40th FNC — A HISTORIC RECORD-BREAKING SUCCESS
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40th FNC Closing Party, Headquarters, October 22, 2011 / photo: Gunther Gamper
The 40th Festival du nouveau cinéma, the most successful to date, wrapped up on a high note last Saturday night with the screening of Monsieur Lazhar. Our special anniversary edition sold more tickets than ever and drew record crowds to its films and events!
Over 11 days, festivalgoers were treated to 292 films from 45 different countries, including recent works by such big names as Lars von Trier and Pedro Almodovar and some delightful discoveries, especially in the International Selection, where the quality of films was particularly impressive this year. Quebec films really stood out, with first features by Ivan Grbovic (Romeo Eleven) and Anne Émond (Nuit #1) both winning awards.
Among the highlights of the 40th edition was the opening film Declaration of War, with director/actress Valérie Donzelli and her producer Édouard Weil in attendance. And no one will soon forget Wim Wenders’s appearance to present Pina, his beautiful 3D tribute to renowned choreographer Pina Bausch, an event that dazzled the large crowd of film and dance fans. Surviving Progress, the hard-hitting documentary by Mathieu Roy and Harold Crooks that opened the Focus section, was as memorable as Adrian Wills’s Touch The Sky, an account of Guy Laliberté’s trip into space. Audiences hugely enjoyed our tributes to Amos Gitai, Asghar Fahardi, Raul Ruiz, Michel Boujut, Peter Falk, Georges Lévesque, George Kuchar and Marthe Turgeon.
Not to be outdone, the Temps Ø section welcomed Japanese mega-star Megumi Kagurazaka, in town to present Guilty of Romance, as well as Sion Sono and Romain Gavras, who won the Temps Ø People’s Choice award for Our Day Will Come. New media professionals flocked to FNC Pro for three days of lectures, round tables and gatherings, while FNC Lab was a hub for young and demanding audiences drawn to its installations, performances, films and interactive works. Not to mention the Focus short film screenings, which were sold out.
The FNC fêted its 40th in the following venues: Excentris, the Imperial Cinema (Centre Sandra & Leo Kolber/Salle Lucie & André Chagnon), Cinéma Parallèle, Cineplex Odeon Quartier Latin, the Cinémathèque québécoise, the NFB Cinema and the Festival headquarters at the Agora Hydro-Québec in UQÀM’s Cœur des Sciences.
The Festival du nouveau cinéma is presented by Quebecor in partnership with the Daniel Langlois Foundation, and is made possible by funding from SODEC, Telefilm Canada, the Ministère du Tourisme, the Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire, the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine, the City of Montréal, the Canada Council for the Arts, Tourisme Montréal, the Conseil des arts de Montréal and Canadian Heritage. The Festival also thanks its major partner, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), its official sponsors and all the distributors for their support.
The 41st edition of the FNC will take place from October 10 to 21, 2012.
