MOST MONTREAL FESTIVALS showcase local talent alongside big name imports, presenting agonizing choices: to check out the art being produced in our midst, or stand in line with tourists for the international headliners. Thankfully, there’s the Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois, a comprehensive menu of some 350 new Quebec films, about a third of them shown for the first time. For anyone even faintly curious about the state of this eminently healthy art from, the Rendez-vous is a mid-winter must. And the 27th edition includes a substantial olive branch to English-speaking filmgoers.
Cinema du Parc is hosting the series, A Taste of Rendez-vous, some 10 feature films and a handful of shorts either in English or with English subtitles. There’s a fair amount of buzz around Adam’s Wall. Written and directed by Michael Mackenzie (last seen as author of the exceptional play, The Baroness and the Pig, circa last spring at Imago Theatre), it’s about a young Jewish guy who falls in love with a Lebanese girl.
Ditto Frederico Hidalgo’s Imitation (in English and Spanish). A Mexican woman with a painful secret tracks down her husband who has fled to Montreal. The Mexican theme is carried further in the series Focus on Mexico, with six features and documentaries playing here as part of an exchange with the Guadalajara International Film Festival. Mexican filmmaker Arturo Ripstein and screenwriter Paz Alicia Garciadiego are giving workshops (in English) as part of the Rendez-vous’ master class series. Those interested in the business end may want to take in the talk by veteran American producer Christine Vachon, author of two books on independent filmmaking.
In the subtitled category, Lyne Charlebois’ acclaimed feature Borderline is definitely worth checking out. Based on the novels of Marie-Sissi Labreche, this edgy coming of age story follows the travails of a sexy young woman who shuttles back and forth between a tortured home life and an affair with a married man. Charlebois is a rising star, one of the few women in an impressive new generation of Quebec directors.
The festival opens Wednesday night at the Cinema Imperial with Erik Canuel’s new feature film Cadavres, with Patrick Huard and Julie Le Breton. Described in the press kit as “a dark and cynical comedy” but some who’ve seen it apply the word horror. Canuel is best known as the director of the phenomenally popular Bon Cop Bad Cop. It remains to be seen whether his legion of fans will follow him down a dark corridor.
In addition to many enticing hours of screen time, the Rendez-vous offers a full panoply of parties, workshops, exhibitions and free events. The ten-day fest takes place in several locations, including the Cinémathèque Québécoise, the NFB Cinema, Cinema du Parc, Segal Centre and the Grande Bibliothèque. For a complete schedule of events and ticket information, cheque their website at www.rvcq.com.
Photo: Actress Suzanne Clément, spokesperson for the Rendez-vous 2009.
