The Festival du nouveau cinéma is pleased to announce the films for the Focus lineup (Quebec/Canada), including the opening film Mars et Avril by Martin Villeneuve to be screened on October 11 at the Cinéma Impérial. This year, the section highlighting the wide-ranging Quebec and Canadian film industry will feature 10 films in competition and six out of competition.
Martin Villeneuve’s sci-fi-tinged fable Mars et Avril will open the Focus section. A revealing adaption of a photo-roman, the film takes place in a futuristic Montreal when mankind is about to set foot on Mars. It stars Jacques Languirand, Caroline Dhavernas, Robert Lepage and Paul Ahmarani.
To present the Focus section, the Festival du nouveau cinéma is proud to welcome Air France as a new partner. The airline will award the 2012 Focus Grand Prize for the best film in the section. This year, the winner will receive a cash prize of $5,000 and two tickets from Montreal or Toronto to a European destination serviced by Air France. The jury will be composed of Henri Béhar, reporter, actor, radio, TV and print personality, Fabienne Hanclot, general representative of the ACID independent film association, and Marie Losier, film programmer at the Alliance Française and film director.
The films in competition are:
Boredom (Can) by journalist Albert Nerenberg, which explores its topic with humour and absurdity
La Cicatrice (Qc/Can),the first feature by director Jimmy Larouche, a psychological suspense story switching between realism and fantasy about the revenge of a wounded man
Deux jours et demi (Qc/Can) by Pablo Diconca, about the relationship between a father and son who see each other only every second weekend
The First Winter (Can) by Ryan McKenna, about a Portuguese man experiencing his first winter in Winnipeg
Joy! (Portrait of a Nun)(Qc/Can) by Joe Balass, an out-there documentary about a congregation of men who’ve chosen to become nuns
Laylou (Qc/Can) by Philippe Lesage, a film about a teenage girl and her friends in Montérégie
Stories we tell (Can), Sarah Polley’s latest film exploring the history of her family, particularly her parents’ relationship, through accounts by the people who know them
Le Torrent (Qc/Can) by Simon Lavoie, an adaptation of a collection of short stories by Anne Hébert about a son who rebels against his destructive mother
Tower (Can) by Kazik Radwanski, about a single, unemployed man who still lives with his parents in Toronto
and Uncontrollable (Qc/Can) by Eugene Garcia, winner of the best Canadian film at the 1997 FNC for his film Burnt Eden and back this year with a film driven by the revelations of a murderer.
The Focus section also includes an enticing selection of six out-of-competition features. These new releases from Quebec and Canada include:
Alphée des étoiles (Qc/Can), the latest film by Hugo Latulippe (République: Un Abécédaire populaire) in which the filmmaker takes a year off to support the learning process of his daughter who is stricken with a rare genetic disease that slows her development
Buzkashi (Qc/Can) by Najeeb Mirza, a documentary about buzkashi, an equestrian sport that’s all the rage in Tajikistan
FernandoArrabal – Grand rectum – Université de Foulosophie (Qc/Can), a film by François Ara Gourd and Hugo Samson that explores the “foulosophie” of the famous writer/filmmaker Fernando Arrabal
Jews and Money (Qc/Can) by Lewis Cohen, a study of the age-old correlation between Judaism and lucre
Un nuage dans un verre d’eau (Qc/Can/France) by Srinath C. Samarasinghe, about an investigation led by two neighbours into the disappearance of Monsieur Noun, a former projectionist
and Tango’s Revenge (Qc/Can) by Francine Pelletier, about some young Argentinian musicians looking to reinvent the tango.
Alongside the features, there are also 21 short films in competition in the Focus section, including 17 from Quebec. The shorts will all compete for the Focus Grand Prize presented by CTV’s Bravo!FACT – Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent, with a $5,000 cash prize going to the winner.
The 41st Festival du nouveau cinéma will be held in Montreal from October 10 to 21, 2012 at the following venues: Excentris, Cinéma Impérial (Centre Sandra & Leo Kolber, Salle Lucie & André Chagnon), Cineplex Quartier Latin, Cinémathèque québécoise, PHI Centre, Théâtre Outremont, Théâtre Maisonneuve, the Place des Festivals in the Quartier des Spectacles, Festival headquarters, located at the Agora Hydro-Québec in UQÀM’s Cœur des sciences, and various one-off locations.
The Festival du nouveau cinéma is presented by Québecor and is made possible by funding from SODEC, Telefilm Canada, the Ministère du Tourisme, the Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire, the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ville de Montréal, Tourisme Montréal, the Conseil des arts de Montréal and Canadian Heritage. The Festival also thanks its major partners Air France and the STM, its official suppliers and all the distributors for their support.
