Let's Celebrate Cinema Online!

Following the sudden ruling to cancel theatrical screenings in Montreal for its 49th edition, in accordance with current public health standards, the Montreal Festival du nouveau cinéma will take place exceptionally and exclusively online, from October 7 to 31, while also being available to everyone across Canada.

Faithful to its mandate, with a lineup that is both strong and daring, composed of nearly 200 works from all sections, including more than 50 feature films, the Festival will allow the public to discover anticipated flagship titles as well as new auteur filmmakers from the current cinema as well as virtual reality works. Major special events will also be accessible for free to moviegoers online.

"During the past spring, we made the decision to hold our 49th edition in a hybrid form combining both online and physical screenings. I would like to congratulate us today on this judicious choice which allows us to offer cinephiles across the country a special edition filled with discoveries and anticipated films as part of FNC's usual tradition. Our entire team has done a remarkable job in delivering high-caliber and high-quality programming. I would also like to thank all the distributors and partners who have renewed their confidence in us and allowed us, from October 7 to 31, to celebrate cinema… to escape and continue to dream!" says Nicolas Girard Deltruc, executive director at the Festival du nouveau cinéma

International Competition: Louve d’or presented by Québecor

Aimed at introducing audiences to the emerging voices of worldwide cinema, the Festival’s flagship section highlights the unique perspectives of the artists who will shape tomorrow’s new cinema. The 10 films in the running for the Louve d’or include a number of titles that stood out on the international festival circuit this past year: ATLANTIS, Valentyn Vasyanovych (Ukraine); BAD ROADS, Natalya Vorozhbit (Ukraine); THE CLOUD IN HER ROOM, Zheng Lu Xinyuan (China, Hong Kong); DESTERRO, Maria Clara Escobar (Brazil, Portugal, Argentina); ÊXTASE, Moara Passoni (Brazil, United States); KILL IT AND LEAVE THIS TOWN, Marius Wilczynski (Poland); SERVANTS, Ivan Ostrochovsky (Slovakia, Romania, Czech Republic, Ireland); THE SHEPHERDESS AND THE SEVEN SONGS, Pushpendra Singh (India); THIS IS NOT A BURIAL, IT’S A RESURRECTION, Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese (Lesotho, Italy, South Africa); and TOPSIDE, Logan George and Celine Held (United States).

Les incontournables

This section presents work by the top names in cinema: CONFERENCE, Ivan Tverdovskiy (Russia, Estonia, U.K., Italy); THERE IS NO EVIL, Mohammad Rasoulof (Iran, Germany, Czech Republic), Golden Bear winner at Berlin; UNDINE, Christian Petzold (Germany, France), which bagged Paula Beer the best actress award at Berlin; UPPERCASE PRINT, Radu Jude (Romania); and the documentary WIM WENDERS, DESPERADO, Campino and Eric Friedler (Germany).

Panorama international

A section that showcases remarkable lives as it probes the current state of affairs. From Brazil to Vietnam, Argentina to Greece, the lineup includes socially engaged works that highlight uniquely subjective experiences and views that shake up the status quo. Available through video-on-demand, the 11 features in this year’s Panorama are: A YELLOW ANIMAL, Felipe Bragança (Brazil, Portugal, Mozambique); APPLES, Christos Nikou (Greece, Poland, Slovenia); COCOON, Leonie Krippendorff (Germany); DROWSY CITY, Dung Luong Dinh (Vietnam); LA HIJA DE UN LADRÓN, Belén Funes (Spain); MAMÁ, MAMÁ, MAMÁ, Sol Berruezo Pichon-Rivière (Argentina); MOVING ON, Yoon Dan-Bi (South Korea); OASIS, Ivan Ikic (Serbia, Slovenia, Netherlands, France); SI C’ÉTAIT DE L’AMOUR, Patric Chiha (France); SISTERS WITH TRANSISTORS, Lisa Rovner (U.K.); and WISDOM TOOTH, Liang Ming (China).

Les Rendez-vous #Cinémad’ici presented by Quebecor

To mark the 50th anniversary of the October Crisis, Quebecor, presenting partner of the FNC, will offer, in collaboration with Éléphant: mémoire du Cinéma québécois, the restored versions of two outstanding works retracing the events of October 1970: LES ORDRES by Michel Brault, on Friday October 16, and OCTOBRE by Pierre Falardeau, on Saturday October 10. The Rendez-vous #Cinémad’ici presented by Quebecor will be free and online.

