On the opening night of the 43rd Rendez-Vous Québec Cinéma festival, the atmosphere is similar to that of a ski chalet on the first weekend of the season, and the lobby of Concordia University’s auditorium, where Jenny Cartwright’s Les Perdants will be screened, buzzes softly to the sound of filmmakers, producers, actors and distributors gathering, arms laden with their winter coats, and excitedly perusing the paper program passed at the entrance.
Film students whisper in English across the room, while film teachers who are also producers and directors pass by and wave.
In the front row sit women in overalls printed with the words “Ministère de la Nouvelle Normalité”, and we don’t know it yet, but they’re being followed by Cartwright in his documentary about three independent candidates in the 2022 Quebec provincial elections who – as the film’s title suggests – lost.
The Losers by Jenny Cartwright
Opening the evening, it’s a rallying cry for a small film industry that produces an awful lot of excellent movies; “Courage!” Laura Rohard, the president of this year’s edition, has a soft, deep voice and speaks of emotions (the bread and butter of art) and the strength of Quebec cinema, and the room smiles silently – except for those who applaud.
She is followed by actress Debbie Lynch-White(Unité 9, La Bolduc, Elle était une Fois, Histoires de Coming Out), who is the spokesperson for this edition, and then by the producer of Les Perdants, a member of the iconic NFB (National Film Board of Canada).
They produce Cartwright’s film, which explores (and explains) the blind spots of Quebec’s provincial election system with emotion, graphic animation to grasp the complicated concepts of distortion percentages and the representative vote (which isn’t so representative after all).
There are the women in blue overalls and a semi-fictitious candidate fighting for ecology, the leader of the Culinary Party and the leader of the “null” party, and you may have come across them in Montreal in 2022, or maybe you’ve never heard of them, but even if the system clearly puts them at a disadvantage, the spirit of community, mutual aid and politics on a human scale is good to see.
We all know someone like the subjects of Cartwright’s film; a teacher who builds a skating rink in his backyard for the neighborhood field hockey kids, a mother who organizes all the village’s participatory markets, a friend of a friend who helps your grandmother shovel her driveway. Unfortunately, the fuzzy feeling disappears when the numbers and statistics crush any possibility of their being elected and you can’t see the end of it. It’s bittersweet, it’s beautiful and it makes you feel better informed, more concerned; it makes you want to get involved in the next provincial election. Maybe that was the point of the film.
The festival program
There are eight days of screenings during the festival, and nearly 200 films, including 100 premieres, will be presented in Montreal. Shorts, features, animation… There’s something for everyone. B -and always with a touch of Quebec cinema and filmmakers. The program can be found here!
There are also a number of completely free events, including Évènements Popcorn , the first film festival for kids and teens, where screenings are followed by activities around the world of film, such as an animal trainer and a screening of Mlle Bottine (Saturday, February 22, 3pm at the Cinémathèque Québécoise).
There are also film lessons with Quebec film professionals, evening events,pro rendez-vous for up-and-coming filmmakers and discussions (including one with spokesperson Debbie Lynch-White)…
Practical info
Tickets: from the Regular Screening at $14 to the Cinephile Passport (for the week) at $125, and students and senior citizens at 25% off.
To find out more and plan your screenings, click here!
Enjoy your screening!