Some of the best films of the year are expected at the FNC. This is the case of Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet, the fascinating trial of a mother accused of murder, which won the prestigious Palme d’Or at the last Cannes Film Festival. Equally memorable is The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer, Grand Prix winner at Cannes, which manages to revolutionize Holocaust film by using all the resources of its art. Sofia Coppola offers with Priscilla a biographical film on the wife of Elvis Presley, Todd Haynes invites Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore in the chilling Bergmanian story May December. Without forgetting Trân Anh Hùng, who opens the festival this Wednesday evening with the succulent La passion by Dodin Bouffant.
Quebec is on a roll with the unveiling of new creations by Louise Archambault (Irena’s Vow), Richard Desjardins (Chip Chip), Chloé Leriche (Soleils Atikamekw) and Robert Morin (Le festin boréal). We definitely won’t want to miss The Happy Days of Chloé Robichaud, where Sophie Desmarais shines as a conductor, and Vampire humanist seeks consenting suicide, the biting first feature film by Ariane Louis-Seize which received the Best Director Award from the Venice Days section of the Mostra and who has fun playing with genres. Viewers who choose a film based on their title will not be able to resist The Hurricane fuck you tabarnak! by Ara Ball, who adapts his cult punk UFO into a long format.
It’s a dream come true to spend the night with all four Mad Max films – including Fury Road in black and white – at the magnificent Imperial Cinema (October 7). The FNC marks the 50th anniversary of Bruce Lee’s death with the Bruceploitation section which includes numerous films, including the legendary Enter the Dragon. Throughout the month of October, actress Larissa Corriveau is offering the installation Human Voices at the Cinémathèque québécoise, which allows you to enter the memory of actress Monique Miller. Not forgetting the free concert on October 5 by the group Flore Laurentienne as part of the Soleils Atikamekw evening.
It will be possible to discover the latest opuses of the great masters of the seventh art, including those of Nanni Moretti (Towards a radiant future), Hirokazu Kore-eda (Monster), Nuri Bilge Ceylan (Dry herbs), Hong Sang-soo (In Our Day), Marco Bellocchio (Kidnapped), Amat Escalante (Perdidos en la noche) or Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (Evil Does Not Exist). And you shouldn’t miss two priceless gems. With Dead Leaves, Aki Kaurismäki comes out of retirement to offer a bittersweet tale that is as enveloping as it is comforting. Then Wim Wenders signs with Perfect Days his first satisfying fiction in ages, wandering through a poetic Tokyo that rocks the heart and soul.
There is nothing better at a festival than making discoveries by choosing a film at random. We can thus come across gems like La chimera, by Alice Rohrwacher, the incredible odyssey of a grave-robbing Orpheus, or Music, by Angela Schanelec, an extraordinary rereading of the myth of Oedipus where we find Alyosha Schneider. Kleber Mendonca Filo signs a love letter to cinemas with his vibrant documentary Retratos Fantasmas, Shin’ya Tsukamoto films the consequences of the Second World War on his painful Shadow of Fire, the atmospheric Here, by Bas Devos, recalls the need to create connections and Cristi Puiu questions the human condition with his colossal MMXX.
There are always many prestigious guests at the FNC. On October 8, we will be able to attend a cross-discussion between Atom Egoyan (Seven Veils) and Chloé Robichaud (Les Jours Heureux), who will talk in particular about classical music. Master classes with filmmakers Bertrand Bonello (The Beast) and Catherine Breillat (L’été été) are also organized on October 12 and 14 to delve into their creative process. A special evening will be held on October 12 around the film The Old Oak. The presentation of Ken Loach’s most recent feature film, which addresses the arrival of Syrian refugees in England, will be followed by testimonies from Montrealers who have experienced exile.
