Montreal World Film Festival

The Montreal World Film Festival (MWFF; French: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto International Film Festival is North America's only accredited non-competitive festival). The public festival, which was founded in 1977 as a replacement for the defunct Montreal International Film Festival (1960–68), is held annually in late August in the city of Montreal in Quebec.[1] Unlike the Toronto International Film Festival, which has a greater focus on Canadian and other North American films, the Montreal World Film Festival has a larger diversity of films from all over the world.[2] The festival was cancelled in 2019.

Montreal World Film Festival
LocationMontreal, Quebec, Canada
Founded1977
Film titles400+
Hosted byMontreal World Film Festival Group
LanguageInternational
Websitewww.ffm-montreal.org

In 2022, former festival president Serge Losique announced plans to revive the festival as the Global Montreal Film Festival, with a 2022 edition featuring free screenings of a selection of films that had previously screened at FFM, leading to a full revival of the festival in 2023.[3]

Festival

Programmes

The World Film Festival is organised in various sections:

  • World Competition (features and shorts)
  • First Films World Competition (features)
  • Out of Competition (features)
  • Focus on World Cinema (features and Shorts)
  • Documentaries of the World (features, medium-length films, shorts)
  • Tributes
  • Cinema Under the Stars
  • Student Film Festival (Canadian and international shorts)
  • Chinese films (permanent from 2017)[4]

Juries

Prior to the beginning of each event, the Festival's board of directors appoints the juries who hold sole responsibility for choosing which films will receive the blessing of a WFF award. Jurors are chosen from a wide range of international artists, based on their body of work and respect from their peers.

Awards

Competition

  • Grand Prix des Amériques
  • Special Grand Prix of the jury
  • Best Director
  • Best Actress
  • Best Actor
  • Best Screenplay
  • Best Artistic Contribution
  • Innovation Award
  • Zenith Award for The Best First Fiction Feature Film, (Golden, Silver and Bronze)[5]
  • Short Films (1st Prize and Jury Prize)

In addition the festival-going public votes for the films they liked best in different categories:

  • People's Choice Award
  • Award for the Most Popular Canadian Film
  • Glauber Rocha Award for the Best Film from Latin America
  • Best Documentary Film Award
  • Best Canadian Short Film Award.

Grand Prix des Amériques winners

YearFilmOriginal TitleDirectorCountry
1978LigabueSalvatore NocitaFrance / Italy
19791+1=3 [de]Heidi GenéeWest Germany
1980The Stunt ManRichard RushUnited States
FontamaraCarlo LizzaniItaly
1981The ChosenJeremy KaganUnited States
1982Time for RevengeTiempo de revanchaAdolfo AristarainArgentina
Brimstone and TreacleRichard LoncraineUnited Kingdom
1983The Go MastersMikan no taikyokuJi-shun Duan & Jun'ya Satô & Shu'an LiuJapan / China
1984The NorthEl NorteGregory NavaUnited States / United Kingdom
1985Our FatherPadre nuestroFrancisco RegueiroSpain
1986Betty Blue37°2 le matinJean-Jacques BeineixFrance
1987The Kid BrotherKennyClaude GagnonJapan / United States / Canada
1988The ReaderLa lectriceMichel DevilleFrance
1989Freedom Is ParadiseS.E.R. - Svoboda eto raiSergey BodrovSoviet Union
1990Fallen from HeavenCaídos del cieloFrancisco J. LombardiPeru / Spain
1991SalmonberriesPercy AdlonGermany
1992The Dark Side of the HeartEl lado oscuro del corazónEliseo SubielaArgentina / Canada
1993BetrayalTrahirRadu MihaileanuFrance / Switzerland / Spain / Romania
1994Once Were WarriorsLee TamahoriNew Zealand
1995GeorgiaUlu GrosbardUnited States / France
1996Different for GirlsRichard SpenceUnited Kingdom / France
1997Children of HeavenBacheha-Ye asemanMajid MajidiIran
1998The QuarryMarion HänselBelgium / France / Netherlands / Spain
Full MoonVollmondFredi M. MurerSwitzerland / Germany / France
1999Color of ParadiseRang-e khodaMajid MajidiIran
2000The Taste of OthersLe goût des autresAgnès JaouiFrance
InnocencePaul CoxAustralia / Belgium
2001RainBaranMajid MajidiIran
AbandonedTorzókÁrpád SopsitsHungary
2002The Best Day of My LifeIl più bel giorno della mia vitaCristina ComenciniItaly / United Kingdom
2003The CordonKordonGoran MarkovicYugoslavia
2004The Syrian BrideHa-Kala Ha-SuritEran RiklisFrance / Germany / Israel
2005Off ScreenKleisterleePieter KuijpersNetherlands / Belgium
2006A Long WalkNagai sanpoEiji OkudaJapan
The Greatest Love of AllO Maior Amor do MundoCarlos DieguesBrazil
2007Ben XNic BalthazarBelgium / Netherlands
A SecretUn secretClaude MillerFrance
2008DeparturesOkuribitoYōjirō TakitaJapan
2009FreedomKorkoroTony GatlifFrance
2010OxygenAdemHans van NuffelBelgium / Netherlands
2011Come as You AreHasta la VistaGeoffrey EnthovenBelgium
2012Where the Fire BurnsAteşin Düştüğü Yerİsmail GüneşTurkey
2013Life Feels GoodChce sie zycMaciej PieprzycaPoland
2014Perfect ObedienceObediencia perfectaLuis UrquizaMexico
2015Mad LoveFou d'amourPhilippe RamosFrance
2016The ConstitutionUstav Republike HrvatskeRajko GrlićCroatia
2017And Suddenly the DawnY de pronto el amancerSilvio CaiozziChile
2018CurtizTamás Yvan TopolánszkyHungary

