Presented by TV5
Sandales blanche by Christian Faure,
opening night film and North American premiere
The Franco-Algerian film Sandales blancs by Christian Faure will kick off this edition, which promises innumerable surprises and discoveries. This year, like last year when it was the first film event to take place via a free online viewing platform, the festival will be accessible on TV5’s mobile and connected television applications. Around 100 films will once again be accessible free of charge for a period of 48 hours (starting at midnight) throughout Canada and, during the last weekend, international audiences will be able to enjoy the screenings. Many other films will be available on the festival website and on the Cinéma Moderne website.
This year, 51 countries (33 from Africa including, for the first time Namibia and Equatorial Guinea) are represented through productions or co-productions with a total number of 159 films: 146 in competition (including 21 feature films and 59 short films fiction, 56 documentaries, 10 animated films) and 13 out of competition. Among these works we can highlight 5 feature films Grandmother 19 and Soviet Secrets by Mozambican João Ribeiro, Autumn Landscapes by Algerian director Merzak Allouache, Terre des braves by Tim Huebschle, the first Namibian film presented at Vues d’Afrique, Le chemin du paradis, a Morocco/Netherlands co-production by Wahid Sanouji and Les oubliées des Grands Lacs by Burundian Joseph Bitamba as well as 5 short films Da Yie by Ghanaian Anthony Nti, The apple of discord by Burkinabé Fayçal Léonce Soura, Mutation by Reda Lahmouid, Souvenir, souvenir animated film by Bastien Dubois and Trois feuilles, an animated film from Haiti by Éléonore Coyette.
Always eagerly awaited, the Regards d´ici section will feature 20 films, co-produced with Canada, including 12 documentaries, including one animated.
Apart from these titles, 10 web and television series are added to this rich and diverse programming. The General Regroupement des Senegalais du Canada (RGSC) is pleased to be associated with this edition and will award for the first time the prize to the best television series. The RGSC is committed to culture and its promotion by wishing, like Vues D’Afrique, to bring communities together through its dissemination.
« Agir pour l’égalité » -Another addition this year: the Center for International Studies and Cooperation – CECI will award a Gender Equality award from amidst the entire festival program.
On Wednesday April 14, an evening will be devoted to the International Organization of La Francophonie with the presentation of the Malagasy film Étoile du matin by Nantenaina Lova, which benefited from the Cinema Aid Fund. On Friday April 16, a “Morocco Day” will be organized with the assistance and support of the Moroccan Cultural Center of Montreal. Webinars will be organized throughout the festival and will allow interaction between the public and the filmmakers whose films are scheduled. Schedules will be specified later.
Vues D’Afrique is enhancing the experience with, in particular, the television channel available on the festival’s website or Facebook page. Broadcast online, the Vues d’Afrique TV will offer diversified digital events, Filmed at Studio SRV, in St Hubert, with in particular Éric’s JT, a daily show hosted by Éric M’Boua, which was part of the virtual closing ceremony of the 2020 festival. Éric’s newscast will transport Vues D’Afrique and its audience into the colourful and sometimes crazy universe of Éric M’Boua, during the 9 days of the festival. Trained at INIS and host of the main large-scale African cultural events in Montreal (Vues d’Afrique, Ivory Coast), has succeeded in demonstrating his talent by becoming one of the most prominent radio and TV hosts in French-speaking Africa.
Through this enriched experience, Vues d’Afrique embodies more than ever the dynamic of digital transformation of cultural events in Quebec. All this while using its role of revealing talents, in order to share the wealth of film production in African and Creole countries.
In addition to the Vues d’Afrique International Film Festival, there are many other activities to discover such as conferences, Food and Film Agreements, Ciné-spectales au Clair de Lune, Resilience for our seniors as well as youth programs such as Matinées Ciné-Jeunesse, 100H Chrono, Regards Croisés, Goût et couleurs and les Semaines de l’audiovisuel.
