KICK-OFF OF THE 32nd EDITION OF CINEMANIA FROM NOVEMBER 4 TO 15PARADIS BY Jérémy COMTE OPENING • THE DAYS OF THE FRANCOPHONE SERIES • MASTER CLASS BY JEAN-PIERRE JEUNET • A FIRST WEEK RICH IN MEETINGSThe kick-off of the 32nd edition of the film festival CINEMANIA will be given this Wednesday, November 4, at the Monument National, with the Quebec premiere of the film PARADIS by Jérémy Comte. From November 4 to 15, the festival will celebrate the best of French-speaking 7th art, by presenting works from here and elsewhere and welcoming an impressive number of local and international talents during screenings and events in order to encourage meetings between the public and the artists as well as key players in the industry. This year, the program brings together 158 works from 30 countries. Furthermore, new to this 32nd edition, As a prelude to the opening, the 1st edition of the Francophone Series Days will take off this evening, Monday, November 2, with the presentation of the ALICE series at the Crave Gala, a Quebec-France-Belgium co-production, at the Outremont Theater, in the presence of co-director Guillaume Lonergan and French actress Bérénice Béjo, who plays the title character, Alice Guy. This first edition of the Francophone Series Days will bring together a total of 16 French-speaking series, presented in 12 sessions spread throughout the entire festival. For 14 days, audiovisual creation (fiction, documentaries, series) will be celebrated in style at the Cineplex Odeon Quartier latin, at the Cinéma du Musée, at the Cinéma du Parc, at the Monument-National, at the Cinémathèque québécoise, at the Cinéma Beaubien, at the Théâtre Outremont, at the Cinéma Moderne, at the NFB and at the Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts.
A Quebec film opening: PARADIS by Jérémy Comte It is the film PARADIS, first feature film by Jérémy Comte (Fauve), which will open the 32nd edition of CINEMANIA this Wednesday, November 4 at the Monument-National, in the presence of director Jérémy Comte and actors Daniel Atsu Hukporti, Joey Boivin-Desmeules and Evelyne de la Chenelière, as well as many other guests. In Ghana, Kojo is torn between the freedom of the streets and the traditional values dear to his father. When the latter disappears, the devastated teenager approaches the gangs of Accra in the hope of filling the void that haunts him. In Quebec, young Tony has always lived alone with his mother. When he discovers that she is having a long-distance relationship with a cargo ship captain, a new hypothesis as to the identity of her father excites him. Presented as a world premiere at the Berlinale last February, PARADIS was selected in the Films Du Québec competition of the festival. The opening night is presented in association with the Sofitel Montréal Le Carré Doré.
The Francophone Series Days: an unprecedented first editionCINEMANIA is opening a new chapter in its history with the creation of the Francophone Series Days, a unique event entirely devoted to French-speaking serial creation, which will be held from November 2 to 15. Sixteen series will be offered to festival-goers in twelve screenings: nine Quebec series, one series from the Canadian Francophonie, and six international productions. On the program for this first edition is notably ALICE, mentioned previously, which retraces the extraordinary journey of Alice Guy, pioneer of cinema and first female fiction director. Beyond the screenings, this new part of CINÉMANIA offers meetings with the creative teams at the center of these French-speaking series Days. Several personalities from the television industry will take part in conversations around the creation and circulation of French-speaking series internationally, including Antoine Pilon and Simon Boulerice, Sophie Dupuis, Guy A. Lepage and Sylvie Léonard, as well as Martin Matte and Kody, and many others. The initiative is made possible thanks to the support of the Canadian Media Fund (CMF), main partner of the Francophone Series Days.
Jean-Pierre Jeunet: retrospective and master classOn the occasion of the coming to Montreal of filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Le Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain), to present his new film, CHANGER L’EAU DES FLEURS, CINEMANIA is offering a retrospective of his notable works, between November 4 and 6. The selection includes, in particular, The City of Lost Children, The Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain and The Extravagant Journey of the Young and Prodigious T. S. Pivet). All screenings will be presented by the filmmaker. The filmmaker will also look back on his career, his inspirations and his unique visual universe during an exceptional master class on Thursday, November 5 at 5:30 p.m., at the Cinémathèque québécoise. He will also receive a special prize highlighting his entire career and the singularity of his work during the opening evening of the Festival.
A BIG SHORTCUT: a first film that makes a splash Among the films to discover in the programming for this first week, the public will be able to discover A BIG SHORTCUT, the first self-financed feature film by young French directors Clément Dévilliers and Armand Foëx, starring Quebec actress Sara Montpetit. The two directors will accompany the film to Montreal, alongside the actress. In the hope of saving the family restaurant from ruin, two Breton cousins act as rodent exterminators. That same summer, two young women meet and hatch a plan to promote their jewelry in a local beauty pageant. Once launched into their respective chaotic schemes, these four resourceful people in search of the future will quickly learn that nothing ever goes as planned, in business or in friendship.
French-speaking Belgium in the spotlightAfter Switzerland in 2023, France in 2024 and Morocco in 2025, it is the turn of French-speaking Belgium to be celebrated by CINEMANIA, through a program that reflects all the richness of its artistic creation. Through seventeen feature-length fiction films, four short films, three documentaries and a series, the Festival offers an overview of French-speaking Belgian cinematography, marked by its history, its social cinema, its unique humor and its openness to the world. The selection highlights both Belgian films and international co-productions, testifying to Belgium’s major place in European and international cinematographic collaborations. Among the works to discover is LE FAUX SOIR, by Michaël R. Roskam, which will be presented in the presence of the director. The film stars Matthias Schoenaerts, François Damiens, Mélanie Thierry, Ariel Worthalter and Yolande Moreau. The Belgian programming also includes LES BARONNES, by Nabil Ben Yadir and Mokhtaria Badaoui, LES BRAVES, by Lukas Dhont, VIGILANTE, by Olivier Pairoux, and HEYSEL 85, by Teodora Ana Mihai. The celebration of French-speaking Belgium extends beyond cinema, at the crossroads of comics, symphonic music, series and virtual reality. CINEMANIA will notably host an exhibition dedicated to the Smurfs and their creator, Peyo, as well as a collaboration with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège.
EUROPE: THE BATTLE OF THE SEATS: An immersive film concert This Saturday, November 7 at 8:45 p.m., CINÉMANIA presents a major Luxembourg film concert at the Monument National with EUROPE: THE BATTLE OF THE SEATS, a documentary by Luxembourg director Donato Rotunno (The Fork on the Left), accompanied live by an original musical creation by composer Pascal Schumacher. On stage, the Singülar Orchestra mixes contemporary jazz, improvisation and electronic sounds in an immersive performance where music and cinema combine perfectly to offer a unique experience to the festival’s film fans.
The great evening of Quebec shorts presented by Télé-QuébecCINÉMANIA will also make way for short films, starting this week with the Great evening of Quebec shorts, presented by Télé-Québec, on Friday, November 6 at the Monument National. Ten Quebec productions will be presented in competition. The films were selected by Jason Béliveau, film critic and programmer at the Beaumont cinema. This evening will be an opportunity to celebrate the vitality of Quebec short films and to discover works by our local artisans who testify to the diversity of voices and perspectives of the next generation of cinematographers from our beautiful province.
The 32nd edition of CINEMANIA will take place from November 4 to 15 in Montreal.