The sixth edition of the Plein (s) Ecran (s) short film festival returns this year with a beefy lineup of 41 short films to watch for free and – new – on an additional platform.
In fact, the festival, since its inception, has taken place on Facebook and Instagram. But the organizers decided to add a platform: theirs! From January 12 to 23, the festival’s programming will therefore be accessible on the festival’s website (pleinsecrans. Com) and its two social media pages.
The concept will remain the same: every day, festival-goers will be able to see four short films posted online for free. These four works will be replaced by four new ones the next day and so on.
All the films presented here have already had a festival life. But they are all accessible free of charge, which is the signature of the event. And the programming is of high quality. We will find there for example The big slaps by Annie St-Pierre and Frost by Marianne Farley, two shorts still in the race for the Oscars.
The court Joutel by Alexa-Jeanne Dubé starring Pierre Curzi and Marie Tifo will open the festival. The film follows the journey of an aging couple who, inhabited by their demons, return to the scene of their former residence on a journey steeped in nostalgia and mystery.
The lampshade Olivier Côté will also be the closing film in which four teenagers embark on a thrilling nighttime bowling alley.
Other titles include There is no time for women, short documentary by Sarra El Abbed who had a great festival run, Looking forward to garbage by Romain Dumont in which three garbage collectors are going to have supper at the Prime Minister of Canada and In the Shadow of the Pines, animated film by Anne Koizumi which explores the filmmaker’s difficult relationship with her father.
All these films, and several others, are entered in the Quebec competition category. The festival has other sections. Eight shorts will therefore be presented only on the @pleinsecrans Instagram page, spokesperson Julianne Côté will participate in a live discussion with the public and carte blanche is given to the cinema of Wallonia-Brussels.
Finally, on January 22, we will have to watch the meeting between filmmaker Maxime Giroux and cinematographer Sara Mishara. Entitled Norbourg and inspired by the financial scandal of the same name, the next film by Mr. Giroux (Felix and Meira, The great darkness) is due out in Quebec in 2022. Talented director of photography who has worked with Mr. Giroux in the past, Sara Mishara has also co-scripted and is the director of photography for the feature film Drunken birds Ivan Grbovic’s theatrical release in the fall and an unsuccessful candidate from Canada in the Oscar race for best international film.
Since the founding of Plein (s) Écran (s), which comes at the right time when the cinemas are closed again, some ten million views have been recorded.