47th edition of the Festival
du nouveau cinéma

From October 3 to 14, no less than 300 films from 62 countries

The granddaddy of Canadian film festivals, the Montreal Festival du nouveau cinéma (FNC) is pleased to announce the dates of its 47th edition. From October 3 to 14, the FNC will present a number of acclaimed titles from the international festival circuit in a top-notch lineup that reinforces its reputation for excellence and for showcasing only the very best of contemporary cinema. With no less than 300 films from 62 countries, the FNC will be the first event to invest the Modern Cinema and the Museum’s Cinema at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), in addition to the Cinéma du Parc, the Cinéma Impérial, the Cinémathèque québécoise, the Cineplex Odéon in the Quartier Latin, the Grande-Place at the Desjardins Complex, the Inis and the Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts.

From October 3 to 14, Montreal moviegoers will be able to discover several titles hailed at the biggest international festivals.

On Wednesday October 3rd at 6:30 pm, the 47th edition of the New Cinema Festival will kick off with the second world premiere of Barry Jenkins‘ (Moonlight) latest film, If Beale Street could talk, presented at Théâtre Maisonneuve of Place des Arts in the presence of many guests, artists and professionals from the film world.

In this poignant and poetic drama, adapted from the eponymous novel by James Baldwin, and screened at the last Toronto International Film Festival, the director tackles the current issue of racism in the United States. Distributed in Quebec by Les Films Seville, the film will be released on December 25th.

Always keen to offer the public the greatest voice of the current cinematographic landscape, the FNC will not derogate from its reputation for excellence this year with several titles expected and praised in the biggest international festivals.

Montreal moviegoers will be able to discover first-hand: Hirokazu Kore-eda‘s (Japan) must-see Shoplifters, laureate of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival; Capharnaum by Nadine Labaki (Lebanon) – Jury Prize at Cannes; Three Faces of Jafar Panahi (Iran) – Award for Best Screenplay at Cannes; Woman at War by Benedikt Erlingsson (Iceland) – Selection at Critics’ Week in Cannes; the stingy The House that Jack Built by Lars von Trier (Denmark); as well as the offbeat comedy Au poste! directed by filmmaker and musician Quentin Dupieux (Mr. Oizo) who will return to the FNC, four years after presenting his film Reality.

In addition to this international selection, three first Quebec feature films are unveiled, each of which promises to delight the Festival’s audience: Philippe Lesage‘s Genèse (Genesis), warmly received by the critics and the public during its world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival; the animated film Ville Neuve by Félix Dufour-Laperrière, soon to be premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, featuring the voices of Paul Ahmarani, Gildor Roy and Johanne-Marie Tremblay; not to mention Dérive, first feature film by David Uloth and Chloé Cinq-Mars, starring Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin, Maèva Tremblay, Éléonore Loiselle, Émilie Bierre and Réal Bossé.

In all, some 300 films will screen throughout the 12 days of festivities slated to unfold in the following 11 locations: Cinéma du Parc, Cinéma Impérial – new official ticket outlet from September 25, the Cinémathèque québécoise, Quartier Latin Cineplex Odéon, the Grande-Place at Complexe Desjardins, INIS, the Société des arts technologiques (SAT), Place des Arts’ Théâtre Maisonneuve and two new venues, the Cinéma du Musée at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) and Cinéma Moderne. Festival headquarters will remain the Agora Hydro-Québec at UQÀM’s Cœur des sciences and La Chaufferie.

Fesivalgoers can once again look forward to a richly varied program across the FNC’s various sections: International Competition, Focus Québec/Canada, Temps Ø, Les incontournables, Les nouveaux alchimistes, Panorama international, Histoire(s) du cinéma, Special Presentations, FNC Explore, P’tits Loups and Rencontres pancanadiennes du cinéma étudiant, as well as the section aimed at professionals, FNC Forum.

Along with a prime selection of shorts and features, retrospectives, animations and documentaries, this year’s festival boasts a number of virtual reality works, professional gatherings and red-letter events. Note that the three Québec films mentioned above, all of which were produced by Unité Centrale,will go on to theatrical release in the wake of the FNC. Genesis (distributed by FunFilm) will open in cinemas immediately after the festival on October 19, while Ville Neuve (also distributed by FunFilm) and The Far Shore (Dérive) (distributed by AXIA Films) will be released in the following months.

For more information on film programming: nouveaucinema.ca

Images: Festival du nouveau cinéma de Montréal

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