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Quebec’s recent domestic box office charmers “One Summer” and “Ru” lead Canada’s diverse acquisition slate of 17 features — many coming off strong, award-speckled festival runs — screening for buyers at the Berlinale’s European Film Market.

More than half the 20 Canadian titles screening across the EFM and festival are Quebec productions, a ratio that reflects the resilience of the province’s film industry, not to mention the next wave of filmmaking talent and the return of Quebec audiences to cinemas.

“Ru,” an adaptation of Vietnamese-born Canadian novelist Kim Thúy’s prize-winning, widely translated 2009 novel, is nearing the $2 million mark in Canada and is the latest in a string of Quebec films to earn more than $1 million at the domestic box office in 2023.

“Local success doesn’t necessarily mean international distribution, but I have the feeling that it’s possible with ‘Ru,’ which is a universal story, very faithful to the book,...

The film “Taipei Suicide Story,” a drama about a “suicide hotel” in Taiwan, has won the top prize from the 2021 Slamdance Film Festival.

The film, written and directed by Keff, won the Narrative Grand Jury Prize Award as well as the Audience Award and the Acting Prize for the film’s star Tender Huang.

“Taipei Suicide Story” follows a receptionist at a suicide hotel who forms a fleeting friendship with a woman who can’t decide if she wants to live or die. The film was also a selection of Cannes 2020.

The Slamdance jurors described “Taipei Suicide Story” as a film that “is concise and emotionally effective as it portrays isolation with humanity and complex pathos.” The jury was composed of Carlos Aguilar, Kier-La Janisse and Jennifer Reeder, and the jury also gave an honorable mention to the film “A Family” directed by Jayden Stevens.

This year’s Slamdance was...

The Slamdance Film Festival unveiled winners for its 27th edition Thursday, with the compact drama Taipei Suicide Story directed by Keff taking both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for narrative features and the best actor prize during a virtual awards ceremony.

The drama is about a receptionist at a suicide hotel in Taipei who forms a friendship over the course of one night with a guest who can’t decide if she wants to live or die. The pic, which also was in the official Cinéfondation selection of the 2020 Cannes Film Festival, runs 45 minutes.

Tender Huang, who plays the hotel receptionist, was named best actor during the ceremony wrapping this year’s edition, which ran as a virtual edition February 12-25.

“A film that is concise and emotionally effective as it portrays isolation with humanity and complex pathos,” the jury said in its comments about the pic today.

Agnieszka Polska receives $25,000 Agbo Fellowship.

Taipei Suicide Story was a big winner at the 2021 Slamdance Film Festival virtual awards ceremony on Thursday (February 25), taking narrative feature grand jury prize, audience and acting awards.

Keff directed the Taiwanese film about a receptionist at a suicide hotel who forms a fleeting friendship with a guest who can’t decide whether to live or die. Award-winner Tender Huang stars.

Fredrik S. Hana’s Code Name: Nagasaki (Austria) won the documentary feature grand jury prize, while the George Starks Spirit of Slamdance Award went to Chelsea Christer, director of Bleeding Audio (USA).

The...

We tend to have certain images that come to mind when we think of a near-future where our civilization has been irrevocably altered: lack of electricity, roaving bands of mercenaries or rebels, women especially both prized as possessions and in danger, smugglers and black markets, and an overwhelming sense that life is lived moment by moment, without much hope of change or improvement. Add in a place already far removed from what we would call 'civilization', sparsely populated, mostly untouched, yet still with those who must fight for existence, and the world can seem bleak and cruel. For the opening night film of Slamdance, Simon Lavoie's No Trace is something of an atypical choice: an intimate and experimental narrative, it's set up like a jigsaw...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Not knowing is the point. At least that’s what writer/director Simon Lavoie says in his director’s notes for Nulle trace [No Trace]. He’s not looking to create a film with narrative propulsion or mainstream appeal within an industry he’s actively seeking to rebel against. He instead wants to go back to the art by engaging audiences with form, sensory input, and ideas. Lavoie’s goal is to therefore embrace an unspoken “pact” with viewers that allows for a benefit of the doubt where understanding and intent are concerned. What we take from the film is thus more about what we’re bringing to the experience than what he has provided for it. Setting and time are rendered inconsequential as meaning takes centerstage. Its purpose and success are ours to give.

