagens and discount mattresses.

An aura of pure eccentricity billows off the new film by Québécois provocateur Denis Côté, like a fug of stale-smelling nitrous oxide. Akin to his prior work only in its magpie-like experimental sensibility, Social Hygiene finds the festival mainstay delving into the static visuals of filmed-theatre presentations, but with a postmodern streak that collapses historical eras and cinematic conventions at will. All through its compact but still satisfying 75-minute runtime, the viewer is liable to ask, “What on earth is this?”, and by its finale, this unanswered query feels rewarding as opposed to exasperating. But you can still feel Côté chuckling behind our backs.

Social Hygiene has an austerity of means initiated by a modest budget, although Côté has opted for this to harness the experimentation it frees up. So we have the majority of the action taking place in around half-a-dozen set-ups of static master shots, all photographed from...

There’s a whiff of Samuel Beckett about Denis Côté’s latest film, which is a rake’s progress of sorts and which, despite its title and its socially distant staging being perfect for these Covid times, was written back in 2015.

The film plays out in a number of deliberately stagey episodic encounters that a young man, Antonin (Maxim Gaudette) has with a series of women. Firstly, there’s his sister Solveig (Larissa Corriveau), who disapproves of his thievery. Then there’s his wife Eglantine (Evelyne Rompre), who finds his lack of commitment irritating, even as she has a dalliance with another man, Clovis. Antonin also has a lover, Cassiopee (Eve Duranceau), who is looking for more than he wants to offer. He’s not having much luck out of the bedroom either, being confronted by Aurore (Eleonore Loiselle), a woman whose car he has broken into and by Rose (Kathleen Fortin) – decked out.

Antonin stands in lovely grass fields and proclaims his dissent. The world, embodied by the three women in his life, want him to buckle under, get a decent job (gainfully employed sis Solveig), remake his marriage (long-suffering wife Eglantine) or make the movie he’s always talking about (love obsession Cassiopée). Another woman, dressed in pink, turns out to be his tax inspector. But Antonin’s having nothing of it. He prefers to sleep in a friend’s car and get by robbing tourists.

Antonin and other characters stand at a healthy social distance of far more than two meters. There’s a hint of wind in many scenes. But the idea for “Social Hygiene” came to Côté way before Covid-19, he explains. The highest profile director at this year’s Berlinale Encounters hated to Variety about his latest feature before its world premiere on March 3. Cote, in interview, flows.

This year’s Berlin International Film Festival will look a bit different this year, with a virtual edition taking place March 1-5 for industry and press, then a public, in-person edition kicking off in June.

The complete lineup has now been unveiled, including Céline Sciamma’s highly-anticipated Portrait of a Lady on Fire follow-up Petite Maman, a surprise new Hong Sang-soo feature, the latest work from Ryūsuke Hamaguchi, along with new projects by Radu Jude, Xavier Beauvois, Dominik Graf, Pietro Marcello, Ramon Zürcher & Silvan Zürcher, and more.

Check out each section below.

Competition Tiles

“Albatros” (Drift Away)

France

by Xavier Beauvois

with Jérémie Renier, Marie-Julie Maille, Victor Belmondo

“Babardeală cu buclucsau porno balamuc” (Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn)

Romania/Luxemburg/Croatia/Czech Republic

by Radu Jude

with Katia Pascariu, Claudia Ieremia, Olimpia Mălai

“Fabian oder Der Gang vor die Hunde” (Fabian – Going to the Dogs)

Germany

by Dominik Graf

with Tom Schilling,...

Day 3 of this year’s Berlinale announcements contain the line-ups for Encounters, Panorama and Perspektive Deutsches Kino. Check back in tomorrow for the Competition program.

Encounters was first introduced at last year’s festival to support new voices in cinema. A three-member jury will award Best Film, Best Director and a Special Jury Award during the industry event in March, with the prizes handed out physically at the summer event.

The selection consists of 12 titles from 16 countries, including seven debuts. Scroll down for the full list.

Over in Panorama, there are 19 titles including 14 world premieres. Several titles arrive from Sundance such as Prano Bailey-Bond’s UK feature Censor and Ronny Trocker’s Human Factors.

Perspektive Deutsches Kino will again present new views on German cinema, with six titles, all of which are world premieres. The full lists are below.

This week so far has seen the Generation, Retrospective, Forum, Forum Expanded and Shorts programs announced.

Following hard on the heels of the film’s selection for this year’s Berlin Film Festival Encounters section, director Denis Côté has shared a first trailer for his new movie “Social Hygiene,” the latest from the Canadian director who won a Silver Bear for 2013’s “Vic+Flo Saw a Bear.”

At first glance, if the trailer is anything to go by, “Social Hygiene” seems at first glance a perfect pandemic movie: characters talking much more than two meters apart in a fresh verdant Canadian countryside.

Côté, however, wrote the movie — even down to its title — in 2015 when alone on holiday in Sarajevo “in a state of alienation.” The only Covid-19 connection is the film’s expression of a desire to flee and to defy reality and his desire to make a comedy in such somber times, he’s said.

