50th FESTIVAL du NOUVEAU CINEMA
October 6 to 17
A selection of daring short films!
The Festival du nouveau cinema (FNC) has unveiled the short films that will make up the programming of its 50th edition. From October 6 to 17, festival-goers will be able to discover more than 143 short films from roughly thirty countries at the Cinema du Musée and at the Cinémathèque Québécoise. More than ever, the FNC is showcasing emerging talent and established filmmakers whose work has stood out over the past year in the international festival circuit. In addition, spectators will have access to several special events at the Cinémathèque québécoise.
A daring program
The program for this 2021 edition includes, among others: the stop-motion short LOS HUESOS by Chileans Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña which was presented at the Venice Film Festival; the Golden Leopard of the Locarno NEON PHANTOM Festival by Leonardo Martinelli; TOGETHER by Canadian director Albert Shin (Disappearance at Clifton Hill) and FANMI by Carmine Pierre-Dufour and Sandrine Brodeur-Desrosiers, both presented at TIFF in 2021; several titles from the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival including SYCORAX by Lois Patiño and Matías Piñeiro, adaptation of La Tempête by Shakespeare; THE PARENTS ’ROOM by Diego Marcon and TRAIN AGAIN by Peter Tscherkassky; LE BOURREAU CHEZ LUI by Michelle and Uri Kranot, who at FNC presented a master class last year; finally, the public will be able to discover the short film made with nine filmmakers ANTHOLOGIE 2020, conceived of by Michael Yaroshevsky with Glauco Bermudez, Erin Weisgerber, Olivier Godin, Simran Dewan, Isabelle Stachtchenko, Matthew Wolkow, Miryam Charles and Jessica Lee Gagné.
Special events
In addition, the FNC will present several special events at the Cinémathèque québécoise. On Thursday, October 14, the evening will be dedicated to Vidéographe, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. For the occasion, the organization will present two short film programs: the first at 6 p.m. dedicated to Marc Paradis, former programmer at the festival and pioneer of queer video art who died in 2019. Then, at 9 p.m., spectators will be able to see a selection of short films, from the Vidéographe collection, which were previously presented at the FNC. Developed by Luc Bourdon and Karine Boulanger, the program will present outstanding works which have the particularity of exploring the direct relationship with the camera, whether in documentary, performative or intimate mode. The next day, Friday, October 15 at 6 p.m., the FNC will present the short films which were winners of its 49th edition, in the presence of the film teams, offering them as an indoor showcase. Finally, at 9 p.m., the Cannes Film Festival’s Critics’ Week brings itself to the Festival du nouveau cinema: as the latter celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, the parallel section of the Cannes event celebrates its 60th anniversary. For the occasion, the program of this evening – the result of a collaboration between the FNC and the Semaine de la Critique – will be presented at the Cinémathèque québécoise.
The Juries
Three juries will be responsible for awarding the various prizes this year.
The awards ceremony will take place on Wednesday, October 13 at 8 p.m. (by invitation).
International competition
Loup argenté (presented by TFO)
Omar Elhamy, filmmaker and winner of the Grand Prix de la competition nationale in 2020
Liz Plank, author, journalist and columnist
Heather Young, filmmaker and winner of the Grand Prix de la competition nationale in 2018.
National competition
Grand Prix (presented by CineGround)
Florian Fernandez, industry coordinator for Cannes Court Métrage
Laura Rohard, Director of Programming for the Quebec City Film Festival
Louise Rinaldi, programmer
Les nouveaux alchimistes Competition
Prix Dada national (presented by Main Film and l’AQCC)
Prix Dada international
Best Animated Film (presented by TVPaint)
Shelagh Rowan-Legg, writer and filmmaker
Alexandre Blasquez, critic
Elijah Baron, critic
Finally, remember that the short films from the national competition are eligible for the Audience Award presented by SLA Location.
Les Rencontres Pancanadiennes du Cinéma Étudiant is back
Les Rencontres Pancanadiennes du Cinéma Étudiant (RPCÉ) will also be back this year. Presented by Netflix in collaboration with Inis, the RPCÉ will present 29 films, 19 of which are in competition for the 8th edition. An international school is also invited to present its selection: this year it is with the Steve Tisch School of Film and Television Faculty of the Arts of the University of Tel Aviv and the programming is twinned. Like every year, the section is competitive. The jury responsible for awarding the Grand Prix presented by Netflix will be composed of Albéric Aurtenèche, director; filmmaker and programmer Itay Jamshy and Sébastien Merckling, Director of Distribution at SPIRA.
The complete program for the 50th Festival du nouveau cinema will be unveiled on September 28.