There’s beauty and frustration in this truth depending on how you enter this pact. Those looking...

More than just about any existing film festival, Slamdance was started with an eye toward inclusion. In the case of the Park City festival, which was founded as a more freewheeling alternative to Sundance back in 1995, that sense of inclusion largely pertained to the filmmakers themselves: first-timers, experimentalists and enterprising directors without much in the way of resources to have their films shown in a proper theatrical environment. For Slamdance’s president and co-founder Peter Baxter, however, the ongoing pandemic provided an opportunity to consider how its open-door policy ought to work both ways.

“Independent film should be seen as inclusive, but in a lot of ways it’s been very exclusive,” Baxter says. “You look at film festivals, you look at Park City — you’re in a privileged situation if you’re able to go to Park City and experience Sundance and Slamdance. The travel, accommodations, time away from...

You will have to forgive those of us who, despite the strange and seemingly never-ending circumstances of our current existence, still gravitate to films that, at least on the surface, are set in bleak and unforgiving times. Perhaps it's masochism, perhaps it's sympathy, perhaps it's preparation. During the depression of the 1930s, horror films were popular; so why not weird cerebral sci-fi of the pandemic era? Québeçois filmmaker Simon Lavoie is no stranger to the bleak and both overtly and couvertly political; his past films The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches and Those Who Make the Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves do not shy away from the harsh realities of life and living, and how the individual or group is...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

The 2021 Slamdance Film Festival will go virtual this year for its 27th edition. On Monday, the event unveiled its full lineup of features, shorts and episodics, including a brand new program dedicated to showcasing creators with disabilities.

Next year’s Slamdance will run Feb. 12-25, and the full festival — including all films, panels and Q&As — will be available online. Additionally, festival passes will be available for free until Dec. 31 and for $10 thereafter until the end of the festival.

Slamdance will also host a two-night drive-in event in Joshua Tree, Calif. on Feb. 13 and 14, as well as a closing night screening at a Los Angeles drive-in on Feb. 25.

Slamdance’s newest program is called “Unstoppable,” and it will feature 22 short films from up-and-coming disabled filmmakers, or ones that feature actors with disabilities or highlight the conversation of disabilities in today’s world. “Unstoppable” is entirely programmed by disabled artists, and...

Like all festivals, the Slamdance Film Festival is set to shift to a hybrid fest for its 27th edition — but it isn’t holding back on its programming as it will feature 20 feature film premieres while highlighting diverse voices and accessibility. With the theme “Greenlight Yourself,” the indie-driven fest will also launch a new program titled Unstoppable, a showcase for creators with disabilities.

The fest will run February 12-25, 2021 with all films, Q&As and panels available virtually via Slamdance.com, AppleTV, Roku, Firestick, and YouTube. In addition, there will be a two-night drive-in presentation in Joshua Tree, CA open to the public on February 13-14 as well as the closing-night screening at a Los Angeles drive-in on February 25.

“Our theme this year was inspired by the incredible resilience and creativity evidenced by our community and our team over the past few unprecedented months,” said Slamdance president and co-founder Peter Baxter.

The Slamdance Film Festival has unveiled its lineup of 25 features along with 107 shorts and episodics for the mostly virtual 27th edition of the festival — a number that equals previous editions of the festival.

The opening night film, which will screen at a drive-in in Joshua Tree on Feb. 13, is the world premiere of “No Trace” (Nulle Trace) from Canadian director and screenwriter Simon Lavoie. Taking place in a near future, the film follows a callous smuggler hardened by life who guides a pious young woman and her child across the border to safety, unaware that their destinies are inescapably linked in an inhospitable land.

The festival will close with the world premiere screening of “18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story” at a Los Angeles drive-in on Feb. 25. The feature documentary by Stephen DeBro is the story of Los Angeles told through the prism of a historic fight palace and Aileen Eaton,...

Virtual festival runs February 12-25, 2021, includes 107 shorts, episodics.

Canadian drama No Trace and documentary 18th & Grand: The Olympic Auditorium Story bookend a 25-strong feature line-up at the upcoming virtual Slamdance Film Festival 2021, which is also unveiling a new section for creators with disabilities.

