The 37th annual Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma, presented by Hydro-Québec in collaboration with Radio-Canada, will soon light up the city with our movies – 300 films, including 80 premières – and more than 30 free events. Patrick Huard, the festival’s spokesperson for the second year in a row, joins the Rendez-vous team in inviting artists and the public to celebrate Quebec cinema from February 20 to March 2. There’s no denying it – our movies are FREAKIN’ GREAT!
“The Rendez-vous team is as professional and passionate as ever, and this year they’ve put together an outstanding program, reflecting a particularly prolific and strong year, thanks in part to a talented new generation of filmmakers who are eager to tell us captivating stories. With a recurring coming-of-age theme and a desire to tell different stories, the festival presents a unique opportunity to meet our most acclaimed artists and enjoy their work,” said Ségolène Roederer and Jasmine Caron, the festival’s interim director and programming director respectively.
The screenings and activities of the Rendez-vous will take place at Théâtre Maisonneuve in Place des Arts, the Cinémathèque québécoise, Cineplex Odeon Quartier Latin, the Salon orange at Centre Pierre-Péladeau, and the BAnQ Vieux-Montréal. The all-new Buvette Super Écran, located in Norman McLaren Hall at the Cinémathèque québécoise, will be the ideal place to socialize with artists and fellow cinephiles. The Buvette will also be the venue for round tables, happy hours, spirited discussions, and the festival’s lively evening receptions and parties. Just upstairs on the Cinémathèque’s second floor, Espace Rendez-vous will host the RVQC’s digital art section.
LES SOIRÉES TAPIS BLEU
Avant qu’on explose, directed by Rémi St-Michel and written by Eric K. Boulianne, will open the festivities with its world premiere at the Grande Soirée d’ouverture Tapis bleu, presented by Bell, on February 20. The film stars Étienne Galloy, Will Murphy, Madani Tall, Julianne Côté, Monia Chokri, Brigitte Poupart, Antoine Olivier Pilon and Rose-Marie Perreault. The opening event, co-presented by MELS, will take place at Théâtre Maisonneuve in Place des Arts. Feature-length documentaries figure prominently in the rest of the SOIRÉES TAPIS BLEU 2019 series: Sur les toits Havane by Pedro Ruiz, La fille du cratère by Nadine Beaudet and Danic Champoux and Le vieil âge et l’espérance by Fernand Dansereau will all have their world premiere as part of the series, as will the fictional feature Nous sommes Gold by Éric Morin, starring Monia Chokri, Emmanuel Schwartz, Patrick Hivon and Catherine De Léan. Lastly, the debut feature by Loïc Darses, the documentary La fin des terres, will close the Tapis bleu series and the festival with a gala world premiere on March 2, co-presented by Cineplex.
FICTIONAL FEATURES
This year’s Rendez-vous will screen a total of 50 FICTIONAL FEATURES, presented by Hydro-Québec. The program is crafted to reflect the year in Quebec cinema: eclectic, with a mix of popular hits and bold independent films. The premieres include À nous l’éternité by Paul Barbeau, Appiness by Eli Batalion, Cassy by Noël Mitrani and Le coupable by Onur Karaman. Festivalgoers will also have the chance to see or rewatch the year’s big hits on the big screen, with Quebec’s top talent in attendance.
TWO SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS are also included in the program. A film concert version of the documentary Des histoires inventées by Jean-Marc E.Roy promises to be a special evening in which film and music play off each other, with Gabriel Godbout-Castonguay and Jérémi Roy performing original music composed for the film by Morti Viventear. The film is a portrait of a towering figure in Quebec cinema, director André Forcier. Expédition ElectrOn : rencontre avec Caroline Côté et Samuel Ostiguy is a conversation with documentarist and adventurer Côté, who, prompted by Hydro-Québec, followed electricity’s route from the north to the city: 2000 km in under 80 days, from Natashquan to Montreal!