That escapist need is embodied in Antonin who’s confronted...

This weekend New Yorkers will have a change to dive into a selection of the best recent Canadian cinema thanks to a showcase created by Tiff and Telefilm Canada appropriately called "See the North." On April 1, 2 and 3 2016, audiences at the IFC Center in New York City will be treated to this curated program of Canada’s finest creative talent, with directors in attendance for intros and Q+A’s.

The series includes the most recent work my Oscar-nominated filmmaker Philippe Falardeau ("Monsieur Lazhar"), an Lgbt-themed debut, and a drama starring Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood.

Here is the full lineup:

"Closet Monster" – Ontario/Newfoundland

A film by Stephen Dunn

Starring Connor Jessup, Aaron Abrams, Joanne Kelly, Aliocha Schneider, Sofia Banzhaf, Jack Fulton, Mary Walsh, Isabella Rossellini

Rt: 90min

U.S. Distributor: Strand Releasing

Screening: 4/1 at 9:30pm with intro and Q + A from director Stephen Dunn

Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film, 2015 Toronto International Film Festival

An East Coast teenager and aspiring special-effects makeup artist (Connor Jessup, Blackbird, 2012 Tiff Rising Star) struggles with both his sexuality and his fear of his macho father, in this imaginative twist on the coming-of-age tale from first-time feature director Stephen Dunn.

"The Demons" (Les démons) – Quebec

A film by Philippe Lesage

Starring: Edouard Tremblay-Grenier, Pier-Luc Funk, Pascale Buissière

Rt: 118min

Sales Agent: FunFilm Distribution

Screening: 4/2 at 9:30pm with intro and Q + A with director Philippe Lesage

While Montreal is in the throes of a string of kidnappings targeting young boys, 10-year-old Felix is finishing his school year in the seemingly quiet suburb where he lives. A sensitive boy with a vivid imagination, Felix is afraid of everything. Little by little, his imaginary demons begin to mirror those of the increasingly disturbing world around him.

"Into the Fores" – British Columbia/Ontario

A film by Patricia Rozema

Starring Ellen Page, Evan Rachel Wood, Max Minghella, Callum Keith Rennie, Michael Eklund, Wendy Crewson

Rt: 101min

U.S. Distributor: A24 Films

Screening: 4/1 at 7:00pm with intro and Q + A from director Patricia Rozema

Two sisters (Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood) struggle to survive in a remote country house after a continent-wide power outage, in this gripping apocalyptic drama by one of Canada’s most celebrated filmmakers.

"My Internship in Canda" (Guibord s'en va-t-en guerre) – Quebec

A film by Philippe Falardeau

Starring Patrick Huard, Irdens Exantus, Clémence Dufresne-Deslières and Suzanne Clément

Produced by Luc Déry, Kim Mccraw

Rt: 108min

Sales Agent: Film Distribution

Screening: 4/2 at 7:00pm with intro and Q+A from director Philippe Falardeau

Guibord is an independent Member of Parliament representing a vast county in Northern Quebec who unwillingly finds himself in the awkward position of determining whether Canada will go to war. Accompanied by his wife, daughter and Souverain (Sovereign) Pascal, an idealistic intern from Haiti, Guibord travels across his district in order to consult his constituents and face his own conscience. This film is a sharp political satire in which politicians, citizens and lobbyists go head-to-head while tearing democracy to shreds.

"Our Loved Ones" (Les Êtres Chers) – Quebec

A film by Anne Émond

Starring: Maxim Gaudette, Karelle Tremblay, Valérie Cadieux, Mickaël Gouin

Rt: 102min

Sales Agent: Wide Management

Screening: 4/3 at 7:00pm with intro and Q+A from director Anne Émond

The story begins in 1978 in a small town on the Lower St.-Lawrence where the Leblanc family is rocked by the tragic death of Guy, found dead in the basement of the family home. For many years, the real cause of his death is hidden from certain members of the family, his son David among them. David starts his own family with his wife Marie and lovingly raises his children, Laurence and Frédéric, but deep down he still carries with him a kind of unhappiness. Our Loved Ones is a film of filial love, family secrets, redemption and inherited fate. Featuring 2015 Tiff Rising Star Karelle Tremblay.

"Sleeping Giant" (Le géant endormi) – Ontario

A film by Andrew Cividino

Starring: Jackson Martin, Nick Serino, Reece Moffett, David Disher, Erika Brodzky, Katelyn McKerracher, Lorraine Philp

Rt: 90min

U.S. Distributor: FilmBuff

Screening: 4/3 at 9:30pm with intro and Q+A from director Andrew Cividino

City of Toronto Award for Best Canadian First Feature Film, 2015 Toronto International Film Festival

Spending his summer vacation on rugged Lake Superior, teenager Adam befriends Riley and Nate, smart-aleck cousins who pass their ample free time with pranks, vandalism and reckless cliff jumping. The revelation of a hurtful secret sets in motion a series of irreversible events that test the bonds of friendship and change the boys forever.

Our countdown of the 100 best films of the 21st century continues. This is Part 3 #50 through 26.