The festival runs from February 12-25, 2021, and includes 107 shorts and episodics.

All films, Q&a’s and panels will be available on Slamdance.com, and select platforms. The opening and closing night screenings take place at drive-ins at Joshua Tree and Los Angeles, respectively, and there are public, two-night drive-in screenings in Joshua Tree on February 13 and...

Tiff has come and gone. Masses of Canadians attend the festival which is what gives it such a special atmosphere. In Cannes, only the industry attends the festival; the public sets up chairs and ladders to watch the red carpet galas and take pictures. But here the public is as much a part of the festival as the industry.Tiff Bell Lightbox

The industry action which consists of buying and selling of film rights takes place at the Hyatt Hotel on King Street West. The screenings for both public and industry are down the street at the Tiff Bell Lightbox and around the corner at the Scotia Multiplex. The dense mingling of public and industry at these venues and on the street itself which is closed to traffic for the first weekend but is open to pedestrians, photo-op spots, food trucks creates a festive bevvy of activity to the city.

Sandra Oh, Sarah Polley and Sarah Gadon among the talent in our top 5 Canadian picks for #TIFF17Sandra Oh, Sarah Polley and Sarah Gadon among the talent in our top 5 Canadian picks for #TIFF17Adriana Floridia8/9/2017 11:27:00 Am

As Canada's biggest film festival, #TIFF17 always manages to feature a stellar line-up of Canadian features.

Among the hustle and bustle of all of the big Hollywood titles and celebrities that make up most of Tiff's impressively large lineup, there's a lot of homegrown talent to be found as well, and that's something that we as Canadian film lovers should consider when making our selections at the festival. It's a truly special experience to see a Canadian filmmaker, new or old, premiere their new film in a place they call home. This year, we are highlighting five Canadian entries that you should be sure to keep on your radar at this year's festival.

Festival brass unveil Rising Stars, Telefilm Canada Pitch This! finallists, and more.

Mary Harron, Kim Nguyen (both pictured above), Ingrid Veninger, and Denis Côté are among the familiar names in the 26-strong Canadian Features slate that Toronto International Film Festival programmers unveiled on Wednesday.

The selection comprises the highest number of feature directorial debutants and films from Western Canada in recent years. More than 30% of the titles are by first-time feature directors.

Festival brass also announced Short Cuts, Tiff Cinematheque, Rising Stars, Telefilm Canada Pitch This! finallists, and the recipient of the 2017 Len Blum Residency.

The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 7-17.

Canadian Features

“It is exciting to see a new wave of Canadian first-time feature directors play with genres and take risks,” Tiff senior programmer Steve Gravestock said. “This year’s line-up has a truly international feel to it, too, with a number of features shot all over the globe — something that also...

At this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, the annual event will pay tribute to its home country with a number of options that span the past, present, and future of Canadian creativity. Per usual, the fest has unveiled a slew of titles that will make up its Canadian feature slate — 26 in all — with an eye towards advancing not only established Canadian filmmakers, but rising stars as well.

This year’s Canadian lineup boasts one of the highest numbers of feature directorial debuts ever, as well as one of the highest numbers of films from Western Canada in recent years. Over 30% of the titles have a first-time feature director, while seven out of nine are Tiff alumni.

Read More:tiff’s Platform Selection: How the Festival’s Buzziest Slate is Pivoting After Launching ‘Moonlight’

“It is exciting to see a new wave of Canadian first-time feature directors play with genres and take risks,...

A certain mutant send-off may have gotten the most global attention out of the 2017 Berlin Film Festival, but if one retracts their claws, some of the finest in major international cinema comes into focus. Ahead of our picks of the best of the festival, the jury has delivered their awards.

Led by Paul Verhoeven, the jury made up of Dora Bouchoucha Fourati, Olafur Eliasson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julia Jentsch, Diego Luna, and Wang Quan’an gave the Hungarian drama On Body and Soul the top prize of Golden Bear, while Aki Kaurismäki picked up Best Director for The Other Side of Hope and Kim Min-hee earned Best Actress for her latest Hong Sang-soo collaboration On The Beach At Night Alone.

Check out the winners below (with a hat tip to Deadline) along with links to reviews where available. One can also see our full coverage here.

Golden Bear for Best...