DOCUMENTARIES
The Rendez-vous will screen 79 DOCUMENTARIES including 27 GRAND PREMIERES – including short, medium and feature-length films – presented by Télé-Québec and La Fabrique culturelle. The program will include the first films Chronique de La nuit de la poésie 1980 by Jean-Claude Labrecque and Jean-Pierre Masse, Rouge Gorge by Marie-Pascale Dubé, Entre mer et Mur by Catherine Veaux-Logeat, Les fils by Manon Cousin, Sans maman by Marie-France Guerrette and Tenir tête by Mathieu Arsenault.The RVQC will also provide opportunities for audiences to see big-screen showings of documentaries that had an impact last year, such as Premières armes by Jean-François Caissy, New Memories by the late Michka Saäl, La part du diable by Luc Bourdon, L’autre Rio by Émilie B. Guérette, Avec un sourire, la révolution by Alexandre Chartrand, Des armes et nousby Lysanne Thibodeau, and Pauline Julien, intime et politique by Pascale Ferland.
AN EXCELLENT YEAR FOR SHORT FILMS
With 182 FILMS, including 50 PREMIÈRES, 45 FILMS IN COMPETITION and 28 PROGRAMS, the RVQC is the world’s biggest showcase for Quebec’s short films in every genre. This year’s premieres include Lili en angle mort by Julie Prieur, Les années Lumières by Sarianne Cormier, Si ce n’est pas de l’amour by Luiza Cocora, Survivants by Quentin Castellano, Pow-Wow by William Mazzoleni-Valin and La porte by Anik Jean, starring Rendez-vous spokesperson Patrick Huard. Several well-received shorts from the last year will also be part of the excellent 2019 line-up. They include Brotherhood by Meryam Joobeur, Beurre noir by Jimmy G. Pettigrew, Fauve by Jérémy Comte and Marguerite by Marianne Farley, both contenders for the Oscar for best fictional short, Milk by Santiago Menghini, Mon Boy by Sarah Pellerin and Une forteresse by Miryam Charles. The festival’s spotlight on shorts also helps audiences discover the next generation, thanks to a total of 27 STUDENT FILMS. The festival’s short-film program is presented by Royal Photo.
The RVQC will declare its unbridled love for short films with an evening dedicated to the medium, LA ST-VALENTIN DU COURT MÉTRAGE, on February 26. Hosted by programmer Sarianne Cormier, the event, presented by Trou du diable, will invite guests to pay tribute to short-film artists and celebrate this vital part of Quebec’s film industry.
DIGITAL ART
Festivalgoers will also have the chance to see some original made-in-Quebec digital art from February 21 to March 2 in the Espace Rendez-vous. The 2019 program features 6 VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCES and 3 INTERACTIVE INSTALLATIONS. The virtual reality works include The Coast by Benoît Danis, Claudine Matte, Edern Talhouet and Romain Tavenard; Isle of Dogs: Behind the Scenes by Félix & Paul Studios and Le grand froid by Éric Denis and Samuel Matteau. The installations are Écrans by Julien Champagne; Intemporelles by Madelaine Bruneau, Charli Dagenais-Quesnel, Béatrice Desmarais, Jennifer Despot and Hugo Déziel; Je t’ai raconté by the Phi Centre and Confabulation; and Roxham by Michel Huneault.
AWARDS AT RVQC 2019
As well as recognizing talent and encouraging artists to persevere in the film world, the RVQC AWARDS have a tangible impact on the winning filmmakers’ careers. A total of 11 awards will be presented on February 28, with the winners selected from the films in the Rendez-vous’ official competition. The prestigious Prix Gilles-Carle, presented by Bell, recognizing a first or second fictional feature, and the Prix Pierre et Yolande Perrault, presented by Hydro-Québec, for the best first or second documentary feature, are among the awards to be handed out at the ceremony, emceed by Marie-Louise Arsenault. The jury for 2019 is composed of 15 professionals from Quebec’s cultural and francophone communities, including 10 women active in the film industry. New this year: the Prix Jury en herbe, a special prize juried by three young cinephiles (ages 10 to 12), for the best short film screened during the Rendez-vous popcorn.
IN CONVERSATION WITH THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE OUR MOVIES
Festivalgoers are sure to enjoy the 4 MASTER CLASSES on this year’s schedule – a compelling series of talks given by the festival’s special guests. Her work can be seen on Montreal stages, and around the world with Cirque du Soleil. Her concert production-design work (Mister Vallaire, Patrick Watson) demonstrates her talent for large-scale mise en scène. A complete artist, Brigitte Poupart will hold a not-to-be-missed master class. The winner of the Iris for Best Original Music for the film Les Affamés, the talented artist and musician, aka Peter Henry Phillip, has recent credits for several Quebec-made short and feature films. Anyone interested in the making of movie music should come hear Pilou, who’ll tear himself away from his studio long enough to give a fascinating master class, presented in collaboration with the SPACQ. With 13 feature films to her credit, cinematographer Sara Misharawill reveal her creative process through exclusive images from two of the films she’s worked on: the gorgeous filmed black and white of Tu dors Nicole and the majestic landscapes of La grande noirceur. For director Émile Gaudreault, comedy is serious business. His ninth comedy, Menteur,is on the way; in this session, the director will explain how he makes the audience the centre of his creative process. This master class is presented by the ARRQ.