Click here for Part 1 (#100 - 76)!

Click here for Part 2 (#75-51)!

The first decade and a half of the 21st century has brought a lot of changes to the landscape of film. The advancement and sophistication of computers has made realistic computer generated effects a mainstay in both big-budget and small-budget films. The internet and streaming technologies have given big Hollywood new competition in films produced independently and by non-traditional means. We went from purchasing films on yards of tape to plastic disks, and now we can simply upload them to the cloud. Advertisements for films have reached a higher, more ruthless level where generating hype through trailers and teasers is crucial for a film’s commercial success. Movie attendance has fluctuated along with the economy, but that hasn’t stopped films from breaking box office records,...

Sowing the Seed of Love: Émond Prescribes Depression Medicine for Two

In Zizekian logic, there are the unknown knowns, that is to say, there are things that we fail to admit to knowing. In Anne Émond’s subtly devised, multi-decade spanning family drama, there is a general and generational sentiment that the unknown is best kept secret in order to protect the next of kin. While her boldly truculent debut Nuit #1 delved into urban solitudes and wore all feelings on its sleeveless sleeves, set in a caring and loving family nucleus in a rural backdrop, the French Canadian helmer’s sophomore feature (known internationally as Our Loved Ones) is more curious about the unexplained and what is not being said. While some of the coming-of-ager sequences tucked in the denouement are a tad too overreaching, it’s with an assured, sensitive, sympathetic hand that Les êtres chers deftly explores the...

Read More: Interview with Anne Emond and Catherine de Lean - Writer/Director and Star of Nuit #1 The crisp fall air is tangible in this melancholy clip from "Our Loved Ones," which will premiere at Tiff later today. The clip features two characters sitting on a beach "just looking forward to spring," and its simplicity belies what sounds to be a complex and emotional family drama. "Our Loved Ones" marks the second film by Canadian director Anne Émond, whose debut film "Nuit #1" won several awards and garnered a lot of positive critical attention in 2011. The film's two leads, Maxim Gaudette and Karelle Tremblay, are both stars in the French Canadian film market. Maxim Gaudette has been recognized for his award-winning work with director Denis Villeneuve. The official synopsis of the film reads: "Protected from the truth about his father's death, the sensitive David (Maxim Gaudette from 'Incendies,' 'Polytechnique') has.

Part of our continuing partnership with the online film journal, cléo. Every month, cléo will be presenting a great film to watch on our video on demand platform. In conjunction, we'll be hosting an exclusive article by one of their contributors. This month Kiva Reardon writes on Denis Villeneuve's Polytechnique, which is available to watch starting today in the Us.Like beauty, time is in the eye of the beholder. It slows, speeds up, even stops altogether depending on who is experiencing the moment. The task of the filmmaker—or any storyteller—is evoking an understanding of these personal unfoldings of time; to make an interiorized experience of another resonate with a human who feels, sees and understands the world as oriented around themselves. “Forgive the mistakes. I had 15 minutes to write this.”These are the first words spoken in Denis Villeneuve’s Polytechnique. They are uttered in voiceover...

2011 was one of the best years for film in recent years. There are about 25 films that could have made my top ten list and each film in my top 5 could be my number one. I saw about 100 films this year and I still wish I could have seen more. I feel very comfortable with my top ten and I feel like it was a good representative of the year in film. However I do feel that people looking at this article should go over to Sound On Sight and see all the staff’s individual lists, as well as the honorable mentions that just missed my list. You will find a great collection of films on those lists.

1. Martha Marcy May Marlene

Directed by Sean Durkin

I saw Sean Durkin’s directorial debut in August and knew as soon as the last frame came up that this was the best picture of the year.

Chicago – Damn, last year’s Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Language Film were a dark, dark bunch. I thought “Biutiful,” “Dogtooth” and “In a Better World” had their brutal edges but I hadn’t yet seen the incredibly intense “Incendies,” a historical drama wrapped in a very personal story. The film is a bit more flawed than some of the critical praise had led me to believe but it’s definitely worth a look, especially for renters looking for international drama.

Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0

This highly-acclaimed suspense thriller is essentially the tale of two children discovering incredible secrets about their mother’s past and the true identity of their father. On her death, a woman leaves a letter for her twin children that instructs them to find the father that they believed was dead and the brother that they never knew existed. The male half of this fraternal twin pair ignores...

Hitting movie theaters this weekend:

Drive – Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston

I Don’t Know How She Does It - Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan, Kelsey Grammer

Straw Dogs – James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgård

Movie of the Week

Straw Dogs

The Stars: James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgård

The Plot: L.A. screenwriter David Sumner (Marsden) relocates with his wife (Bosworth) to her hometown in the deep South. There, while tensions build between them, a brewing conflict with locals becomes a threat to them both.

The Buzz: No, this is not really Movie of the Week material, but hey, look at the competition. On one hand, you’ve got Ryan Gosling racing around in cars, <<yawn>> and on the other hand you’ve got the washed up Sarah Jessica Parker slapping a title on what all of her non-fans have been thinking for years — I’m not quite...

