Cinemania (film festival)
Location | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
---|---|
Founded | 1995 |
Founded by | Maidy Teitelbaum |
Most recent | 26th edition, November 4-24 |
Language | International |
Website | [1] |
CINEMANIA Film Festival is a French-language film festival with English subtitles that takes place in Montreal.[1] It is the most important event fully dedicated to francophone cinema in North-America.
Festival
The CINEMANIA French Film Festival in Montreal was established in 1995 and has continued annually ever since. The festival is dedicated solely to quality French-language feature films emanating from France, Belgium, Switzerland, Quebec, Algeria, Morocco, Senegal, and other French-speaking regions. All films screened must be North American, Canadian, or Quebec premieres, and all are subtitled in English. The event takes place every November during a period of 11 days opening on the first Thursday of the month. All films are screened in the Cinéma Impérial, Théâtre Outremont, Cinéma du Parc, Cinéma du Musée and Cinémathèque québécoise in downtown Montreal.
History
The festival was founded by
As young French film critic Guilhem Caillard joined the team in March 2011, CINEMANIA began a collaboration with the Cinémathèque Québécoise, which allows, each year, to welcome a greater number of prestigious guests. This additional location enables the festival to organize retrospectives. According to T'Cha Dunlevy (
Journalist Dunlevy adds: "Not only does Cinemania get local premières of the big movies before they hit theatres — where they’re not always screened with subtitles — but the festival has become a place to catch many independent French-language films that wouldn’t otherwise make it to the big screen here."[6] Renowned actors and actresses, such as Soko and Virginie Efira, attend the event every year.[7]
In 2019, CINEMANIA celebrates its 25th anniversary with brio, recording the highest number of participants in its history with 28 000 spectators and once again reaffirms its commitment to the Francophonie. The French feature films such as Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of A Lady on Fire and Québec’s Sophie Deraspe’s Antigone represent their respective countries in the race for the 2020 Oscars, further enhancing the selection.
In light of the
Program
CINEMANIA's very specific role in the panorama of Montreal and Quebec's cinematographic events is that it is the only francophone film festival devoted solely to presenting quality French-language feature films subtitled in English. In fact, for many of the films screened, the festival is the only avenue of distribution. CINEMANIA is, as a result, considered by many artists, journalists and cinephiles as a unique portal to view French-language films.
CINEMANIA offers cinephiles the opportunity of discovering a wide range of French-language films: masterpieces, innovative films and first feature films by young directors.
CINEMANIA shows approximately 50 feature films, each film screening twice. In order to arrive at their final selection, the Festival programmers view over 120 French-language films each year. The focus is both on established filmmakers and first-time directors, providing a launching pad for up-and-coming talent. Well-known directors whose work appears frequently on CINEMANIA's screen include
Public
CINEMANIA's loyal public keeps growing year after year. After 11 years at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, CINEMANIA moved to the Imperial Cinema to increase its capacity and thus respond to cinephiles' ever growing interest in the festival. The 12th edition saw its attendance increase by 50%, and the 13th edition in 2007 continued this growth. Those successive increases did not diminish the "cine-club" atmosphere of the festival, which is characterized by the interaction of film lovers and artists.
In 2020, as CINEMANIA went online due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the box-office resultats were surprisingly very impressive: the event reached out close to 30 000 spectators everywhere in Canada. Managing Director Guilhem Caillard declared: "One thing is certain, the results of this 26th online edition of CINEMANIA have far exceeded all our expectations. We are stunned by the number of viewers who participated in this edition. For the first time, our festival went out to meet viewers in the privacy of their homes, in the four corners of the province of Quebec and far beyond. CINEMANIA now has new fans in the rest of Canada. This is, I believe, what we must remember about the complex situation we are all facing: the health crisis has exacerbated the need for culture, entertainment, the appetite for a different kind of cinema, the need to discover and defend French-language films."[12]
Related activities
CINEMANIA organizes quality events that challenge and stimulate many cinephiles: master classes, discussion panels, presentation of films by their directors and actors, question and answer sessions after the projections.
Mel Hoppenheim Prix du public
The Festival awards an annual prize, the Mel Hoppenheim Prix du Public, given each year to the most popular film by public ballot.
