The management of the Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma (RVQC) festival unveiled the program for its 42nd on Thursday.e editing. This will be held from February 21 to March 2 in Montreal. It will offer film buffs screenings of more than 200 films, including 52 premieres, many round tables, carte blanche and other activities. The heart of the festival will beat in three locations in the city center: the Cinémathèque québécoise, the Cineplex Odeon Quartier Latin and the Cinéma Impérial.
The festival will open on February 21 with the screening of Anne Émond’s new feature film, Lucy Grizzly Sophieadapted from the play The pack, by Catherine-Anne Toupin (February 21 at the Imperial). “This is an explosive opening that we are very excited to present. Thanks to their tight interpretations, Catherine-Anne Toupin and Guillaume Cyr brilliantly carry this psychological thriller. His photography and his dark and polished universe carrying a continuous tension transported our team,” underlined the director of Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma, Valentin Verrier.
IMAGE PROVIDED BY RVQC
The poster for the RVQC opening film.
The festival will close on March 2, with the premiere screening of the new documentary on the life of legendary actor Marcel Sabourin, entitled At the end of nothing pantoutte. The film, directed by his son Jérôme Sabourin, will be presented at the Imperial cinema in the presence of the director and Marcel Sabourin.
Several works will have their Canadian or Quebec premiere at the Rendez-vous, including the feature film Melt, by Simon Lavoie, with Jean-François Casabonne, Pascale Bussière, Sébastien Ricard, Fayolle Jean and Louise Laprade; the documentary series Maisonneuveby Jean-Martin Gagnon, which highlights the importance, but also the fragility of living together in Quebec, based on a shocking event that occurred at Collège de Maisonneuve.
No less than 35 feature-length fiction films will be screened in theaters during the festival. A retrospective of the best films of our national cinema released in 2023 is also on the program. The documentary section includes 22 feature films, including several notable works from the past year. In addition, more than 180 short films of all genres will be shown, including Have a childby Éric K Boulianne, dead cat of Dannick Audet and Annie-Claude Carron, and Gaby the hills by Zoé Pelchat (which was selected for the Berlinale in 2023).
Back for this 42e edition, three “cinema lessons” which will be given by artistic director Patrice Vermette, notably known for his work on the sets of large productions such as Dune by Denis Villeneuve; and filmmakers Rafaël Ouellet and Léa Pool. The Rendez-vous Extra, a section of special screenings followed by discussions around the themes of the films, will focus on the following films: Ru, Richelieu And My evicted city. On February 27, the RVQC will pay tribute to the late Michel Côté, during an evening with Maxime Le Flaguais, Louis-José Houde, Roger Léger, Julianne Côté and Émile Schneider.
A total of 11 prizes will be awarded among the films in competition at the Rendez-vous, including the Gilles-Carle prize rewarding a best first or second feature-length fiction film, the Pierre-et-Yolande-Perrault prize, highlighting the best first or second feature-length documentary; as well as the Collegial Prize for Quebec Cinema.
The Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma will take place from February 21 to March 2. Tickets are on sale on the festival website.