NOT-TO-BE-MISSED COCKTAIL-HOUR EVENTS
The Rendez-vous also includes a festive program to get each evening off to a great start. Starting at 5 p.m., festivalgoers are invited to the Buvette Super Écran in the Cinémathèque québécoise for a series of gatherings, discussions, trivia games and get-togethers with the artists who make our movies. There will be THREE ROUND TABLES on hot topics and issues in our film industry. InLE PARTAGE INTERCULTUREL, MISSION POSSIBLE?, Kim O’Bomsawin, Marie-Pascale Dubé and Charlotte Qamaniq will discuss cultural appropriation in film and, with moderator Helen Faradji, take a closer look at Indigenous films and collaborations that seem to have succeeded. Why, despite plenty of talent and resources, are so few genre films made in Quebec? Helen Faradji will explore that question in CINÉMA DE GENRE, UNE QUESTION DE CASH? withPatrick Huard, Anouk Whissel and Rock Demers. New this year, these two round tables will be recorded for the ICI Radio-Canada Première’s Plein écran podcast. The episodes will be available on Radio-Canada.ca and through the ICI Radio-Canada Première’s app. Founded in Montreal in February 1999, just as new technologies were starting to democratize filmmaking, the KINO movement, which has since spread around the world, is celebrating its 20thanniversary. Manon Dumais will discuss Kino’s past and especially future with Jarrett Mann, Christian Laurence, Rémi Fréchette and Isabelle Giroux. TheRendez-vous willalso host the traditional reception bringing together filmmakers in the running for the Prix collégial du cinéma québécois (PCCQ) and the students. This crucial step for the young artists before the big Quebec-wide deliberation will be emceed by Marie-Louise Arsenault. The event will also be livestreamed on Quebec Cinéma’s Facebook page to allow students from 52 cegeps across the province to participate in the conversation. The PCCQ is sponsored by Québec Cinéma. Presented by Vrak, the new series Clash looks back on a key moment for six young adults, ages 19 to 25, who are patients in a rehabilitation centre following a hospital stay. The VRAK5 À 7 WITH THE ACTORS FROM CLASH will present an exclusive episode with Ludivine Reding, Alexandre Nachi, Félix-Antoine Cantin and Alex Godbout, who will share their stories and secrets.
This year’s GRAND RENDEZ-VOUS RADIO-CANADA will focus on the 25thanniversary of La petite vie. First, the RVQC will invite the public to test its knowledge of the long-running series with the QUIZ LA PETITE VIE, emceed by Jean-Sébastien Girard. The evening will continue with a READING OF SCENES FROM LA PETITE VIE with Félix Beaulieu-Duchesneau, Jean-Carl Boucher, Sonia Cordeau, Sharon Ibgui, Debbie Lynch-White,Catherine Paquin-Béchard and Mathieu Séguin led by Charles Dauphinais. The renewed cast will read selected scripts from memorable scenes, selected by Claude Meunier. The CONCOURS DE MUSIQUE À L’IMAGE, an international composition competition presented by UQAM‘s DESS program in film music, turns five this year. The finalists’ work will be performed by a string quartet. It’s a prestigious opportunity to make music shine on-screen and promote our talented local artists.
