Quebec City Film Festival () (FCVQ or QCFF) is a film festival held annually in September in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It screens short and feature films and premieres movies from all over the world.
Description Founded in 2011, the Quebec City Film Festival (QCFF) is a non-profit organization that strives to offer film enthusiasts from Quebec and visitors from outside the province and abroad a major film event similar to other iconic international film festivals. It is a renowned and recognised platform that screens regional and international productions of new and original films. The QCFF also supports local and regional emerging artists by providing them with a showcase to present their works that attracts major media exposure.
History Since its inception, every year in the month of September the QCFF presents about 50 international feature films and more than 100 short films. The films represent all cinematographic genres and perspectives from all over the world, attracting an audience of more than 25,000 festival visitors every year. In addition to these works come the artisans that create them. At past events, the QCFF was proud to welcome more than 300 special guests to the festival, including well known filmmakers Jean-Claude Labrecque, Xavier Dolan, Jean-Marc Vallée, Denys Arcand, Christophe Gans, Mike Figgis, and Larry Clark as well as the many actors, writers and producers who also accompany their works at the festival.
The festival was not staged in 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec,Éric Moreault, "Le FCVQ annule son édition 2021". Le Soleil, May 26, 2021. but returned in 2022 with a smaller program than usual.Cédric Bélanger, "Programmation québécoise: 4 rendez-vous au Festival de cinéma de la ville de Québec". Le Journal de Québec, September 7, 2022.
2011 21 September – 2 October 122 films 80 special guests 10 387 festival visitors For its first edition, the QCFF opened with film Jean-Marc Vallée’s film Café de Flore, which was attended by the film's team; The Happiness of Others (Le bonheur des autres), the feature debut by Jean-Philippe Pearson, closed the festival.
2012
13 – 23 September 155 films 75 special guests 24 421 festival visitors Based on a true story, L'Affaire Dumont was presented as the opening film of the second edition of the QCFF and attended by director Podz, producer Nicole Robert and actors that appeared in the film. Filmmaker Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette's Inch'Allah was chosen to close the second festival.
Festival activities were centred around the Dôme (aka the Igloo) in Place d’Youville and became a distinctive feature of the festival. It was open free to the public and hosted several evening parties and VIP events.
2013
18 – 29 September 161 films 88 special guests 25 464 festival visitors For its third edition, Parkland by Peter Landesman, an ensemble film based around the assassination of JFK, was presented to open the festival. The Quebec premiere of Stefan Miljevic’s film Amsterdam was chosen to close the festival.
New for the third year: the creation of the Cinephile Jury, made up entirely of residents of Québec City. The jury awards the most original film among first-time filmmakers. In 2013, the award went to Don Jon, the debut by American actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
2014
18 – 28 September 161 films 105 special guests 23 191 festival visitors Mommy by Xavier Dolan was presented as the opening film and attended by the film's team. The North American premiere of Beauty and the Beast was screened at the awards ceremony and attended by the film's writer and director Christophe Gans.
The usual closing ceremony, which had been held on the last Saturday, is from then on replaced by a gala on the second Wednesday, during which the award ceremony takes place.
Shortly before the festival began, containers were remodelled as mini cinema halls named Ciné Pop-up. A roaming project, they are placed in different locations throughout Québec City. The goal of Ciné Pop-up is to relocate screenings to where residents live so that they can view a selection of short films in their neighbourhoods.
2015
16 – 27 September 217 films 208 special guests 24 839 festival visitors
Paul à Québec by François Bouvier was presented as the opening film: author Michel Rabagliati, producer Karine Vanasse and actors from the film descended on the red carpet of Place d’Youville for the occasion. Philippe Falardeau's film My Internship in Canada was screened at the awards ceremony.
The concert film The Phantom of the Opera (a screening of the Rupert Julian classic from 1925 set to music by an orchestra conducted by Gabriel Thibaudeau) was presented at the Palais Montcalm and featured a Casavant organ.
