The Festival du nouveau cinéma or FNC (English: ''Festival of New Cinema'') is an annual independent film festival held in

Montreal, Quebec, Canada Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

, featuring independent films from around the world. Over 160,000 people attend each year. One of the oldest film festivals in Canada, it is an Academy Award-qualifying festival for short films.

History

Founded in 1971, the Festival welcomes Québécois, Canadian, and international filmmakers in a friendly atmosphere where exchanges between industry professionals and the grand public is encouraged. Over its history, it has introduced audiences to filmmakers such as

François Girard François Girard (born January 12, 1963) is a French Canadian director and screenwriter from Montreal. Born in Saint-Félicien, Quebec, Girard's career began on the Montreal art video circuit. In 1990, he produced his first feature film, ''Car ...

Atom Egoyan Atom Egoyan (; hy, Աթոմ Եղոյեան, translit=Atom Yeghoyan; born July 19, 1960) is a Canadian filmmaker. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in the 1980s from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave. Egoyan m ...

Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve (; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian filmmaker. He is a four-time recipient of the Canadian Screen Award (formerly Genie Award) for Best Direction, winning for '' Maelström'' in 2001, '' Polytechnique'' in 2009, ''Incendies ...

Guy Maddin Guy Maddin (born February 28, 1956) is a Canadian screenwriter, director, author, cinematographer, and film editor of both features and short films, as well as an installation artist, from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Since completing his first film in ...

Léa Pool Léa Pool C.M. (born 8 September 1950) is a Swiss-Canadian filmmaker who taught film at the Université du Québec à Montréal. She has directed several documentaries and feature films, many of which have won significant awards including the ...

Jim Jarmusch James Robert Jarmusch (; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director and screenwriter. He has been a major proponent of independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films including '' Stranger Than Paradise'' (1984), '' Down by Law'' ( ...

Abbas Kiarostami Abbas Kiarostami ( fa, عباس کیارستمی ; 22 June 1940 – 4 July 2016) was an Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, photographer, and film producer. An active filmmaker from 1970, Kiarostami had been involved in the production of ...

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

Wim Wenders Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders (; born 14 August 1945) is a German filmmaker, playwright, author, and photographer. He is a major figure in New German Cinema. Among many honors, he has received three nominations for the Academy Award for Best Docum ...

Raymond Depardon Raymond Depardon (; born 6 July 1942) is a French photographer, photojournalist and documentary filmmaker. Early life Depardon was born in Villefranche-sur-Saône, France. Photographer Depardon is a mainly self-taught photographer, as he bega ...

Jane Campion Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films ''The Piano'' (1993) and '' The Power of the Dog'' (2021), for which she has received a tot ...

Pedro Almodóvar Pedro Almodóvar Caballero (; (often known simply as Almodóvar) born 25 September 1949) is a Spanish filmmaker. His films are marked by melodrama, irreverent humour, bold colour, glossy décor, quotations from popular culture, and complex narr ...

Wong Kar-wai Wong Kar-wai (born 17 July 1958) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films are characterised by nonlinear narratives, atmospheric music, and vivid cinematography involving bold, saturated colours. A pivotal figure ...

Peter Greenaway Peter Greenaway, (born 5 April 1942) is a Welsh film director, screenwriter and artist. His films are noted for the distinct influence of Renaissance and Baroque painting, and Flemish painting in particular. Common traits in his films are the ...

Chantal Akerman Chantal Anne Akerman (; 6 June 19505 October 2015) was a Belgian film director, screenwriter, artist, and Film studies, film professor at the City College of New York. She is best known for films such as ''Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 108 ...

and

Marguerite Duras Marguerite Germaine Marie Donnadieu (, 4 April 1914 – 3 March 1996), known as Marguerite Duras (), was a French novelist, playwright, screenwriter, essayist, and experimental filmmaker. Her script for the film ''Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) ea ...