Over the years, the Mel Hoppenheim Prix du Public went to the following films:
- 1998: Serial Lover — James Huth
- 1999: Girl on the Bridge (La Fille sur le pont) — Patrice Leconte
- 2000: Sentimental Destinies (Les Destinées sentimentales) — Olivier Assayas
- 2001: Once We Grow Up (Quand on sera grand) — Renaud Cohen
- 2002: Yes, But... (Oui, mais...) — Yves Lavandier
- 2003: If I Were a Rich Man (Ah! Si j'étais riche) — Michel Munz and Gérard Bitton
- 2004: Twenty-Five Degrees in Winter (25 degrés en hiver) — Stéphane Vuillet
- 2005: Radu Mihaileanu
- 2006: Gorgeous! (Comme t'y es belle !) — Lisa Azuelos
- 2007: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le Scaphandre et le papillon) — Julian Schnabel
- 2008: Versailles — Pierre Schoeller
- 2009: Radu Mihaileanu
- 2010: Potiche — François Ozon
- 2011: Polisse — Maïwenn
- 2012: Ombline — Stéphane Cazes
- 2013: Violette — Martin Provost
- 2014: Diplomacy — Volker Schlöndorff
- 2015: The Sense of Wonder (Le Goût des merveilles) — Eric Besnard
- 2016: A Kid (Le Fils de Jean) — Philippe Lioret
- 2017: See You Up There (Au revoir là-haut) — Albert Dupontel
- 2018: Sink or Swim (Le grand bain) — Gilles Lellouche
- 2019: Spread Your Wings (Donne-moi des ailes) — Nicolas Vanier
- 2020: Call Me Human (Je m'appelle humain) — Kim O'Bomsawin
- 2021:
- 2022: Close — Lukas Dhont
- 2023: The Successor (Le Successeur) — Xavier Legrand
Audience award for the Best First Feature Film
CINEMANIA presents, since 2012, an additional award dedicated to encouraging talented newcomers of the francophone cinema world. The public will vote for the 13 first-time feature film screened at the festival.
The TFO Audience award went to the following films:
- 2012 : Ombline, directed by Stéphane Cazes
- 2013 : Tonnerre, directed by Guillaume Brac
- 2014 : Number One Fan (Elle l'adore), directed by Jeanne Henry
- 2015 : Journey Through China (Voyage en Chine), directed by Zoltan Mayer
- 2016 : The Dancer (La Danseuse), directed by Stéphanie Di Giusto
Prix Visages de la francophonie TV5
New Award launched in 2017. For the competition, the Programming Committee selects feature films that offer reflections on the
- 2017 : Bloody Milk (Petit paysan), directed by Hubert Charuel
- 2018 : Sofia, directed by Meryem Benm'Barek
- 2019 : Camille, directed by Boris Lojkine
- 2020 : Call Me Human (Je m'appelle humain), directed by Kim O'Bomsawin
Award for the Best Quebec film or coproduction
New Award launched in 2020. With the Quebec film industry experiencing some difficult months in 2020, CINEMANIA wants to extend its solidarity and make a concrete contribution promoting cinema from here. Thus, the festival is particularly pleased and proud to be launching this new award, made possible thanks to the generous support of Michel Trudel, founder of Mel’s Cité du Cinéma and Locations Michel Trudel.[13]
- 2020 : Night of the Kings (La nuit des rois), directed by Philippe Lacôte
AQCC-Nespresso Award for Best Short Film
New Award launched in 2020. The 26 short films were selected with an eye to celebrating diversity and supporting the next generation of filmmakers. Six Francophone countries are represented: Morocco, Belgium, Luxembourg, Senegal, Canada and France. Many of the titles will be making their Canadian premier. The winning filmmaker is selected by a new jury made up of three Quebec film critics and will take home the AQCC-Nespresso Critics Award (a cash prize).[14]
- 2020 : Landgraves, directed by Jean-François Leblanc
See also
- List of French films
- List of French actors
- List of French directors
- List of French-language films
- Culture of France
- Cinema of Quebec
References
- Montreal Gazette, November 1, 2019.
- ^ Duchesne, André (2020-01-28). "Maidy Teitelbaum quitte Cinemania". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 2021-01-18.
- ^ "Brownstein: Cinemania founder Teitelbaum fêted by France". Montreal Gazette. 2017-11-02. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
- ^ "25 years of Cinemania: film fest represents 'what Quebec is, and what Canada is'". montrealgazette. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
- ^ "25 years of Cinemania: film fest represents 'what Quebec is, and what Canada is'". montrealgazette. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
- ^ "25 years of Cinemania: film fest represents 'what Quebec is, and what Canada is'". montrealgazette. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
- ^ Delorme, Isabelle (2018-10-11). "Guilhem Caillard, le Français qui fait tourner le festival Cinemania". Maudits Français (in French). Retrieved 2021-01-18.
- ^ "Montreal's Cinemania film festival translates to virtual realm". montrealgazette. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
- ^ Marchis, Anne de. "LOUIS BÉLANGER: GUEST OF HONOUR". Cinemania festival. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
- ^ Cinemania, Festival. "Cinemania festival". Cinemania festival. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
- ^ "Guilhem Caillard - Mon cinéma québécois en France" (in French). 7 May 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
- ^ Marchis, Anne de. "AN EDITION THAT REFLECTS THE PLURALITY OF FRENCH-LANGUAGE CINEMA". Cinemania festival. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
- ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Arts-. "Je m'appelle humain primé par le festival Cinemania". Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2021-01-18.
- ^ "Cinemania online". Mtltimes.ca. 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2021-01-18.