This year marks a symbolic double anniversary for the French-speaking film festival Cinemania. The organization, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, also begins its tenth edition on Tuesday under the general and artistic direction of Guilhem Caillard. Since 2014, this Frenchman has propelled the once very modest festival to the rank of the most popular cultural events in the metropolis.
“Last year, we finally crossed the barrier of 100,000 entries,” rejoices the ambitious director. This is, among other things, because we have increased the number of films we present. In 1995, ten films were shown in four days. By my first year on the job, it had become 38 films in 10 days. Today, we proudly offer 120 films in 11 days, and we have no intention of slowing down. »
Guilhem Caillard points out, however, that he does not measure the success of his festival by the number of films it programs. His greatest pride remains having “de-hexagonalized” the event, he says. “When I joined Cinemania, we already identified ourselves as a French-speaking cinema event, but we only presented French films. We are now raising awareness among the Quebec public about Belgian, Swiss and Luxembourg cinema, but also about the Tunisian or Algerian seventh art. »
Dusting
This is why, for five years, Cinemania has offered each year a special selection focused on a particular French-speaking country. This time, to “echo the origins of the festival and celebrate the new generation of French filmmakers”, France is in the spotlight, explains Mr. Caillard.
“French cinema has really dusted itself off recently,” he adds. The industry is not only opening up to new female voices, racialized people and sexual diversity, but it is also training young talents who are now able to present their first feature films at the Cannes Film Festival. »
The artistic director is particularly proud to have selected Twenty godsfirst feature film by Louise Courvoisier, Youth Prize in the Un certain regard section at the last Cannes Film Festival. While French cinema is opening up more and more to its remote regions, this film shot with non-professional actors depicts the alienation of a group of young farmers in the Jura.
Cinemania also presents Regards sur le nouveau cinema Corsican, a program of three films by well-established French filmmakers, reflecting the history and current political issues of the Mediterranean island. Among them, In his imageby Thierry de Peretti, selected for the last Quinzaine des filmmakers at the Cannes Festival, tells the “romantic epic” of a photojournalist with a Corsican independence activist. “A magnificent film,” underlines Guilhem Caillard.
Distinguished guests
The event thus focuses on both more cutting-edge offerings and flagship titles which contribute to its growing popularity. Guilhem Caillard takes full responsibility for it. “It’s by bringing in very famous figures like Franck Dubosc (A bear in the Jura) et Tahar Rahim (Mr Aznavour) that we then manage to discover more left-field French-speaking cinema. »
According to him, the distinguished guests also promote the success of the festival among young people. Before he took office, Cinemania was known for attracting an aging audience, especially fond of popular French comedies. “Ten years ago, 4% of spectators were under 30,” underlines Guilhem Caillard. Last year, we crossed the 20% mark. It annoys me when people say that young people don’t go to the cinema, you just have to go and find them, like everyone else. »
The director’s numerous initiatives aimed at promoting Cinemania, including the creation of partnerships with French-speaking cultural delegations from around the world, as well as with other Montreal festivals, have been praised by the granting organizations.
“We have experienced the best progression of all festivals in terms of public funding,” he says. In 2014, we only had one grant of $2,000 from the Conseil des arts de Montréal. And this year, we are receiving $150,000 from SODEC, with the Quebec government contributing a quarter of our budget. »
Contexte favorable
At the same time, the organization benefits from a political-cultural context that is favorable to it. While exchanges between Quebec and France have never been so important, the public — mainly Quebecois, of course, but also including a number of French expatriates — is becoming “increasingly diverse,” observes Mr. Caillard.
“We also have access to a larger pool of films, while international co-productions between French-speaking countries are increasing,” he says. Following this trend, Shepherdsby Sophie Deraspe, presented at the opening, is a Quebec film shot entirely in France, with French actors. “This brilliant story,” he explains, “completely embodies our desire to bring together the French-speaking cultures of the world. »
This is also what motivates the director to stay in post after all these years, even if he says he is “more tired, like the entire cultural sector, since the pandemic”. Not knowing how many more years he could stay at the helm of the event, Guilhem Caillard believes he has “still a lot of work to do to make the French-speaking world shine, whether at Cinemania or elsewhere”.