Rank the week of September 13th’s Blu-ray and DVD new releases against the best films of all-time: New Releases Thor

(Blu-ray & DVD | PG13 | 2011)

Flickchart Ranking: #227

Win Percentage: 58%

Times Ranked: 18033

Top-20 Rankings: 90

Directed By: Kenneth Branagh

Starring: Chris Hemsworth • Natalie Portman • Anthony Hopkins • Jeremy Renner • Kat Dennings

Genres: Action • Adventure • Based-on-Comics • Comic-Book Superhero Film • Fantasy • Fantasy Adventure

Rank This Movie

Conan O’Brien Can’T Stop

(Blu-ray & DVD | Nr | 2011)

Flickchart Ranking: #5260

Win Percentage: 54%

Times Ranked: 719

Top-20 Rankings: 5

Directed By: Rodman Flender

Starring: Conan O’Brien

Genres: Comedy • Documentary

Rank This Movie

Incendies

(Blu-ray & DVD | Nr | 2010)

Flickchart Ranking: #4296

Win Percentage: 51%

Times Ranked: 947

Top-20 Rankings: 8

Directed By: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Lubna Azabal • Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin • Maxim Gaudette • Rémy Girard • Abdelghafour Elaaziz

Genres: Drama • Foreign Language Film

Rank This Movie

The Tempest

(Blu-ray & DVD | PG13 | 2010)

Flickchart Ranking: #7784

Win Percentage: 37%

Times Ranked: 385

Top-20 Rankings: 2

Directed By: Julie Taymor

Starring: Helen Mirren • Djimon Hounsou • Alfred Molina...

Denis Villeneuve Incendies, which was Canada's official entry during the latest Oscar ceremony, will come out on DVD in France on September 21.

Despite a limited theatrical release in France last March, Incendies has attracted 281,000 viewers.

The film is about a mother's (Lubna Azabal) last wish which sends Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Maxim Gaudette), two twins living in Canada, on a journey to the Middle East. According to her will, Jeanne and Simon must each carry out her final wish, which is to bring an envelope to their father, who got stuck in Lebanon during the Civil War, and also a brother, they've never heard of.

The film is already available on DVD in Canada.

Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin faces the fire in Incendies.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release Incendies, a 2011 Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film, as a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack on Sept. 13 for a list price of $45.99.

Directed by Denis Villeneuve (Maelstrom) and adapted from Wajdi Mouawad’s hit play, Incendies follows twin siblings (Mélissa Désormeaux Poulin, Maxim Gaudette) who uncover a shocking family secret after they agree to fulfill their mother’s (Lubna Azabal) dying wish: to locate the father they thought was dead, as well as a brother they never knew existed.

The much-lauded Incendies enjoyed a limited release in theaters in the U.S., following a roll-out to film festivals and theatrical engagements across the world. It has grossed approximately $6 million at the domestic box office as of this writing.

The Blu-ray and DVD of the movie, which is presented in French and Arabic with English subtitles, contains the...

Framed in a close shot, college students go about their business around a Xerox machine when a spray of bullets suddenly rips into the image. Polytechnique, Denis Villeneuve's 2009 fictionalized account of the 1989 shooting that took place at Montreal's École Polytechnique, is about the invasion of such quotidian spaces and the effects, physical and immediate as well as spiritual and lingering, it has on the people occupying them. At first, the narrative seems to be controlled by the young shooter (Maxim Gaudette), who in placidly bilious voiceover pins his barbaric actions on feminists and scans classrooms for victims, a rifle in his hands and eyes pin-pricked with loathing and anticipation. As the rampage starts, the focus is split between two survivors (Karine Vanasse and Sébastien Huberdeau), the agonizing heroism of their actions during the bloodbath and the traumas growing within them afterwards. A professional commiserator who operates exclusively via cinematic stomach punches,...

From its arresting opening to its shattering conclusion, the Canadian film Incendies is muscular, emotional film-making of the highest order, self-confident in its delivery yet always respectful of its characters' plight. It starts in slo-mo, to the sound of Radiohead, in what looks like a children's Qu'ran school, in a desert, where we see boys having their heads shaved by soldiers. One of the boys fixes the camera with a chilling stare as hair falls around his feet.

The film then switches to a law firm in Montreal, where a mother's will is being read to her grief-stricken twins, daughter Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) and son Simon (Maxim Gaudette). The lawyer Maître Lebel is played by the great Quebecois actor Rémy Girard, from another Canadian family saga, Denys Arcand's Les Invasions Barbares. This, too, is a tale of family, identity and, perhaps, forgiveness as the will sets Jeanne, a student of pure maths,...

Bridesmaids (15)

(Paul Feig, 2011, Us) Kristen Wiig, Rose Byrne, Maya Rudolph, Jon Hamm, 125 mins.

Having recovered from the shocking revelation that women can be funny, rude, and entertaining in the absence of men, we can at last put the debates and Hangover comparisons this movie has prompted behind us now and just enjoy a satisfying prenuptial comedy. Led by Wiig's anxious maid of honour, it certainly matches male equivalents in the grossness stakes at times, but it also finds deeper, smarter ways to make us laugh.

