The French Cinema Festival (Fête du Cinéma Français au Québec), organized as part of celebrations for the 400th anniversary of Quebec City, will close at the end of July.
At the close of this event jointly organized by Unifrance and Quebec distributors, nine French films have been commercially launched in the territory, with their exposure benefiting greatly from preview screenings attended by the majority of the film’s creative crews.
Four French titles will take top billing in Quebec in the month of July:
Asterix at the Olympic Games by Frédéric Forestier and Thomas Langmann (to be released on July 11 by Alliance Vivafilm) will open the “Just for Laughs” Festival, at which Stéphane Rousseau will present the film to his compatriots.
Another Quebec actor, Marie-Josée Croze, will accompany Jean Becker at the presentation of Deux jours à tuer (Love Me No More), due to hit Quebec screens on July 11, distributed by Les Films Séville.
A major publicity campaign has been launched to promote Dany Boon’s film Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis (Welcome to the Sticks), to be released on July 25 by Link Production). Its distributors are expecting excellent results, comparable with those in Europe.
Abdellatif Kechiche and Hafsia Herzi are scheduled to attend the screening of La Graine et le mulet (The Secret of the Grain), slated for release on August 1 by Métropole Films.
A host of French artists have recently traveled to Quebec, known as “La Belle Province,” to promote their films:
Late March, Michel Boujenah and Pascal Elbé were in town to promote Trois amis (Three Friends), distributed by Filmoption; Eric Guirado presented Le Fils de l'épicier (The Grocer’s Son), distributed by Funfilm and screened as opening film at the 9th Three Americas Film Festival; while Gérard Krawczyk, accompanied by the actress Josiane Balasko, traveled to Quebec to support their film L'Auberge Rouge (The Red Inn), distributed by TVA Films.
Early May, Emmanuel Mouret and Virginie Ledoyen made the trip to Quebec to accompany their film Un baiser s’il vous plaît (Shall We Kiss?), released by K-Film Amérique. The release of 99 Francs by Jan Kounen (Equinoxe Film) also attracted attention late June.
French films benefit from a network of committed distributors in Quebec at this time. Each of the nine French titles presented at the French Cinema Festival was distributed by a different company. The second six months of 2008 will see the release of Paris, Disco, Sagan, and La Fille de Monaco, bearing witness to the positive context for French films in Quebec.
Last year, French productions attracted 1.8 million spectators in Quebec, with successful titles including La Môme (La Vie en Rose), with 320,000 admissions, Arthur et les Minimoys (Arthur and the Invisibles), with 200,000 admissions, and Ensemble, c'est tout (Hunting and Gathering), with 100,000 admissions to its credit.
