88 short films from 30 countries plus in-theatre screenings

88 short films from 30 countries plus in-theatre screenings

The Montreal Festival du nouveau cinéma (FNC) is pleased to unveil the short films on the lineup of its evolving 49th edition, which will be held in theatres from October 7 to 18 in Montreal and online from October 7 to 31 throughout Canada. With over 88 short films from 30 countries, the selection will showcase both established and emerging filmmakers whose work stood out over the last year on the festival circuit. Audiences can also discover the national program in-theatre at Cinéma Impérial with the filmmakers in attendance!

A bold selection

On the lineup, an exciting array of titles and established filmmakers whose work gained notice this year at the TIFF, Berlin, Venice, Sundance and Locarno festivals, as well as at Cannes 2020 or Critics’ Week.

The program includes FILIPIÑANA by Rafael Manuel Mendoza, winner of this year’s Silver Bear at the Berlin Festival; PLACES by Lithuanian director Vytautas Katlus, shown at the Venice Festival; this year’s best short film winner at Locarno, RED ANINSRI; OR, TIPTOEING ON THE STILL TREMBLING BERLIN WALL by Thailand’s Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke; and SUN DOG by Dorian Jespers, winner of best short film at Rotterdam.

Several FNC standbys will also be back, including Marie Losier with WHICH IS WITCH?; Bertrand Mandico with THE RETURN OF TRAGEDY; Rainer Kohlberger with THERE MUST BE SOME KIND OF WAY OUT OF HERE; THE END OF SUFFERING (A PROPOSAL) by Jacqueline Lentzou, focus of an FNC Spotlight in 2018; and THE UNSEEN RIVER by Vietnamese director Phạm Ngọc Lân, who returns to the FNC after winning the Loup argenté for best short film of the international competition at FNC 2019.

In-theatre screenings

For this highly unusual edition, the national short-film lineups in the National and Les Nouveaux Alchimistes competitions will be available online as well as screening at Cinéma Impérial with the filmmakers in attendance. Health directives will apply.

The lineup offers a prime showcase for national talents who have made a splash over the past year. ANISHKA by Vincent Toi, COMME UNE COMÈTE by Ariane Louis-Seize and POINT AND LINE TO PLANE by Sofia Bohdanowicz will be here fresh from this year’s TIFF, while BENJAMIN, BENNY, BEN by Paul Shkordoff showed at Cannes 2020 and AUGUST 22, THIS YEAR by Graham Foy was selected for Critics’ Week and at the NYFF. Among other FNC regulars, Marie-Ève Juste will present COMME LA NEIGE AU PRINTEMPS, while the prolific Mike Hoolboom will be represented by two shorts, ZEN BASKETBALL and INSTRUCTIONS FOR ROBOTS,as well as his feature JUDY VERSUS CAPITALISM.

Juries

Three different personalities will make up the jury for each competition. Awards will be handed out online through Facebook Live and YouTube Live on Wednesday, October 14 at 8 pm on the Festival’s social media.

The jury for the International Competition, which will award the Loup argenté (presented by TFO), will be made up of screenwriter and director Carmine Pierre-Dufour; filmmaker and actor Deragh Campbell; and Odile Joannette, executive director of Wapikoni mobile. The jury for the National Competition, which will award the Grand Prix (presented by CineGround), will be made up of Mathieu Janssen, programmer at the Go Short International Festival in Nijmegen and part of the pre-selection team at Vienna Shorts; Sarah Schlüssel, coordinator of the Short Form Stationof Berlinale Talent and member of the selection committee at Berlinale Shorts; and director/producer Mathilde Delaunay. Also in the National Competition, festivalgoers will vote for the Audience Award (presented by SLA Location). And last but not least, the AQCC jury (Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma) will hand out three awards for the Nouveaux Alchimistes Competition: the national Dada Award (presented by Main Film and the AQCC), the international Dada Award and the award for best animation (presented by TVPaint). This jury will be made up of three journalists and film critics, all members of the AQCC: Justine Smith (critic at Hyperallergic, Roger Ebert and Little White Lies and programmer for Fantasia); Claire Valade (critic at Panorama-cinéma) and Julie Vaillancourt (journalist at Fugues and critic at Séquences).

The 49th edition of the Festival du nouveau cinéma will take place in Montreal theatre from October 7 to 18 and online throughout the country. Online programming will be in a flexible, video-on-demand format and, exceptionally, will be available until October 31.

Prices and ticket sales

Tickets for screenings of the short films in the National and Les Nouveaux Alchimistes competitions at Cinéma Impérial are now on sale. Sales are online only on our website.

See the complete list of short films in competition.

SEE THE FULL PRESS RELEASE