Incendies (15)

(Denis Villeneuve, 2010, Can/Fra) Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette. 131 mins.

A mother's death sets her two children on an investigation into their personal and political history in this powerful mystery, set in an unnamed Middle Eastern country.

Countdown To Zero (Nc)

(Lucy Walker, 2010, Us) 89 mins.

Not got enough things to worry about? That's because you forgot about the threat of nuclear annihilation that still hangs over us.

Title: Incendies Director: Denis Villeneuve Starring: Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Lubna Azabal, Remy Girad From a technical standpoint, ‘Incendies’ is a rock-solid piece of production. With a timely score and eye-catching cinematography, the 130 minute drama provides a decent landscape for this tale to unfold on. As it continues to open up, one realizes there’s a flawed script attached. And yes, I state that realizing this was nominated for an Oscar (Best Foreign Language Film) this past year. It could have been a gripping story if it wasn’t for the uneven pacing of the screenplay; leading this movie to feel more like a long line at a theme park. Once...

Radio-Canada, a French Canadian TV network, has renewed the drama Les rescapés for a second season.

However, the TV network didn't officially confirm it. We only learned it through a list of show which will receive funding from the Fonds Quebecor, a private patronage program for TV production.

This show created by Frédéric Ouellet (Grande ourse) follows a family from Montreal in 1964. Gérald Boivin (Roy Dupuis), a detective of the Montreal Police, and his family have been mysteriously transported in the Montreal of 2010. While being in a-not-so distant future, the Boivins will question their values and beliefs. Besides, whether they like it or not, the family has to build closer ties. However, in order to go back to where they came from, the Boivins must find the man who sent them in the future.

The show also stars Guylaine Tremblay, Maxim Gaudette, Céline Bonnier, Pierre-Alexandre Fortin, Eve Lemieux, Antoine L'Écuyer,...

Incendies

Directed by Denis Villeneuve

Written by Denis Villeneuve and Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne

Canada/France, 2010, 130 mins.

Spoilers are contained herein.

Incendies is the first unqualified masterpiece of 2011 and the film that should have won the Best Foreign Language Film Award at this year’s Academy Awards. Denis Villeneuve’s film is a perfect adaptation of the wonderful Canadian play by Wajdi Mouawad, a plat that might be the best family drama of the past decade. Villeneuve and his co-writer Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne strip away an hour out of the play’s running time while still staying faithful to the play’s structure. What makes the film really work is that it is an intimate family drama set on a global scale that plays out as an engaging and tense thriller. This is the film that Susanne Bier’s film In a Better World tried so hard and failed to be.

The film...

Chicago – One of the most honest aphorisms is “the first casualty of war is truth.” Those obscured facts are often the ones that come back to haunt future generations, and that is exceptionally illustrated in the new film “Incendies.” Piecing together a mother’s wartime activities become the basis for solving a mystery after her death.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

The mystery yields a number of shocking revelations, but none more shocking than framing a reserved Jordanian immigrant, leading a normal life in Canada, as a soldier in a wartime frenzy that results in her being a political prisoner of war. Incendies allows for the events of the past to unfold through her twin children, destined to complete her journey and allow her to rest in peace.

The film begins with the reading of a will. Twin siblings Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Maxim Gaudette) get odd instructions rather that the normal recitation of estate.

Director: Denis Villenueve Writers: Denis Villenueve, Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne, Wajdi Mouawad Cinematographer: André Turpin Starring: Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Rémy Girard Studio/Running Time: Sony Pictures Classics, 130 min. One of the questions at the heart of Incendies is whether the search is as important as what’s found at the end. The taut drama follows a pair of twins trying to fulfill a request from their mother’s will: to find their lost brother and unknown father and hand them a pair of mysterious letters. It soon turns out that the pair knew little of their mother’s life, so their...

Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve ( Maëlstrom ) may be best known within the fairly secluded arts community that is Montreal, but his fourth film Incendies offers the type of powerful dramatic emotions that's already made it an audience favorite at dozens of film festivals, got it eight Genie Awards (Canada's equivalent of the Oscars) as well as an Oscar nomination in the Foreign Language category. The story follows a pair of twins living in Montreal, Jeanne and Simon (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette), whose dead mother Nawal Marzan (Lubna Azabal) leaves a will that sends the two of them on a mission to find their true father as well as to locate the brother they never knew they had. The film follows each of the twins as they make one leg of the journey through the Middle East...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(from the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival)

Directed/Written by: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette and Rémy Girard

“Incendies” wastes no time in introducing us to its perfect premise: A less-than-perfect mother reveals to her twins, via last will and testament, that they have a brother and a father, and that they’re to find them to fulfill a promise that she never kept during her lifetime. Based on the play by Lebanese-born, Canadian-bred, Parisian-trained Wajdi Mouawad, “Incendies” tracks the ensuing journey to unearth the truth behind a family’s past in order to reveal who they truly are today.

