No less than three Quebec films have so far been selected for the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival, which will run from February 16 to 26. The works of Montrealers Zoé Pelchat, Carol Nguyen and Aziz Zoromba were chosen from among the 31 short films in the competition for the Generation section, dedicated to young audiences.
Gabbie the hills by Zoé Pelchat, notably starring Emmanuel Bilodeau and Catherine De Léan, will have its world premiere as part of the 73e Berlinale. “We’re flipping! says the 33-year-old filmmaker. I’m on one high since it was announced to me last week. We will be three Quebecers at Génération. We really have a beautiful cinema in Quebec. It’s really the fun when it shines! »
We already knew that nanitic, by Montrealer Carol Nguyen, was selected in Berlin. This is the first short fiction film by the filmmaker of No Crying at the Dinner Table and was named to Canada’s Top Ten at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where it premiered in September. “The film uses ants and the structure of their colony as a metaphor,” explains the filmmaker, who is interested in transmission and the sacrifices made by immigrants for the benefit of subsequent generations.
Simo, by Montrealer Aziz Zoromba, was also presented at the most recent TIFF, where it won the award for best Canadian short film. It also won the Audience Award at the Festival du nouveau cinema. This is the tale of a sibling rivalry that takes a dangerous turn when Simo infiltrates his older brother’s video game channel live.
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Simo by Aziz Zoromba
Zoé Pelchat, revealed by the web series Domino — Prize for the best digital series at the Canneseries Festival —, will go to an international festival for the first time with one of his films. “My short film Moon had been selected in Clermont-Ferrand, but I could not go in person to any festival because of the pandemic. »
Gabbie the hills is the story of a 13-year-old Montreal teenager (Lou Thompson) who visits her father who lives in the Magdalen Islands every summer. “She went through puberty and she is unrecognizable. It’s a light film, not at all darkabout puberty and how those around you react to it”, explains Zoé Pelchat, who was able to shoot her film in September in the Magdalen Islands, just before the passage of the hurricane. Fiona.
Other Quebec films could be added to the selection of the 73e Berlinale. The official competition films will be unveiled on Monday, January 23.