Sections

* Compétition internationale highlighting the unique perspectives of the filmmakers who will shape tomorrow's cinema * Compétition nationale, homegrown Canadian cinema * Temps Ø, the wild bunch or bold cinematic rebels and adventurous films * Incontournables, the greatest names in cinema * Les Nouveaux alchimistes, a selection of films pushing the limits, breaking the rules and exploring the boundless creative potential that the medium offers * Panorama international, international feature films * Histoire(s) du cinéma, look-backs on the works that have left their mark * Présentations spéciales, an eclectic section presenting unusual works * FNC Explore, immersive, interactive and virtual reality programmes that are free and open for all * FNC Forum, an industry network incubator * P'tits loups, new cinema for children young and old * Les Rencontres pancanadiennes du cinéma étudiant or RPCE, a national competition of short student films

Prizes

* Louve d'or * Daniel Langlois Innovation Award * Prix d’interprétation *

Fipresci The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...

Prize * Focus Grand Prize * Loup argenté - short film * Grand Prix Focus Short Film * Temps Ø People's Choice Award * Nouveaux alchimistes Prize * Experimentation Award * Dada Award * P'tits loups Award

Important moments

The festival was founded in 1971 by Claude Chamberlan and Dimitri Eipidès. The festival went through several name changes. *1971: ''Festival international du cinéma en 16mm de Montréal'' (Montreal International 16mm Film Festival). *1980: Renamed ''Festival international du nouveau cinéma de Montréal'' (Montreal International Festival of New Cinema) *1984: Renamed ''Festival international du nouveau cinéma et de la vidéo de Montréal'' (Montreal International Festival of New Cinema and Video) *1995: Renamed Nouveau festival international, cinéma, vidéo et nouvelles technologies de Montréal (New Montreal International Festival of Cinema, Video and New Technologies); *1997: Renamed ''Festival international du nouveau cinéma et des nouveaux médias de Montréal'' or ''FCMM'' (Montreal International Festival of New Cinema and New Media) as a result of the merger with the ''Festival international du court métrage de Montréal'' (Montreal International Short Film Festival). *2001: The Festival celebrated its 30th anniversary by offering an extraordinary selection and a commemorative book summarizing the festival's 30-year history. *2004: Adopted the current name ''Festival du nouveau cinéma'' (Festival of New Cinema).

FNC and FIFM

In 2004

Daniel Langlois Daniel Langlois (born 1957 in Jonquière) is the president and founder of the Daniel Langlois Foundation, Ex-Centris, and Media Principia Inc. Daniel Langlois also founded Softimage (company), Softimage Inc., serving as its president and chief t ...

, director of FNC since 1999, left the organization to begin the

Festival International de Films de Montréal Festival International de Films de Montréal (FIFM), also known in English as the New Montreal FilmFest was a film festival held in Montreal in 2005 to focus on Francophone films. Originally intended as an annual event, the festival became mired i ...

(known in English as New Montreal FilmFest), which was initiated and created with the support of SODEC (

Société de développement des entreprises culturelles The Société de Développement des Entreprises Culturelles (SODEC) (English: Society for the Development of Cultural Enterprises) is a Quebec government agency founded in 1983 under the name of Société Générale du Cinéma du Québec (SGCQ) (En ...

) and

Telefilm Canada Telefilm Canada is a Crown corporation reporting to Canada's federal government through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Headquartered in Montreal, Telefilm provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry with four regional offices in V ...

after a dispute between these Canadian government sponsors and the

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; 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 Internat ...

. Langlois initially programmed the

(FIFM; New Montreal FilmFest) to coincide with the Montreal Festival of New Cinema and New Media (FCMM). According to press reports pertaining to the controversy between the

(WFF/FFM) and the

New Montreal FilmFest New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, Langlois planned to merge the two festivals, but failed to do so when the FCMM refused any such merger. The dates for the inaugural

were ultimately changed to avoid conflicting with the dates of the FCMM. In 2005, both the FNC and the New Montreal FilmFest came under new management. In early 2006, the New Montreal FilmFest folded after the failure of its inaugural festival. Both the FNC and the Montreal World Film Festival would continue to exist after the demise of the New Montreal FilmFest.

References

External links

FNC Official Web Site

FCMM: Montreal International Festival of New Cinema and New Media
Fondation Daniel Langlois {{DEFAULTSORT:Festival du nouveau cinema Film festivals in Montreal Film festivals established in 1971