Directed by Cannes’ favorite Canadian filmmaker, Denis Villeneuve (“August 32nd on Earth,” “Maelstrom,” “Polytechnique”), “Incendies” peels layers back to strike at the core of the notion of a civilization marked by one or other type of civil war, a concept that forces individuals related by place,...

Reviewed by Elliot V. Kotek

(from the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival)

Directed/Written by: Denis Villeneuve

Starring: Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette and Rémy Girard

“Incendies” wastes no time in introducing us to its perfect premise: A less-than-perfect mother reveals to her twins, via last will and testament, that they have a brother and a father, and that they’re to find them to fulfill a promise that she never kept during her lifetime. Based on the play by Lebanese-born, Canadian-bred, Parisian-trained Wajdi Mouawad, “Incendies” tracks the ensuing journey to unearth the truth behind a family’s past in order to reveal who they truly are today.

Directed by Cannes’ favorite Canadian filmmaker, Denis Villeneuve (“August 32nd on Earth,” “Maelstrom,” “Polytechnique”), “Incendies” peels layers back to strike at the core of the notion of a civilization marked by one or other type of civil war, a concept that forces individuals related by place,...

Director: Denis Villeneuve Writers: Denis Villeneuve, Wajdi Mouawad Starring: Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Lubna Azabal, Maxim Gaudette After their mother Nawal’s (Lubna Azabal) death, twins Jeanne (Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin) and Simon (Maxim Gaudette) are faced with a puzzle that they must solve in order to fulfill their mother's last will and testament. According to their mother's most recent employer (Rémy Girard) -- a notary who was designated as the will's executor -- two letters must be delivered, one to their father and one to their brother. This is a puzzle because Jeanne and Simon assumed that their father was long dead and this is the first time that they have ever heard about the existence of any siblings. Simon wants nothing at all to do with their lunatic mother's crazy mind games, so it is Jeanne (quite purposefully a mathematician, therefore a staunch believer in absolute answers) who embarks upon the journey...

The message running throughout Incendies is clear enough. It’s so clear, in fact, that those watching are in danger of injury, due to intense bludgeoning of said subject matter. The film, directed by Denis Villeneuve, delves into the moral fiber and traumatic tree rings of war more than most films have or most likely ever will, but without one clear vantage point or emotional anchor.

Olivier Assayas‘ Carlos, which similarly tackles military revolt and the collateral damage that comes with it, is focused and dense, never diverting from its narcissistic, passionate title character. Villeneuve’s central character, Nawal (Lubna Azabal), is a cipher. A survivor who does just that and not much more. She survives. She survives the bombing of her village, a bus ride that ends riddled in bullets, a never-ending stint in prison complete with every kind of torture and so much more, including separation from her first-born child.

The web site iTunes Movie Trailers announced that the Canadian film Incendies, which is nominated for the Oscar of Best film in a foreign language, will be released in Los Angeles and New York on April 22.

For the moment, nothing indicates that the latest film from director Denis Villeneuve will get a rollout in other major American cities.

The film is about a mother's last wish which sends Jeanne and Simon, two twins living in Canada, on a journey to the Middle East in search of their tangled roots.

The film stars Lubna Azabal, Maxim Gaudette, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Rémy Girard and Abdelghafour Elaaziz.

See the trailer for Incendies, starring Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette. In theaters April 1, 2011, the drama is directed and written by Denis Villeneuve, based on the play by Wajdi Mouawad. Incendies is a deeply moving story that brings the extremism and violence of today’s world to a starkly personal level, delivering a powerful and poetic testament to the uncanny power of the will to survive. See the Incendies trailer below. When notary Lebel (Rémy Girard) sits down with Jeanne and Simon Marwan (Mélissa Désormeaux Poulin, Maxim Gaudette) to read them their mother Nawal’s will (Lubna Azabal), the twins are stunned to receive a pair of envelopes – one for the father they thought was dead and another for a brother they didn’t know existed...

See the trailer for Incendies, starring Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette. In theaters April 1, 2011, the drama is directed and written by Denis Villeneuve, based on the play by Wajdi Mouawad. Incendies is a deeply moving story that brings the extremism and violence of today’s world to a starkly personal level, delivering a powerful and poetic testament to the uncanny power of the will to survive. See the Incendies trailer below. When notary Lebel (Rémy Girard) sits down with Jeanne and Simon Marwan (Mélissa Désormeaux Poulin, Maxim Gaudette) to read them their mother Nawal’s will (Lubna Azabal), the twins are stunned to receive a pair of envelopes – one for the father they thought was dead and another for a brother they didn’t know existed...

The South by Southwest Film Festival announced its feature film line-up Wednesday, piling heaps of cinematic goodness on an already stellar program that includes Jodie Foster’s The Beaver, Duncan Jones’ Source Code, Ti West’s The Innkeepers, Conan O’Brien’s tour documentary, and the latest Simon Pegg-Nick Frost comedy, Paul, with Seth Rogen.

Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) returns to the festival with her latest film, Red Riding Hood starring Amanda Seyfried, after the writer-director spoke on a screenwriting panel in 2009.