Ciné Pop-up continued to relocate throughout the city as Place d'Youville was transformed into a large open-air cinema, with screenings that included, among others, the Back to the Future trilogy to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the release of the first film.
2016 14 – 24 September 204 special guests 294 films over 30 000 festival visitors For its sixth edition, the festival opened with Boundaries (French title: Pays) by Chloé Robichaud, with some members of the film's crew attending. Along with the director, actors such as Rémy Girard, Yves Jacques, Macha Grenon, and Emily Van Camp, as well as Quebec cinema artists like Julien Poulin, Marie Eykel, Manon Briand and Rock Demers walked up the red carpet of place D’Youville.
The Palais Montcalm also hosted the North-American premiere of 1:54 by Yan England, screened as the film of the Award ceremony night. The features It's only the End of the World (French title: Juste la fin du monde) by Xavier Dolan and Kiss me like a Lover (French title: Embrasse-moi comme tu m’aimes) by André Forcier, both premiered at the festival and were favorites among the audience, the latter winning the Public's Choice Award for a Feature Film.
For a third year in a row, the Ciné Pop-up also spread around downtown, both before and during the festival, becoming over the years a classic and must-see event.
2017 13 – 23 September 253 special guests 291 films over 45 000 festival visitors
For its 2017 edition, the Festival opened with the world premiere of Cross My Heart, directed by Luc Picard. The filmmaker and members of the casr were in attendance. Barefoot At Dawn by Francis Leclerc screened as the Gala Night Film, and was preceded by the awards ceremony : cast members Roy Dupuis, Justin Leyrolles-Bouchard, Robert Lepage and Marianne Fortier were attending.
Two Film Concerts were hosted at Palais Montcalm. The Passion of Joan of Arc, Dreyer's silent masterpiece of 1928, eas interpreted by the pianist and organist Karol Mossakowski. QCFF also screened Oscar-winning BiRDMAN by Alejandro González Iñárritu, with the soundtrack performed live by its composer, drummer Antonio Sánchez.
Various cultural personalities attended the Festival: Louise Lecavalier, Marc Séguin, Zachary Richard, Cédric Klapisch, and others.
Tributes 2011: Jean-Claude Labrècque and Larry Clark 2012: Alex Gibney 2013: Izabel Grondin and Im Sang-soo 2014: Richard Lavoie, Bruce LaBruce and Alain Resnais 2015: Denys Arcand and Matthew Rankin 2016: Julien Poulin and Rock Demers 2017: George Lazenby
Spokespersons 2014 : Yves Jacques 2015 : François Létourneau
Venues Mostly displayed in the historical centre of Québec City, QCFF made screenings in the following places :
Awards Grand Prize Year Film Director Ref 2012 White Elephant (Elefante Blanco) Pablo Trapero Cédric Bélanger, "Du glamour pour conclure la fête". Le Journal de Montréal, September 22, 2012. 2013 The Broken Circle Breakdown Félix Van Groeningen "FCVQ : un film belge remporte les honneurs". Ici Radio-Canada, September 30, 2013. 2014 20,000 Days on Earth Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard 2015 Necktie Youth Sibs Shongwe-La Mer 2016 Peter and the Farm Tony Stone "Année record pour le Festival de cinéma de la ville de Québec". Ici Radio-Canada, September 25, 2016. Honorable mention: As I Open My Eyes (À peine j'ouvre les yeux) Leyla Bouzid 2017 Sambá Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas Honorable mention: Lucky John Carroll Lynch 2018 A Colony (Une colonie) Geneviève Dulude-De Celles André Duchesne, "Le film québécois Une colonie couronné au FCVQ". La Presse, September 20, 2018. 2019 Kuessipan Myriam Verreault Cédric Bélanger, "FCVQ: le Grand prix au film québécois Kuessipan". Le Journal de Québec, September 19, 2019. 2020 Goddess of the Fireflies (La déesse des mouches à feu) Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette "Le film «La déesse des mouches à feu» couronné au FCVQ". Le Journal de Québec, September 21, 2020. 2024 The Last Meal (Le Dernier repas) Maryse Legagneur Kathleen Lavoie, "Le film Le dernier repas primé au Festival de cinéma de la ville de Québec". Ici Radio-Canada, September 16, 2024.
