The Rendez-vous du cinema quebecois, Montreal's annual celebration of homegrown film, is set to kick off next week with the premiere of director Alexis Durand-Brault's thriller Ma fille, mon ange and will wind down with a screening of Panache, a documentary by Andre-Line Beauparlant looking at the world of caribou hunters.
The all-Quebecois festival will screen 250 films in total, including 34 features and 47 documentaries. The fest will also feature many other activities, notably art exhibitions, master classes with film professionals, and loads of parties.
The Rendez-vous runs Feb. 15 to 25 at several downtown cinemas, but Ma fille, mon ange, which stars Karine Vanasse and Michel Cote, will screen on Monday, three days before the event officially begins. That's because distributor Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm had already chosen that date for the premiere of the film, which will then open commercially Feb.
16.
The fest, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, has always showcased the best of the past year in Quebec cinema, and this year's edition is no exception. Most of the major Quebec flicks from the past 12 months will unspool at the event, including Congorama, Un dimanche a Kigali, Cheech, Romeo et Juliette, La Vie secrete des gens heureux, and box-office champ Bon Cop, Bad Cop.
But the Rendez-vous will also host the world premieres of a number of local productions. These include Montreal filmmaker Mary Ellen Davis's Territories, a documentary about Canadian photojournalist Larry Towell; Posthumous Pickle Party, a look at the defunct St. Laurent Blvd.
store Simcha's Grocery; and Nos vies privees, director Denis Cote's first feature since the award-winning Les Etats nordiques.
There will be 5-a-7 get-togethers most days at the Cinematheque quebecoise bistro, where moviegoers can rub shoulders with film folks. Highlights include a rendez-vous with actor Remy Girard Feb.
22 during which he will talk shop with directors George Mihalka and Charles Biname, and the Made in Quebec 5-a-7 Feb. 23, a panel on the state of English cinema in Quebec with, among others, Bon Cop producer Kevin Tierney, The Street director Daniel Cross, and actor Mark Camacho.
The Cinematheque bistro will also be the site of the nightly Soirees Bistro, parties mixing film, music and dancing.
On Feb. 19, street-kid-turned-filmmaker Roach will host a salute to filmmaking on the street and there will be a Bon Cop, Bad Cop bash Feb. 23 with DJs Plastik Patrick and Frigid spinning tunes in both of our official languages.
The 5-a-7s and the Soirees Bistro are free and open to the public. It will cost you $8 to attend the master classes with film pros like Denise Robert (Feb. 15 at 2 p.
m.), Francois Girard (Feb. 18 at 2 p.
m.), and French composer Eric Neveux (Feb. 23 at 2 p.
m.). These sessions are also at the Cinematheque quebecoise.
Ticket for RVCQ screenings and other events are on sale via Admission (514-790-1245 or www.admission.com).
Once the festival begins Feb. 15, tickets will also be available at the Cinematheque quebecoise box office, 335 de Maisonneuve Blvd. E.
In the hour prior to each screening, tickets will only be available at the cinema where the film is playing. The Rendez-vous website is www.rvcq.
com.
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