Plus a few favorites from the Sundance Film Festival last month, like Tom McCarthy’s Win Win, Morgan Spurlock’s The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, and Max Winkler’s Ceremony.

I’m extremely excited, even if I’m already having flashbacks to intense sleep deprivation. Like the last two years, I’ll be on the ground covering as much of the festival as I can within the packed 9 days of screenings,...

‘Tapping into the cultural zeitgeist,’ at SXSW 2011

Austin, Texas – The SXSW 2011 Feature Film Lineup was unveiled Wednesday afternoon. The festival lineup will consist of 130 features, in nine full days of programming, promising to deliver a film-going experience unlike previous years.

With a reputation for taking chances on relatively unknown filmmakers, the SXSW panel of judges carefully picked 130 films from 1,792 feature-length film submissions, (1,323 U.S. and 469 international). The program consists of 60 World Premieres, 12 North American Premieres and 16 U.S. Premieres.

The main competition categories return with eight Narrative Features, and eight Documentary Features, both competing for their respective Grand Jury Prize. New for films in competition this year, are awards for screenplay, editing, cinematography, music, and acting.

(The Midnighters and SXFantastic feature sections, along with the short film program, will be announced next week.)

Here are a few of the Features to be screened, among many others.

Narratives:

The Beaver (World Premiere)

Dir.

Readers of Sound On Sight can be sure that we will indeed be covering the SXSW Film Festival once again. As previously reported, Duncan Jones’ latest film Source Code is opening the festival and there will also be premieres for the documentary Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop, Greg Mottola’s Paul, and Jodie Foster’s The Beaver. Now the full line-up has been announced it is incredible.

Hit the jump to check out the line-up, and be sure to visit our site during the event.

The 2011 SXSW Film Festival runs from March 11 – 19th in Austin, Texas.

SXSW Film Announces 2011 Features Lineup

Austin, Texas – February 2, 2011 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers.

The South By Southwest Film Conference and Festival announced this year's features lineup. The festival takes place March 11-19 in Austin, Texas.

There are a total of 130 features screening this year including 60 world premieres, 12 North American premieres and 16 U.S. premieres! This year the a total of 1,792 feature-length films were submitted, which is the most ever.

There are going to be some amazing films shown this yea. Opening night kicks off with Duncan Jones' Source Code (Moon). The fest rolls on with Jodie Foster‘s The Beaver, Greg Mottola‘s Paul, Sundance Grand Prize doc winner How to Die in Oregon, Errol Morris‘ Tabloid, Victoria Mahoney‘s Yelling to the Sky, Azazel Jacob‘s Terri. There will also be a special screening of Catherine Hardwicke‘s Red Riding Hood.

The Midnight and SXFantastic sections will be announced with the shorts program next week.

See the complete lineup below via...

The South by Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) just announced their entire 2011 feature film lineup, and there’s isn’t a lot of note, with regards to this blog’s focus.

Titles you should be aware of – all of which we’ve previously profiled on Shadow And Act – include, Victoria Mahoney’s feature film debut, Yelling To The Sky (which will actually make its world debut at the Berlin Film Festival later this month); plus Blacktino, the first feature film from writer/director Aaron Burns, a self-described “blacktino nerd from Austin, Texas,” who got his start at Robert Rodriguez’s Troublemaker Studios doing visual effects; Benda Bilili, a documentary about a band of homeless, disabled Congolese; and last, but not least, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, a documentary about the black man that happens to be the man behind the puppet (which also played at Sundance).

There might be...

The South by Southwest Film Festival has announced their features lineup for the 2011’s Festival, which will take place March 11th to the 19th in Austin Texas. Read the full press release after the jump. SXSW Film Announces 2011 Features Lineup Austin, Texas – February 2, 2011 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers. The Midnighters and SXFantastic feature sections, along with the short film program, will be announced next week. “This is the most exciting moment for us. After a fantastic festival of discovery in 2010, we can finally unveil the line up for this year’s event,” says Film Conference and Festival Producer Janet Pierson. “SXSW prides itself on taking chances, sifting for...

Incendies premiered at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals to extremely positive reviews [1], but with such a limited audience, it hasn't had a chance for much buzz to spread. Of course, its recent nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars should change all that. Directed by Denis Villeneuve (Maelstrom), this Canadian film tells the story of two twins who, upon hearing their mother's last wishes, journey to the Middle East in search of their tangled roots. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad's acclaimed play 'Scorched', the movie is described as a "powerful and moving tale of two young adults’ voyage to the core of deep-rooted hatred, never-ending wars and enduring love". It was also featured on Peter's list of Best Movies of 2010 That You Probably Haven’t Heard Of [2]. Watch the trailer after the break. The movie looks interesting, but as tends to be the case for many indie...

Incendies – remember that title! 2010 Canadian film written and directed by Denis Villeneuve, adapted from Wajdi Mouawad‘s play, Scorched, and this one definitely deserves our attention.

