Cinéfranco is an annual

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upon ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada, which presents a weeklong program of both Canadian and international

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

films.

History

The festival was established in 1997 by Marcelle Lean, a former chair of the Ontario Film Development Corporation, and was staged for the first time in February 1998."Festival opens a door to French film". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', February 27, 1998. Lean remained the event's executive director as of 2015. Unlike larger events such as the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...

, all films throughout the week were screened in a single theatre venue."Bringing more than l'amour to the English". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', March 26, 2010. To establish broader audience appeal beyond the city's francophone community alone, all films were screened with

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

subtitles. Separately from the main festival, an annual youth program of films for children and teenagers is also staged each year. The separate youth program was launched for the first time in 2007. The festival presented an annual award, the

Radio-Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

Audience Award, to the film voted by festival attendees as the best film in that year's program.

TFO TFO is a Canadian French language educational television channel and media organization serving the province of Ontario. It is owned by the Ontario French-language Educational Communications Authority (OTELFO), a Crown corporation owned by the ...

also formerly sponsored an award for the most popular film in the youth program. In 2015, Lean told ''

L'Express de Toronto ''L'Express'', formerly ''L'Express de Toronto'', is a French-language weekly newspaper, published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The paper concentrates primarily on local and regional news for Franco-Ontarians in the Greater Toronto Area and Centra ...

'' that the festival was in financial trouble and may be forced to cease operations if it could not renegotiate its operational support and sponsorship agreements."Cinéfranco pourrait disparaître"
''

'', June 9, 2015. The main festival was initially cancelled in 2016,"Cinefranco makes a belated return..."
''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'', April 15, 2016. although the youth program was still staged;"Cinefranco makes a comeback"
''

'', October 27, 2016. instead,

Tournée Québec Cinéma The Tournée Québec Cinéma is an annual touring film festival, organized by Québec Cinéma to promote and distribute French language films from Quebec in cities in English Canada where such films would not ordinarily receive theatrical distribut ...

, a program of

Québec Cinéma Québec Cinéma is a Canadian organization based in Quebec, whose mission is to promote and develop the Cinema of Quebec. The organization's programs include the Prix Iris, the annual film awards for Quebec films; the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma, ...

which presents a touring minifestival of Quebec films in various locations across Canada, added an event in Toronto to its schedule. The event was later revived, however, with a smaller-scale Cinéfranco presented in October 2016 at the Alliance Française de Toronto.

Audience Award

* 2009: ''

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

'',

Cédric Klapisch Cédric Klapisch ( ; born 4 September 1961) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. Life and career Klapisch was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine. He is from a Jewish family; his maternal grandparents were deported to ...

* 2010: ''

Female Agents ''Female Agents'' (french: Les Femmes de l'ombre) is a 2008 French historical drama film directed by Jean-Paul Salomé and starring Sophie Marceau, Julie Depardieu, Marie Gillain, Déborah François, and Moritz Bleibtreu. Written by Salomé and Lau ...

(Les Femmes de l'ombre)'',

Jean-Paul Salomé Jean-Paul Salomé (born 14 September 1960) is a French director and screenwriter. Filmography External links * {{DEFAULTSORT:Salome, Jean-Paul 1960 births Living people Film directors from Paris French male screenwriters French ...

* 2011: ''

Bacon on the Side ''Bacon on the Side'' (french: Il reste du jambon?; ) is a French romantic comedy film, released in 2010.Anne Depétrini Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

* 2012: ''

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(Les Hommes libres)'',

Ismaël Ferroukhi Ismaël Ferroukhi (born 26 June 1962) is a French- Moroccan film director and screenwriter. Ferroukhi was born in Kenitra. He gained exposure with his 1992 short film ''L'Exposé'', which won the Kodak Prize at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. Foll ...

* 2013: '' What's in a Name? (Le Prénom)'', Matthieu Delaporte and

Alexandre de La Patellière Alexandre may refer to: * Alexandre (given name) * Alexandre (surname) * Alexandre (film) See also * Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom o ...

* 2014: '' The Gilded Cage (La Cage dorée)'',

Ruben Alves Ruben Alves (born 9 January 1980) is a French-Portuguese actor, screenwriter, and director. He is best known for '' The Gilded Cage'' which he wrote and directed. Biography Alves was born the son of Portuguese guest workers in Paris. At 20, he ...

* 2015: '' Once in a Lifetime (Les Héritiers)'',

Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar (born 26 January 1963) is a French film director, producer and screenwriter. She is most noted for her 2016 film ''Heaven Will Wait (Le Ciel attendra)'', for which she was a nominee for the Lumières Award for Best Sc ...

* 2016-2017: ''no award presented'' * 2018: ''

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

'',

Ricardo Trogi Ricardo Trogi (born March 25, 1970) is a Canadian filmmaker, director and actor. Career Trogi was born in Quebec City, Quebec. His first two films, ''Québec-Montréal'', about seven twenty-something travellers driving between the two cities, and ...

TFO Prize for Best Youth Film

*2009: ''

The Necessities of Life ''The Necessities of Life'' (french: Ce qu'il faut pour vivre) is a 2008 Canadian drama film directed by Benoît Pilon and starring Natar Ungalaaq, Éveline Gélinas and Paul-André Brasseur. Told in both French and Inuktitut, the film is about a ...

'' (''Ce qu'il faut pour vivre''),

Benoît Pilon Benoît Pilon (born July 27, 1962) is a francophone Canadian director and screenwriter particularly noted for his innovative films and documentaries on the human condition. He is also the co-founder of ''"Les Films de l'autre" productions'', which ...

*2010: ''

Little Nicholas ''Little Nicholas'' (french: Le Petit Nicolas), also known as ''Petit Nicolas'' (UK), is a 2009 French-Belgian family comedy film directed by Laurent Tirard, who co-wrote with Grégoire Vigneron and Alain Chabat. It is based on a series of children ...

'' (''Le Petit Nicolas''),

Laurent Tirard Laurent Tirard (born 18 February 1967) is a French film director and screenwriter. Life and career Laurent Tirard grew up admiring American films, such as those by Steven Spielberg. He studied film making at New York University, worked as a scr ...

*2011: ''

Trouble at Timpetill ''Trouble at Timpetill'' (french: Les Enfants de Timpelbach) is a 2008 French fantasy adventure film written and directed by Nicolas Bary, based on the novel of the same name by Henry Winterfeld. The film won the TFO Prize for Best Youth Film at t ...

'' (''Les Enfants de Timpelbach''),

Nicolas Bary Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

*2012: '' War of the Buttons'', Yann Samuel

References

External links

Cinéfranco
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cinefranco Film festivals in Toronto 1997 establishments in Ontario Film festivals established in 1997 Franco-Ontarian organizations Children's film festivals in Canada