Butterfly Kisses, a drama about life on a British housing estate from first-time director Rafael Kapelinski, on Saturday won the Crystal Bear for best film in the Generation section of the Berlin International Film Festival. The black-and-white feature stars newcomers Theo Stevenson, Liam Whiting, Byron Lyons and Rosie Day.

“From the kaleidoscopic opening sequence onwards, we are captivated by the haunting intensity of this electrifying feature film debut,” said the jury, announcing its decision.

The exhaustively titled Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves, from Canadian directors Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie, received special mention from...

There’s universality to Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie‘s Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves, even if it is very much a Québécois film. In their second collaboration (after 2011’s Laurentie), the two were desperate to tell a tale about young radicals on the cusp of disillusionment after the failed Maple Spring protests, an infamous series of student demonstrations and strikes fighting back against the government’s proposed tuition hike for universities. Here was a generation emboldened to be confrontational and show their conviction to the world, only to find the war fizzling out after one hundred days and the new term seeing students go back to class. What of those who relented? What of those who would never give up?

These are the upstarts threatening revolution that countries around the globe hope to spark when injustice rears its head. To band together for a...

Three UK features among first 15 films selected for Berlin’s Generations programme.Scroll down for list

The 2017 Berlin Film Festival has revealed the first raft of titles selected for its Generations sidebar, which features youth and children’s films.

Michael Winterbottom’s music documentary On The Road [pictured], which follows the band Wolf Alice on tour, will open the Generation 14plus programme this year.

Also playing in that strand will be Dash Shaw’s My Entire High School Sinking Into The Sea, which features the voices of Jason Schwartzman, Maya Rudolph, Lena Dunham and Susan Sarandon.

Further UK features playing in 14plus include the world premieres of Carol Salter’s Almost Heaven and Rafael Kapelinski’s Butterfly Kiss.

Titles selected for the separate GenerationKplus strand include the European premiere of Kriv Stenders’s Australian family feature Red Dog: True Blue.

The 2017 Berlin Film Festival takes place February 9-19.

Selected titles

Synopses provided by Berlinale press office.

Generation14plus

On The Road...

Sally Potter's The PartyThe titles for the 67th Berlin International Film Festival are being announced in anticipation of the event running February 9 - 19, 2017. We will update the program as new films are revealed.COMPETITIONOn Body and Soul (Ildiko Enyedi, Hungary)Ana, mon amour (Călin Peter Netzer, Romania / Germany France)Beuys (Andres Veiel, Germany)Colo (Teresa Villaverde, Portugal / France)The Dinner (Oren Moverman, USA)Félicité (Alain Gomis, France / Senegal / Belgium / Germany / Lebanon)The Party (Sally Potter, UK)Spoor (Agnieszka Holland, Poland / Germany/ Czech Republic / Sweden / Slovak Republic)The Other Side of Hope (Aki Kaurismäki, Finland)A Fantastic Woman (Sebastián Lelio, Chile / German / USA / Spain)Berlinale SPECIALThe Queen of Spain (Fernando Trueba, Spain)The Young Karl Marx (Raoul Peck, France / Germany / Belgium)Last Days in Havana (Fernando Pérez, Cuba / Spain)PANORAMAVazante (Daniela Thomas, Brazil/Portugal)I Am Not Your Negro (Raoul Peck, France/USA/Belgium/Switzerland)The Wound (John Trengove, South Africa/Germany/Netherlands/France)Politics,...

Everything you missed on days 10 and 11 of #TIFF16Everything you missed on days 10 and 11 of #TIFF16Adriana Floridia9/19/2016 10:16:00 Am

We can barely believe that the Toronto International Film Festival has come to an end.

It's an event that we look forward to all year round, and it never disappoints. This year was one of the best we've ever seen, as the quality of films was unparalleled. 2016 has truly been a great year at the movies.

The festival closed off with what will likely be a new teen classic, The Edge of Seventeen. Stars Hailee Steinfeld, Woody Harrelson, Blake Jenner, Haley Lu Richardson and Hayden Szeto attended the world premiere on Saturday, and the film was the perfect mix of laughs, emotion, and teen angst to end #TIFF16. We can't wait to see The Edge of Seventeen again when it comes to Cineplex theatres on November 18th.