Just in case you’re wondering why – here’s the answer. The movie has been nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar and that’s why guys from Sony Pictures Classics have just set an April 22 release for the film in New York and Los Angeles with expansion expected over the weeks following…

Here’s the Incendies synopsis:

“When the mother of twins Jeanne and Simon passes away, she leaves them a pair of envelopes – one for the father they thought was dead and another for a brother they didn’t know existed.

Jeanne immediately decides to go to the Middle East to dig into a family history of which she knows next to nothing. Simon is unmoved by their mother’s posthumous mind games,...

Sony Classics has debuted the official Us trailer on Apple for the highly acclaimed, Oscar nominated French-Canadian film Incendies, directed by Denis Villeneuve, starring Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin and Maxim Gaudette. This has been receiving incredible reviews since its premiere and could win the Best Foreign Film Oscar. Ed Douglas of ComingSoon said it's one of the few he's ever given a 10/10 to. In his review: "To put it quite plainly and bluntly, Incendies is one of the best films we've seen in some time, an incredibly powerful film that unfolds in such unique and unexpected ways." This is definitely not a trailer to miss! Watch below. Watch the official Us trailer for Denis Villeneuve's Incendies: [flv:http://media2.firstshowing.net/firstshowing/Incendies-officialUStrailer.mp4 http://media2.firstshowing.net/firstshowing/Incendies-officialUStrailer.jpg 598 316] You can also watch the Incendies trailer in High Definition on Apple A mother's last wishes send twins Jeanne & Simon on a journey to Middle East in search of their tangled roots. Tells the...

I’ve heard nothing but raves for Denis Villeneuve‘s Oscar-nominated foreign drama Incendies. While I missed it at both Toronto and Sundance, it will finally get a limited theatrical release this spring. The drama stars Remy Girard, Melissa Desormeaux Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, and Lubna Azabal. Out of the Foreign Oscar nominations, Dogtooth has been the best I’ve seen thus far. Last year I thought there was no way anything could beat A Prophet, but then I saw The Secret In Their Eyes a few months later and, well…you know what happened. Could we have another 2010 on our hands? Take a look, Apple has our first domestic trailer, which can see below.

Synopsis: When notary Lebel (Remy Girard) sits down with Jeanne and Simon Marwan (Melissa Desormeaux Poulin, Maxim Gaudette) to read them their mother Nawal’s will (Lubna Azabal), the twins are stunned to receive a pair...

David Fincher's "The Social Network" was the big winner at the Vancouver Film Critics' Circle winning three trophies including Best Film, Best Director for Fincher, and Best Screenplay for Aaron Sorkin.

In the Canadian film categories, "Incendies" won Best Canadian Film, Best Director for Denis Villeneuve, and Best Actress for Lubna Azabal. I'm glad that Delphine Chaneac won Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film for "Splice." (Check out my interview with Delphine Chaneac for "Splice" right here)

Here's the complete list of winners (bolded) and nominees (Check our Awards Avenue for complete winners/nominees for all award-giving bodies):

Best Film

The Social Network

True Grit

Black Swan

Best Actor

Colin Firth, The King.s Speech

James Franco, 127 Hours

Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network

Best Actress

Jennifer Lawrence, Winter.s Bone

Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale,...

I Am Number Four

Opens: February 18th 2011

Cast: Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron, Kevin Durand, Teresa Palmer

Director: D.J. Caruso

Summary: Nine infant aliens flee their home planet to hide out on Earth. The species that destroyed their planet however has followed them and sets out to hunt them down. As the infants grow into teenagers with special powers, three of them are killed. A fourth has fallen in love and now has something to stand up and fight for.

Analysis: In premise and look, this sounds like a big budget and more action-oriented reboot of late sci-fi teen drama "Roswell". Though based on a young adult novel series, it was another title in this category that was the impetus for this adaptation - Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series. Any novels with a focus on teen romance and an other worldly touch are presently being bought up right and...

The adaptation of Wajdi Mouawad’s hit play, Incendies has two new clips as well as images. The deeply moving story brings the extremism and violence of today’s world to a starkly personal level, delivering a powerful and poetic testament to the uncanny power of the will to survive. Starring in the Denis Villeneuve film which finds release on April 1st via Sony Pictures Classics, are Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette and Rémy Girard. When notary Lebel (Rémy Girard) sits down with Jeanne and Simon Marwan (Mélissa Désormeaux Poulin, Maxim Gaudette) to read them their mother Nawal’s will (Lubna Azabal), the twins are stunned to receive a pair of envelopes...

The adaptation of Wajdi Mouawad’s hit play, Incendies has two new clips as well as images. The deeply moving story brings the extremism and violence of today’s world to a starkly personal level, delivering a powerful and poetic testament to the uncanny power of the will to survive. Starring in the Denis Villeneuve film which finds release on April 1st via Sony Pictures Classics, are Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette and Rémy Girard. When notary Lebel (Rémy Girard) sits down with Jeanne and Simon Marwan (Mélissa Désormeaux Poulin, Maxim Gaudette) to read them their mother Nawal’s will (Lubna Azabal), the twins are stunned to receive a pair of envelopes...