49th Montreal Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (FNC)
A hybrid edition: online and in venues
From October 7 to 18, 2020
The Montreal Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (FNC), presented by Québecor, is pleased to announce that its 49th edition will bring festivalgoers together online as well as in person! As the city’s first festival to move back into physical venues, the FNC looks forward to seeing you from October 7 to 18, 2020.
The FNC, the largest general-interest international film festival in Quebec and the oldest in Canada, is known for its boundary-pushing quality programming. Discovery is the watchword of this festive event for film buffs and the general public alike. Through the year’s best shorts, features and new media works, our focus on the NOUVEAU is threefold: new creators, new approaches and new technologies.
In these exceptional circumstances, our rich, diversified lineup can be experienced online thanks to the Festival Scope platform together with Shift72, host of the Cannes Film Market, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the Oscars) and SXSW. By going digital, we can reach new audiences beyond geographic boundaries, which aligns perfectly with the FNC’s primary mission: making national and international auteur cinema more accessible. And the digital aspect is ingrained in the DNA of the festival, which has always been open to new filmmaking trends. The current situation turns out to be yet another opportunity to explore new avenues in technology and innovation.
We all know that discovering a work on the big screen surrounded by other people is a unique and treasured experience, so the FNC is also delighted to be able to offer festivalgoers some major physical screenings this fall, all the while following social distancing and public health guidelines. The whole team is hard at work, with surprise announcements in store all summer long. The full lineup will be unveiled in late September.
In the midst of a crisis that has slammed the film industry, the FNC is eager to maintain an active role in the community not only by presenting works but also by supporting creators from Quebec and Canada. This year, through its FNC Forum professional component, the Festival is launching two calls for targeted projects to stimulate the industry and support projects at different stages: the First Cut Lab FNC Montréal for projects in post-production and the Pitch premières œuvres for projects in development.
First Cut Lab FNC Montréal presented by Netflix
Created by First Cut Lab, which has supported over 20 projects around the world, the brand-new First Cut Lab FNC Montréalpresented by Netflix is a support program geared toward Canadian feature films at the editing stage. The selected projects will be virtually supported by international industry professionals (creative producers, festival programmers, sales agents, etc.) as well as an editing consultant. The primary goal is to use the full artistic potential of the selected first cuts to help them get sold, selected for festivals and presented to audiences.
Thanks to this new initiative, the Montreal Festival du Nouveau Cinéma is pleased to be able to support directors whose films were stuck at the post-production stage due to the COVID-19 crisis. – Nicolas Girard Deltruc, FNC General Director
Pitch premières œuvres presented by Netflix
FNC Forum is pleased to organize the Pitch premières œuvres presented by Netflix, an event geared toward stimulating the progress of first feature-length and medium-length Canadian films at the development stage. After a virtual series of pitches before a jury this fall, a $10,000 grant will be awarded by Netflix. By connecting project developers with key industry decision-makers, the event aspires to financially and creatively support projects at their development stage.