While that...

Damien Chazelle.s brilliant musical .La La Land. starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone (she recently won Best Actress at Venice International Film Festival) took home the People.s Choice Award making it the one to beat this award season! Since 2008 (except for 2011.s .Where Do We Go Now?.), every single People.s Choice Award Winner has been nominated for Best Picture Oscar with films like .Room,. .The Imitation Game,. .Silver Linings Playbook,. and .Precious.. Some even won Best Picture like .Slumdog Millionaire,. .The King.s Speech,. and .12 Years a Slave.. But don.t go betting on the film yet. There were some movies that dominated Tiff but was ignored by the Academy such as the aforementioned .Where Do We Go Now?,. .Bella,. .Eastern Promises,. .Zatoichi,. and .The Hanging Garden..

We shall see if .La La Land. will score big with Academy voters. For now, here.s the complete list...

Damien Chazelle’s musical romance starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling was the people’s favourite as the Toronto International Film Festival wrapped on Sunday.

The Grolsch People’s Choice Award is a timely boost heading into awards season: Last year, Room took the prize and went on to garner the best lead actress Oscar for Brie Larson.

La La Land is shaping up to be a strong awards prospect. Stone won the Coppa Volpi for best actress in Venice, where the film received its world premiere, and observers have noted its strong all-round profile.

The festival has set a free screening of La La Land on Sunday evening at 6pm at Roy Thomson Hall. Lionsgate will release the film in the Us on December 16.

Lion was named runner-up and Queen Of Katwe second runner-up.

Grolsch People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award went to Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire, while Raoul Peck’s I Am Not Your Negro won the...

With the Toronto International Film Festival wrapping up today, they’ve handed out their award winners. While our top picks will be arriving shortly, the big winner of the festival was Damien Chazelle‘s La La Land, which won the People’s Choice Awards, while Raoul Peck‘s I Am Not Your Negro won on the documentary side. Other winners include Free Fire in the Midnight Madness category and Jackie in the Platform section, which is in its second year.

Check out the full press release below.

The short film awards below were selected by a jury comprised of American filmmaker Abteen Bagheri (That B.E.A.T.), French filmmaker Eva Husson (Bang Gang), and Canadian filmmaker Jeff Barnaby (Rhymes for Young Ghouls).

Short Cuts Award For Best Canadian Short Film

The Short Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film goes to Alexandre Dostie’s Mutants. The jury remarked, “Mutants...

The Toronto International Film Festival has closed out its annual ten-day run with a star-studded awards brunch, which featured the announcement of the festival’s various awards and prizes. Chief among them is the People’s Choice Award, Tiff’s most prestigious award and one chosen by audience members themselves (fans of the various films could log their vote either by depositing their ticket stubs in voting boxes available post-screening, or by voting online on the official Tiff app).

This year’s winner is Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land,” starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. You can read our full review of the film here. Runner-ups included “Lion” and “Queen of Katwe.”

Read More: IndieWire’s Movie Podcast (115): How Tiff Changed the Fall Movie Season

Often viewed as a harbinger of awards season glory, the Tiff People’s Choice Award winner has typically continued on to major Oscar attention.

Bertrand Bonello’s Paris terror attack drama Nocturama [pictured] will open the second international directors showcase at the 41st Toronto International Film Festival next month.

Platform runs from September 8-15 and includes Pablo Larraín’s Jackie, fresh from its world premiere in Venice, as well as world premieres for Mijke de Jong’s Layla M. and Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Daguerrotype.

“A multicultural epicentre, Toronto is one of the most diverse and inclusive cities in the world, and it is the perfecthome for Platform to live and grow as a world-class programme,” said Tiff director and CEO Piers Handling.

“The lineup this year aims to shine the spotlight on fearless, artistic films that will inspire a global dialogue around issues that affect us all, and we are thrilled to honour the next generation of filmmakers who are capturing the evolving discourse with their transformative visions.”

“In its inaugural year in 2015, Platform successfully established itself as fundamental to the Festival...