Films for Peace – a Wapikoni special

For the 49th edition, the Festival will present a program of short films created during Wapikoni mobile’s international jaunts, in line with the organization’s unique approach to promoting Indigenous stories and voices through film The films will be available through video-on-demand but to get the full experience, fans can attend the Wapikoni special Films for Peace event on Thursday, October 15 at 7 pm. To expand the experience, the screening will be followed by a Q&A session, livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube. Presented by BNP Paribas and Wapikoni mobile in association with the Peace Network for Social Harmony as part of the closing ceremony of Peace Days 2020.

P’tits Loups

Even kids get their own program specially designed just for them ! P’tits Loups will be taking place online with three short-film programs available to everyone across the country. Two programs are aimed at kids aged 3 and over, while the third will be suitable for kids 10 and over. Please note that, once again, part of the short-film lineup will be competitive, and the Prix des P’tits loups will be awarded by a jury made up of young movie buffs aged 8 to 12.

This year for the first time, the Grande Kermesse des P’tits Loups is moving its playground online to the Facebook group FNC P’tits Loups. From Saturday, October 10 at 9 am till Sunday, October 11 at 5 pm: four free workshops with artists Ian Langhor, Marianne Dubuc and Isabelle Guimond and the Namaste workshops will accompany a program of short films for kids. Perfect for a weekend with the family!

Rencontres pancanadiennes du cinéma étudiant presented by Netflix

Since 2014, the FNC has pursued its commitment to support emerging cinema and make it accessible with the Rencontres pancanadiennes du cinéma étudiant (RPCE). This national student short-film competition offers representatives of each school the opportunity to meet up and exchange ideas through a program of workshops, talks and networking activities that build strong ties with the industry. This year, 16 Canadian schools will take part in the short-film competition. During the Rencontres presented by Netflix in partnership with INIS, students and representatives of each institution will be able to expand their networks and hold discussions through a variety of online participatory workshops and roundtables. An international guest school, the Universidad Nacional de Colombia will also take part.

Awards and juries

Once again this year, to celebrate and support filmmakers, the FNC will hand out over $100,000 in grants and in-kind services. Since last year, the Festival has been part of the prestigious International Critics’ Award circuit sponsored by FIPRESCI,the International Federation of Film Critics. At the FNC, this award will be handed out to a first feature from any section of the programming by a jury made up of three FIPRESCI critics: Daniel Medeiros(critic and editor-in-chief of the 7Marte blog, Brazil), Jasmina Sepetavc(critic and programmer at the Ljubljana LGBT Film Festival, Slovenia) and Victor Stiff (critic and editor-in-chief of That Shelf web magazine, Toronto).

The jury for the International Competition, which will hand out the Louve d’or presented by Québecor, the best actor award and the Daniel Langlois Innovation Award,is made up of Quebec actor Pascale Bussières, choreographer Louise Lecavalier and director Félix Dufour-Laperrière.

The jury for the National Competition, which will hand out the Grand Prix presented by Post-Moderne and the Prix de la diffusion Québecor, will be made up of three figures from the international industry: playwright Evelyne de la Chenelière; French distributor Timothée Donay and Oscar-winning Polish producer Ewa Puszynska. The Main Film jury for the Les Nouveaux Alchimistes feature-film competition will be made up of Karl Lemieux(director), Jacquelyn Mills (director) and Erin Weisgerber (visual artist). They will award the Prix des nouveaux alchimistes presented by Main Film.

Regarding short films, 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 jury for the Rencontres pancanadiennes du cinéma étudiant will be made up of Sophie Dupuis, (Director), Jean-Christophe J. Lamontagne (president of h264) and Carlos David Valendia Vargas (head of programming at the Festival Equinoxio in Colombia). The jury will award the Grand Prix presented by Netflix.

Lastly, two awards will be handed out for FNC Explore: the Prix Horizon and the Prix Panorama VR. The jury will be composed of Victoire Thevenin (director, VR Arles Festival), Annick Blanc (producer/director at Midi La Nuit) and Charlotte Corchete (Pardi di domani competition programmer, Locarno Film Festival).

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