Golden Zenith winners for The Best Feature Film in competition First Films World Competition

YearFilmOriginal TitleDirectorCountry
1989Queen of HeartsQueen of HeartsJon AmielGreat Britain
1990Lost SpringtimePrintemps perduAlain MazarsFrance
Time of the ServantsCas sluhuIrena PavlaskovaCzechoslovakia
1991Benjamin's WomanLa Mujer de BenjaminCarlos CarreraMexico
NorthNordXavier BeauvoisFrance
1992Little SharksKleine HaieSonke WortmannGermany
1993BetrayalTrahirRadu MihaileanuRomania / France
1994Everynight ... EverynightEverynight... EverynightAlkinos TsilimidosAustralia
1995Cross My Heart and Hope to DieTi kniver i hjertetMarius HolstNorway
Manneken PisManneken PisFrank Van PasselBelgium
1996Welcome HomeOkaeriMakoto ShinozakiJapan
1997Gypsy LoreRomani kris - CigánytörvényBence GyöngyössyGermany / Hungary
19982 Seconds2 secondesManon BriandCanada
1999Juan, I Forgot, I Don't RememberDel Olvido al no me acuerdoJuan Carlos RulfoMexico
2000Daughters of the SunDakhtaran-e khorshidMariam ShahriarIran
2002Various PositionsVarious PositionsOri KowarskyCanada
2003I Always Wanted to Be a SaintJ'ai toujours voulu être une sainteGeneviève MerschLuxembourg / Belgium
2004The MagicianEl magoJaime AparicioMexico
2005The Blossoming of Maximo OliverosAng pagdadalaga ni Maximo OliverosAuraeus SolitoPhilippines
2006More Than Anything in the WorldMás que a nada en el mundoAndrés León Becker, Javier SolarMexico
2007The Wooden BoxLa cajaJuan Carlos FalcónSpain / Portugal
2008For a Moment, FreedomEin augenblick, freiheitArash T. RiahiAustria / France
2009You Will Be MineJe te mangeraiSophie LaloyFrance
2010Liquid LoveAmore liquidoMario Luca CattaneoItaly
2011In Our NameIn Our NameBrian WelshUnited Kingdom
2012CasadentroCasadentroJoanna LombardiPeru
2013The Long Way HomeEve Dönüs: Sarikamis 1915Alphan EseliTurkey
2014GonzálezGonzález: falsos profetas]Christian Díaz PardoMexico
2015The FuneralChuyiQi WangChina
2016A Father's WillAtanyn kereeziBakyt Mukul, Dastan Zhapar UuluKyrgyzstan
2017The ReturnDolaondaChul HeoSouth Korea
2018The Gazelle's DanceEl Baile de la GacelaIván Porras MéndelezCosta Rica / Mexico