The Toronto International Film Festival presents its lineup for Platform, "the juried program that champions director’s cinema from around the world," now in its second year. Set to compete are Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Daguerrotype, Ivan Sen's Goldstone, Katell Quillévéré's Heal the Living, Khyentse Norbu's Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait, Fien Troch's Home, Pablo Larraín's Jackie, William Oldroyd's Lady Macbeth, Mijke de Jong's Layla M., Zacharias Kunuk's Searchers, Barry Jenkins's Moonlight, Bertrand Bonello's Nocturama and Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie's Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves. » - David Hudson...

The Toronto International Film Festival presents its lineup for Platform, "the juried program that champions director’s cinema from around the world," now in its second year. Set to compete are Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Daguerrotype, Ivan Sen's Goldstone, Katell Quillévéré's Heal the Living, Khyentse Norbu's Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait, Fien Troch's Home, Pablo Larraín's Jackie, William Oldroyd's Lady Macbeth, Mijke de Jong's Layla M., Zacharias Kunuk's Searchers, Barry Jenkins's Moonlight, Bertrand Bonello's Nocturama and Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie's Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves. » - David Hudson...

Toronto International Film Festival continues to add to its already eclectic slate by announcing their Platform line-up today. Beginning last year as a special program to highlight auteur-driven features from around the world, this year’s line-up looks remarkably strong, opening with Bertrand Bonello‘s Paris-set terrorism drama Nocturama.

Also featuring new films from Fien Troch, Zacharias Kunuk, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Ivan Sen, Katell Quillévéré, Khyentse Norbu, Pablo Larraín, William Oldroyd, Mijke de Jong, Barry Jenkins, Mathieu Denis, and Simon Lavoie, check out the line-up below.

Daguerrotype (Le Secret de la chambre noire) Kiyoshi Kurosawa, France/Japan/Belgium

World Premiere

Kiyoshi Kurosawa makes his first film outside Japan with this French-language ghost romance fantasy, about an aging photographer whose obsession with an archaic technique draws his young assistant and beautiful daughter into a dark and mysterious world. Starring Tahar Rahim, Constance Rousseau, Olivier Gourmet, and Mathieu Amalric. ***

Goldstone Ivan Sen, Australia...

The Toronto International Film Festival continues to roll out the exciting programming announcements as the film-loving world looks forward to this start of this year’s festival (just next month!). The latest slate addition comes care of Tiff’s Platform section, which aims to present an “artistically stimulating and thought-provoking lineup.” The directors-focused section is only in its second year, but has already lined up a stellar spread of features from around the world, including Canada, Australia, France, Bhutan, Belgium, USA, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Per the festival, this year Platform is aiming to take on “complex and bold narratives that range from a dark, twisted fantasy, a dramatic crime thriller, an existential illusion to the reinterpretation of a satirical tragedy, a raw coming-of-age story, and tales of revolutions, radicals, and revenge.” The section will open with the international premiere of the drama “Nocturama” from critically acclaimed director-writer Bertrand Bonello.

Berlinale festival director Dieter Kosslick and veteran Polish film-maker Andrzej Wajda are to receive the Kristian Award for their Contributions to World Cinema at this week’s Prague International Film Festival – Febiofest.

The award for Wajda will be accepted on his behalf by the actor Robert Więckiewicz, who plays the title in the director’s latest film Walesa: Man Of Hope, at Febiofest’s opening ceremony on 20 March.

“There is probably not a person in Central European cinema who would document their homeland’s history with such consistency and emphasis on the desire for freedom and protection of elementary moral values,” Febiofest’s programme director Stefan Uhrik commented.

“Visionary“ Kosslick

The honour for Kosslick will be his first Czech award to add to a host of other distinctions he has received during over 30 years working in the world of film funding and, latterly, festival programming at the Berlinale since 2001.

“He is a visionary man who is also...

Le Torrent

Directed by Simon Lavoie

Written by

Canada, 2012

One of the worst kept secrets among Canadian film fans and buffs is the epic rise in quality and recognition of Québec’s output. Even though the province has long been a dependable source of solid films, the past ten to twelve years have seen it provide some of the country’s vey best cinematic experiences, which has led to no less than three separate occasions since 2003 when a Québec film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Picture at the Academy Awards, with 1 win in fact (The Barbarian Invasions in 2003). The word ‘auteurship’ is, quite honestly, an apt term to use when discussion La Belle Province’s directors, several of whom are, without the shadow of a doubt, the best Canada has to offer the film world. Simon Lavoie has not risen to the heights of the Arcand’s and the Villeneuve’s,...