EVENINGS AT THE RENDEZ-VOUS
PRÉLUDE: LA BEAUTÉ DU MONDE will offer festivalgoers a privileged look at the unique world of filmmaker André Forcier. With the artists and professionals behind the film, Forcier will reveal his 15thfeature and share some anecdotes and exclusive sneak peeks. TWO READINGS will also be part of this year’s Soirées des Rendez-vous. More than 20 years after joining our silver-screen family, Les Boys will come to life on stage with a reading by the masters of wacky comedy, LES APPENDICES. Join Bob, Méo, Ti-Guy, Fern, Popol and their cult lines in the cozy confines of Brasserie Chez Stan with Dave Bélisle, Sonia Cordeau, Julien Corriveau, Dominic Montplaisir and Jean-François Provençal. LES BOYS DES APPENDICES is presented by Le Trou du diable. How would you go about revisiting the most significant films of the last two years in a free-wheeling, fun, wild way? With object theatre, of course! Combining reading, manipulations, videos and projections, this reading by Louis Tremblay is sure to be a memorable experience. Presented by Super Écran, in collaboration with La Tête de pioche. COURTS CRITIQUES is both an exhibition platform for socially aware independent shorts and a series of multidisciplinary artistic events. The works embody a certain idea of what freedom and social conscience mean in cinema and honour the fine tradition of Quebec-made cinéma direct and political films. LES MURS DU DÉSORDRE is an interdisciplinary project about the state-imposed barriers separating the disciplines of documentary cinema, video installations, painting and geopolitical research. The six short documentaries produced through the project will be screened in a cabaret setting followed by a talk and live music with Élisabeth Vallet, Martin Tétreault and Érick d’Orion. The webdoc Les murs du désordre, including all of the project’s interdisciplinary content, will also be launched during the event. The FONDS TV5 has been supporting up-and-coming artists for ten years. The TV5 team invites festivalgoers to celebrate a decade of digital creation with a special reception hosted by Mara Joly, with Zoé Pelchat, Marie-Claude Dicaire, Jean-François Dubé, Sébastien Landry, Laurence “Baz” Morais and Marie-Claude Fournier. A chance to look back on some highlights of the Fonds TV5’s work and look ahead to the fund’s future – and to get up and dance to the irresistible music of Voyage Funktastique.
NIGHTS AT THE RENDEZ-VOUS
To end each night of the festival on a high note, festivalgoers are invited to keep the party going with nine festive nights presented by Polysleep. Already a popular fixture of the Nuits, the cabaret organized by the one and only Jean-Sébastien Girard is back! The host will declare his deep love for our cinema, along with guests Pierre Lebeau, Nathalie Petrowski, Maripier Morin and Adib Alkhalidey, with the participation of MC Gilles. This third edition of JEAN-SÉBASTIEN REÇOIT is presented in collaboration with Steam Whistle. From the “great RVQC classics” file, the gang from UN SHOW LA NUIT! is also back and ready for a daring, no-holds-barred, euphemism-free look at culture and current affairs. Suzie Bouchard, Mathieu Bouillon, Catherine Brunet, Patrick Dupuis, Jean-Philippe Durand and Pascale Renaud-Hébert have invited Anne-Élisabeth Bossé for a series of interviews, sketches and stand-up routines accompanied by the music of La Famille Ouellette. Promising! À tous ceux qui ne me lisent pas, a film inspired by the life and work of poet Yves Boisvert, is the inspiration for the CABARET POÉTIQUE. Hosted by Melyssa Elmer and Sébastien Dulude, the event includes readings, performances and live music with Simon Beaulieu, Charlotte Aubin, Martin Dubreuil, Céline Bonnier, Joséphine Bacon, Brigitte Poupart and Yan Giroux, among others, with the music of Joss Tellier, François Plante and Robbie Kuster. Poetry in the spotlight! The webseries is quickly growing in popularity, and LA GRANDE FÊTE DES WEBSÉRIES will celebrate the genre and the people who make it. Festivalgoers will get exclusive sneak previews of episodes of La règle de 3, La maison des folles, Et puis Amélie est partie, Teodore pas de H, Cœur d’or, Fourchette,Le Killing and Trafic, making for an intense evening in the company of host Arnaud Soly. As for music, Dany Placard invites audiences to enjoy some distortion along with his intimate and incisive lyrics at the Buvette Super Écran. Fiction will overtake reality for one of the Nuits: after the premiere of Nous sommes Gold, Emmanuel Schwartz, Monia Chokri and cohorts will take the stage to rock out to the great songs of Philippe B, a unique moment presented by Parce Que Films. Lastly, this 37th RVQC concludes with an exciting Nuit blanche featuring a hip-hop party dedicated to the newest generation of filmmakers.