History

The stated goal of the Montreal World Film Festival (Montreal International Film Festival) is to:

encourage cultural diversity and understanding between nations, to foster the cinema of all continents by stimulating the development of quality cinema, to promote filmmakers and innovative works, to discover and encourage new talents, and to promote meetings between cinema professionals from around the world.[6]

The president of the Montreal World Film Festival (WFF) is Serge Losique; its vice-president is Danièle Cauchard.[7] Losique's management has been controversial. The WFF lost the sponsorship of its previous government cultural funders, SODEC and Telefilm Canada as a result of disagreements with Losique in 2004. Subsequently, these two funding agencies announced that they would support a new international film festival, called the New Montreal FilmFest (FIFM), to be managed by Spectra Entertainment and headed by Daniel Langlois (of SoftImage and Ex-Centris and the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma). After the inaugural edition of that new festival was unsuccessful, it was abandoned early in 2006. As of July 2007, Losique's lawsuits against the funding agencies were dropped, paving the way for a restoration of government funding.[8]

Impact

According to a survey by Léger Marketing:[9]

  • Approximately 385,000 attended the 2008 World Film Festival. Of these, 323,352 (84%) were local filmgoers and 61,591 (16%) were out-of-town visitors.
  • Among visitors, 27% were less than 35 years old, 34% were 35 to 54 years old and 39% were more than 54 years old.
  • During their stay in the greater Montreal area, visitors attracted here by the Festival spent an average of $921.60. Visitors from outside the province spent on average twice as much as visitors from Quebec, and this money was spent specifically within the framework of their attendance at the Festival.
  • Tourist spending generated by visitors to the Montreal World Film Festival is estimated at $21 million.

Controversy

In 2005, Losique first announced and later withdrew the film Karla from the WFF after the principal sponsor of the festival, Air Canada, threatened to withdraw its sponsorship of the festival if that film were included. The film — about Karla Homolka, a young woman who was convicted of manslaughter and who served twelve years in prison for her part in the kidnapping, sex-enslavement, rapes and murders of teenage girls, including her own sister, in a case said to involve ephebophilia — was controversial in Canada, with many calling for its boycott throughout the country.[10]

In 2015 a group of employees claimed they were not paid. [11]

In 2016 many of the employees resigned citing poor leadership and financial uncertainty amongst other issues.[12] In an interview with CTV News, Gazette entertainment columnist Bill Brownstein referred to Losique as having a "Napoleonic complex" and not "playing well with the other children" resulting in government and sponsors withdrawing their funding support. [13]

In 2019, the WFF announced that it is cancelling the 43rd edition of the event, leaving behind speculations about its later continuation.[14]

See also

Notes

  1. Matthew Hays and Martin Siberok, "Cinema has been 'abused horrifically'". Archived 2017-01-13 at the Wayback Machine The Globe and Mail, September 04, 2000.
  2. "TIFF-MWFF Filmfest fisticuffs, Montreal against Toronto". nationalpost.com. Archived from the original on 18 August 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  3. T'Cha Dunlevy, "Montreal's beleaguered Festival des films du monde is back, kind of". Montreal Gazette, August 24, 2022.
  4. Xu, Fan (20 April 2017). "Montreal festival makes more space for Chinese cinema". China Daily.
  5. AWARDS OF THE WORLD FILM FESTIVAL – Montréal 2012 Archived January 20, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  6. Information from the home page. Cf. the "Manifesto" Archived October 16, 2006, at the Wayback Machine of the organization for its perspective and goals in the context of its account of its history.
  7. See "contact" links at the official website.
  8. "Losique makes peace with Telefilm, SODEC". playbackmag.com.
  9. "Attendance and economic benefits of the mwff". Festival du Film de Montreal. March 2008.
  10. See "Canadian Distributors to Release Homolka Film." Archived 2006-01-13 at the Wayback Machine CBC News 10 Jan. 2006, accessed 31 Aug. 2006.
  11. "Employees at Serge Losique's World Film Festival complain of non-payment - CBC News". cbc.ca. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016.
  12. "Montreal film festival employees resign en masse - CBC News". cbc.ca. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016.
  13. "End of the World Film Fest?". Montreal. Archived from the original on 30 August 2016.
  14. "Montreal World Film Festival abruptly cancelled weeks before opening". cbc.ca. 22 July 2019.

References

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