Public Award, Feature Film Year Film Director Ref 2011 The Artist Michel Hazanavicius Cédric Bélanger, "Le public craque pour The Artist". TVA Nouvelles, October 2, 2011. 2012 All Together (Et si on vivait tous ensemble?) Stéphane Robelin 2013 The Broken Circle Breakdown Félix Van Groeningen 2014 Girls on the Hunt (Un film de chasse et de filles) Julie Lambert 2015 Family Demolition (La démolition familiale) Patrick Damien Ruby Pratka, "Local films shine at FCVQ" . Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph, September 30, 2015. 2016 Kiss Me Like a Lover (Embrasse-moi comme tu m'aimes) André Forcier 2017 Cross My Heart (Les rois mongols) Luc Picard 2018 Pauline Julien, Intimate and Political (Pauline Julien : intime et politique) Pascale Ferland André Duchesne, "Le documentaire sur Pauline Julien primé au FCVQ", La Presse, September 24, 2018. 2019 Living 100 MPH (Vivre à 100 milles à l'heure) Louis Bélanger Cédric Bélanger, "FCVQ: Le public craque pour Vivre à 100 milles à l’heure". Le Journal de Québec, September 23, 2019. 2020 Wandering: A Rohingya Story (Errance sans retour) Mélanie Carrier, Olivier Higgins "ERRANCE SANS RETOUR de Mélanie Carrier et Olivier Higgins – présenté aux RIDM du 26 novembre au 2 décembre". L'Initiative, November 26, 2020.
Public Award, Canadian Film Year Film Director Ref 2012 El Huaso Carlo Guillermo Proto 2013 Absences Carole Laganière The Effect (L'Effet) Jocelyn Langlois 2014 La vie selon Morgue Jean Fontaine 2015 Paul à Québec François Bouvier 2016 The Gardener Sébastien Chabot 2017 Baggage (Bagages) Paul Tom 2018 A Colony (Une colonie) Geneviève Dulude-De Celles
Best First Film (Prix Jury Cinéphile/AQCC Award) Year Film Director Ref 2013 Don Jon Joseph Gordon-Levitt 2014 Girls on the Hunt (Un film de chasse et de filles) Julie Lambert 2015 Family Demolition (La démolition familiale) Patrick Damien 2016 As I Open My Eyes (À peine j'ouvre les yeux) Leyla Bouzid Honorable mention: Old Stone Johnny Ma Honorable mention: Sutak Mirlan Abdykalykov 2017 The Nobodies (Los Nadie) Juan Sebastián Mesa Honorable mention: Susan Bartsch: On Top Anthony Caronna, Alexander Smith 2018 Smuggling Hendrix Marios Piperides 2019 Mad Dog and the Butcher (Les Derniers vilains) Thomas Rinfret 2020 Nafi's Father (Baamum Nafi) Mamadou Dia
Collegiate Jury Award Year Film Director Ref 2015 Necktie Youth Sibs Shongwe-La Mer 2016 Manor (Manoir) Martin Fournier, Pier-Luc Latulippe Honorable mention: Tempëte Samuel Collardey 2017 Swagger Olivier Babinet 2018 Five Fingers for Marseilles Michael Matthews 2019 Why Don’t You Just Die! Kirill Sokolov Honorable mention: For Sama Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts 2020 Call Me Human (Je m'appelle humain) Kim O'Bomsawin Sweet Thing Alexandre Rockwell
Grand Jury Prize, Canadian Short Film