Montreal’s Festival Du Nouveau Cinema (10.10 – 10.21) announced their line-up today for their 41st edition and among the smorgasbord of subtitle offerings dating back to this year’s Rotterdam, Berlin, Cannes, Locarno, Venice and Tiff editions, we’re knee-deep in avant-garde world cinema from the established auteurs Assayas, Vinterberg, Ozon, Sang-Soo, Joao Pedro Rodriguez, Larrain, Loach, Reygadas, Ghobadi, Mungiu and Miguel Gomes. Heavy on offerings from Quebec and France, the fest also manages to offer a stellar snapshot of the up-and-comers from all corners of the globe. Among the notable titles in the (Competition category) International Selection we’ve got Pablo Berger’s Blancanieves, Ursula Meier’s Sister, Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky’s Francine (which received its theatrical release earlier this month) and Rodrigo Plá’s La Demora. Loaded in Cannes items, the Special Presentations is the fest’s A-list selections (see filmmakers named above) and the one pic...

Today, Montreal's Festival du nouveau cinéma (Fnc), which will take place between October 12 to 23. Here's the complete line-up of feature films according to the press release we received.

Opening and closing

The 40th edition of the Fnc kicks off on Wednesday, October 12, with Declaration of War by Valérie Donzelli (France) at Cinéma Impérial (Centre Sandra & Leo Kolber, Salle Lucie & André Chagnon). This critically-acclaimed second feature by Valérie Donzelli (The Queen of Hearts) tells the love story of Roméo and Juliette who are battling to save their sick child. The director and her producer Edouard Weil will be in attendance.

Ten days later, on Saturday, October 22, Monsieur Lazhar (Quebec/Canada) by Philippe Falardeau will close the Festival. Selected to represent Canada at the Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film, Monsieur Lahzar shows the efforts of an Algerian schoolteacher to help his Grade 6 students come to terms with their teacher’s death.

I will soon post a list of films I have already seen that I highly recommend as well as a list of my most anticipated films screening at this year’s Festival du Nouveau Cinema. For now here is the press release from the festival. Make sure you read carefully because there are a ton of great films to check out.

Montreal, Tuesday September 27, 2011– Montreal’s Festival du nouveau cinéma will be celebrating its 40th edition from October 12 to 23. For the past 40 years, Canada’s oldest film festival has offered film buffs a selection of the year’s most exciting new films — a bold lineup with plenty of whimsical and surprising elements, but one that also turns its lens on social realities and the evolution of film and new technologies. Over the course of this year’s 11-day Festival, audiences of all ages can take in features and shorts, fiction films and documentaries,...

Montreal's Festival du nouveau cinéma (Fnc), which will be held from October 12 to 23, revealed to day its line-up of Canadian films. These films will be part of the Focus Québec/Canada category. The latter will be opened by the documentary Surviving Progress, by Mathieu Roy and Harold Crooks, on October 13.

This documentary is based on the bestselling book A Short History of Progress, by Ronald Wright. It questions the bright side and the perils of progress through interviews with people such as David Suzuki, Margaret Atwood or even Stephen Hawking.

The film will also be accompanied by another documentary called Fortunate Son, which was directed by Montreal-based documentarist Tony Asimakopoulos. This documentary is an auto-biography about how a drug-addict almost destroyed his family.

As for feature films, the Fnc will screen some films that were at the Toronto International Film Festival. Among them is Amy George, a teen drama by Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas.

Mathieu Denis's and Simon Lavoie's Laurentie will be part of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. This event will be held in the Czech Republic from July 1 to 9.

While no release has been announced, it should be in fall 2011 in Quebec.

According to the press release The Cultural Post received, the film is about a 28-year-old guy (Emmanuel Schwartz) living in Montreal. This guy, named Louis, hates his life, Quebec and everything that surrounds him. He doesn't know what to do about his life. One day, he sees his neighbour (Jade Hassouné) and has a crush on him. Unfortunately, Louis doesn't speak English and believes he can't reach his neighbour.

The film also stars Eugénie Beaudry.

Bande-annonce de 'Laurentie' par theculturalpost...