YOUTHFUL RENDEZ-VOUS
On February 24 starting at 9:30 a.m., the RENDEZ-VOUS POPCORN invites young and not-so-young movie lovers to a crazy day of movies, games, creativity and new friendships – and it’s all FREE! The whole family is invited to enjoy a host of different activities, including a special screening of Nelly et Simon: Mission Yéti by Pierre Greco and Nancy Florence Savard. A special program of the very best in Quebec-made youth shorts is also in store. Children are invited to talk with the hosts between films. Young people will also get a chance to enjoy the animated tales of Iris la raconteuse in the TENTE GRÔA; be the hero of an animated film through a stop-motion workshop called JE M’ANIME; spend a curious moment where the different cinema professions meet and come to life with the clown duo of MADAME PELLICULE AND DUL-CINÉ; create a movie character with the ATELIER DE FABRICATION DE MARIONNETTES and make a movie without a camera with the ATELIER DE DESSIN SUR PELLICULE 16MM. Also, the Lab Québec Cinéma will meet the writer of L’Académie, Sarah-Maude Beauchesne, and her guests, director Catherine Therrien and actor Rémi Goulet, for a wide-ranging discussion about youth-oriented creation in Quebec. The Rendez-vous popcorn is presented by Hydro-Québec, in collaboration with Lassonde.
Young movie lovers will have a special place at this year’s RVQC, with a number of special screenings, workshops, gatherings and discussions with artists. The Lab Québec Cinéma invites young people to meet inspiring professionals at screenings of Bagages, a documentary by Paul Tom and Mélissa Lefebvre, and of a compilation of short films. And, for the seventh year, the Rendez-vous will collaborate with Mediafilm’s CinÉcole project to present two works sure to pique young viewers’ interest: La disparition des lucioles by Sébastien Pilote and Une colonie by Geneviève Dulude-De Celles. This initiative will also be part of the Rendez-vous in Drummondville, where young audiences will benefit from the presence of the Lab and its guests. And, in collaboration with the Direction du classement des films and the business services office of the ministère de la Culture et des Communications, Lab Québec Cinéma will host an image education workshop designed to sensitize young people to the nature of different kinds of content.
CIVIC RENDEZ-VOUS
Is there any better language-learning aid than film? Québec Cinéma’s team strongly believes that our films are a powerful educational tool, as well as being strong promoters of social cohesion. That’s why this year’s festival includes a new series of screenings intended for new Canadians. Monsieur Lazhar by Philippe Falardeau, 1987 by Ricardo Trogi, La Passion d’Augustine by Léa Pool, La Bolduc by François Bouvier and a special program of short films directed by women will be screened for audiences of recently arrived French learners, to help them learn more about their new society and to meet guest artists.
La Maison du Père, a proud partner of the Rendez-vous for five years and counting, will host a special screening at the festival. Le trip à trois will be shown with actors Martin Matte, Mélissa Désormaux-Poulin and director Nicolas Monettein attendance. This much-appreciated initiative gives users of the Maison du Père the chance to meet the people who make our movies.
RENDEZ-VOUS PRO
An essential event for industry professionals, the Rendez-vous Pro’s mission is to provide a forum for reflecting on the major issues affecting our industry. In addition to showcasing Quebec’s talent, the Rendez-vous Pro is an exceptional market for Quebec-made films seeking international distribution. This year’s 7thedition, presented in collaboration with the National Bank, will take place from February 27 to March 1.The complete program will be announced mid-February.
LES RENDEZ-VOUS CHEZ VOUS
From February 21 to March 2, viewers everywhere in Quebec can enjoy a selection of films from the 37thRVQC wherever and whenever they please. Several features will be available on-demand to Bell Fibe subscribers, while a special program of shorts will be streamed on ICI TOU.TV to the delight of the province’s cinephiles. To get even more of a feel for the festival, several events will be streamed whether live or on delay – a chance to experience the RVQC at your own pace, on your favourite platform.
Les RENDEZ-VOUS CHEZ VOUS is presented by Bell, in collaboration with ICI TOU.TV. This program is also made possible by the support of Telefilm Canada and the Talent Fund.
TICKETS NOW ON SALE!
Festivalgoers are now welcome to view the 2019 program online, and in print at the Cinémathèque québécoise. It is also possible to make your own schedule on the RVQC website by creating an account or linking to your Facebook account.
Tickets for the 37thannual Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma are now on sale, without service charges, at quebeccinema.ca.
Tickets are also available from lavitrine.com.
Stay up to date on the 37th annual Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma:
#RVQC
Facebook|Twitter| Instagram| Vimeo| YouTube| quebeccinema.ca
FESTIVAL INFO | 514-292-5853
