Since its inception, the International Film Festival in Abitibi-Témiscamingue has attracted attention. While the 40e edition begins this Saturday, with the presentation in Quebec premiere of Everything went well, by François Ozon, Press takes stock with Jacques Matte, one of the three founders of a festival well rooted in the cultural landscape of Quebec.
It still needed a certain nerve. In the early 1980s, three young film buffs, Louis Dallaire, Jacques Matte and Guy Parent, set out to create a film festival, which they hoped would be large, in the heart of the Abitibi region, more than 600 km away. northwest of Montreal. Their objective ? Present the best films in the world while giving pride of place to local creation. The opening film of the very first edition, in 1982, was Fitzcarraldo, by Werner Herzog, then presented – what a feat! – as a North American premiere. During the same opening night, two short films directed by Abitibiens, 24K by Yves Fortin and Fire fly, by Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie, were also screened.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE INTERNATIONAL CINEMA FESTIVAL IN ABITIBI-TÉMISCAMINGUE
Guy Parent, Jacques Matte and Louis Dallaire founded the Festival du cinéma international en Abitibi-Témiscamingue in 1982.
“We were fortunate to have the attention of the Montreal media from the start, because Hydro-Québec, which has always supported the festival, organized a trip to James Bay in the wake of the festival for guests and visitors. journalists. With LG2 tours being very popular around this time, everyone went! », Jacques Matte recalls during an interview with Press.
Two hours from New York!
The president of the festival recalls that four decades ago, the liveliness of the cultural sector outside major urban centers was not the same as it is today. Without much means, the founders nevertheless had the ambition to leave an imprint, to give visibility to their region, without really knowing how to go about it. Then, a mining company argued in its corporate promotions that Abitibi was two hours from New York…
This gave us the idea of highlighting the peculiarities of the region. We started showing guests around the mines who were so happy they were.
Jacques Matte
“We also took them to the forest, to see the lakes. Claude Lelouch was introduced to pheasant hunting with Jean-Claude Labrecque and Jean-Claude Lauzon in Témiscamingue. We wanted to present ourselves to the world as we are, with pride. ”
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE INTERNATIONAL CINEMA FESTIVAL IN ABITIBI-TÉMISCAMINGUE
Claude Lelouch was introduced to pheasant hunting under the watchful eye of the late Jean-Claude Lauzon.
Quickly benefiting from the support of renowned filmmakers – a self-portrait by Gilles Carle, ardent defender of the festival, also featured on the poster for this anniversary edition – the festival thus saw its reputation expand abroad. , thanks to the welcome given to distinguished guests, one of the most eminent of course being Serge Gainsbourg, who came in 1989 to present his film Stan the flasher. Of the passage of the man with the head of cabbage, there remains in particular a famous declaration: “The height of snobbery is to go to Rouanda.” [c’est ainsi qu’il l’avait prononcé] rather than in Cannes, Venice or Berlin. ”
The same trio
Forty years after the creation of the International Film Festival in Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the trio of founders is still at work, a rather unusual – and rare – fact in the world of cultural events.
POSTER PROVIDED BY THE INTERNATIONAL CINEMA FESTIVAL IN ABITIBI-TÉMISCAMINGUE
“We weren’t really friends at the start, but we met by chance, talking about cinema,” explains the man who is about to leave the management of the Théâtre du Cuivre in Rouyn-Noranda, while continuing to ensure the smooth running of the FCIAT with its associates.
Everything has always worked well between us. We all take care of the programming, but we each have our own tasks because the logistics are still quite heavy, if only in terms of transporting the guests.
Jacques Matte
What about the future? What will happen to this festival when, eventually, it will no longer be run by the same people?
“We talk about it sometimes,” says Jacques Matte. But right now we’re still fit and just as passionate. I am convinced that this festival will live for at least 100 years! Because the cinema is changing, however, it will undoubtedly be different. Louis, Guy and I are from the same generation, and it is interesting to see how young people see the future of cinema and the festival. They are very present, as spectators, and we have also always wanted to offer them a choice space for their creations. It’s essential. Above all, we don’t want to remain an old man’s business! ”
The 40e Festival du cinéma international en Abitibi-Témiscamingue takes place in Rouyn-Noranda from October 30 to November 4.