50th FESTIVAL DU NOUVEAU CINEMA: CELEBRATE HALF A CENTURY OF NEW CINEMA !

For its 50th edition, the Festival du nouveau cinéma (FNC) is very pleased to invite filmgoers from across the country to celebrate a half-century of new cinema with us in Montreal theatres from October 6 to 17 and online until October 31. The longest-running film festival in Canada is beyond happy to be back with a hybrid format that gives film lovers a chance to enjoy our strong, forward-looking selection both in theatres and online. The FNC’s lineup includes no less than 280 works from 57 countries, and 161 world, international, North-American and Canadian premieres. As it has every year for the past 50 years, the Festival gives film lovers a chance to be among the first to discover major titles that have scooped awards on the international festival circuit along with new auteurs and virtual reality works and installations. And they will be able to exchange ideas at the gatherings so essential to the industry.

Opening and Closing Nights
BOOTLEGGER by Caroline Monnet will kick off the 50th edition in grand style on October 6 at Cinéma Impérial. Presented in collaboration with the Montreal First Peoples’ Festival, BOOTLEGGER is the first feature from Algonquin multidisciplinary artist Caroline Monnet. Shot in French and Anishinabemowin, the film stars Devery Jacobs, Pascale Bussières, Samian, Jacques Newashish, Dominique Pétin, Joséphine Bacon, C.S. Gilbert Crazy Horse and Brigitte Poupart. Tanya Tagaq and Jean Martin composed the original soundtrack. The Festival has a privileged relationship with the artist, whose architectural projection Mooniyang was presented at UQÀM’s Pavillon Président-Kennedy during the FNC’s 48th edition. The film will hit Quebec theatres on October 8.

To highlight its jubilee, the FNC invited filmmaker Luc Bourdon, its former executive director, to create a short film based on 50 years of Festival archives. The resulting work, CINQUANTE TEMPS, will be screened during opening night. A tribute to the Festival’s history and the filmmakers who have appeared on its lineups, the film evokes the spirit of the FNC from the 1970s to today by drawing on Jacques Dufresne’s photo book LES NOUVEAUX CINÉMAS, Bourdon’s own video archives as well as the archives compiled by the Festival over the last decade.

On closing night, October 17, festivalgoers will be treated to the animated documentary feature ARCHIPEL by Félix Dufour-Laperrière. Screened in its world premiere at the Rotterdam Festival, then at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival earlier this year, where it received the Contrechamps Jury Mention, the new opus by Dufour-Laperrière (Ville Neuve) follows a man and woman as they navigate the waters of Quebec. ARCHIPEL hits theatres across Quebec on October 29.

To discover the complete program visit: www.nouveaucinema.ca