04.04.2023
FIFA 41: A look back at a daring and exceptional edition
It is with great emotion that we wish to share with you the incomparable experience of the 41st edition of Le FIFA, whose exceptional program has transported us into sublime and intense artistic universes. During Le FIFA, Montreal was a crossroads of cultures and perspectives, a major and unavoidable gathering place for the arts world.
In 13 days of festival, together, we were transported by the beauty of the images, the strength of the looks and the richness of the artistic expressions. We have witnessed unforgettable moments, authentic sharing and inspiring dialogues. We celebrated creativity in all its forms, vibrating to the rhythm of the emotions that only art can offer us.
And you, what did you think of the Festival? Don’t hesitate to write to us!
We hope that this 41st edition of Le FIFA will have left you, like us, with unforgettable memories full of reflection, emotion and gratitude. We hope that many of you will join us for the next edition, which we look forward to continuing in the same spirit of audacity, exception and wonder.
And to help you feel the essence of this 41st edition, here are some highlights of the festival.
Enjoy!
A program that is open to worlds
230 films from 49 countries, a program by the Arab World Institute in Paris around documentaries and films by queer artists, a film devoted to the first all-female classical music orchestra founded in Kabul, the discovery in Hunan province in China of an underground writing system used exclusively by women, a panorama of South Korean short films… Not to mention a Tribute Award given to the work of the Beirut Art Film Festival and the holding of the first in-person Symposium on art and art film festivals, which brought together a dozen organizations from around the world. This 41st edition of Le FIFA reminded everyone that the festival is a major event on the international art scene and that it is a privileged gateway for artists from here and elsewhere who wish to distribute their work around the world.
A grand opening night
The Festival started off in style with the screening of two award-winning films of this 41st edition: Manuel Mathieu’s short film Pendulum, winner of the Best Short Film Prize, and Saskia Boddeke’s film Inside My Heart, winner of the FIFA 41 Grand Prize.
All the arts in the spotlight
A second Nuit de la danse, an evening of Ciné poésie, films on architecture, a focus on Michael Snow, an evening around Riopelle, Le FIFA has once again demonstrated this year that it remains the festival for all the arts and for those passionate about culture(s).
The great return of FIFA Connexions
The 41st edition marked the return of the FIFA Connexions professional days, an emblematic component of the Festival. During these days, panels, interviews and talks addressed the issues of distribution and production in the world of art and cinema, both here and internationally. This year, Le FIFA dedicated an entire day to inspiring women in the cultural world, offering them a platform to express themselves freely on women’s leadership.
This 41st edition was also an opportunity to reunite the friends, the faithful, the ambassadors of Le FIFA who always answer the call and who are ready to mobilize themselves to speak about Le FIFA.
Parties
What would Le FIFA be without its celebrations? This year the Festival proposed among other things a female DJ set, a rave of more than 15 hours and more…
Thanks to an exceptional jury, 6 prizes were awarded this year.
BEST SHORT FILM PRIZE
PENDULUM by Manuel Mathieu
SPECIAL MENTION
WHITE SHADOW by Claude Piguet and Annelore Schneider
BEST ESSAY PRIZE
THE FAITHFUL : THE KING, THE POPE, THE PRINCESS by Annie Berman
BEST PORTRAIT PRIZE
MUSIC UNDER THE SWASTIKA — THE MAESTRO AND THE CELLIST OF AUSCHWITZ by Christian Berger
BEST CANADIAN FILM PRIZE
OKAY ! (THE ASD BAND FILM) by Mark Bone
JURY PRIZE
HIDDEN LETTERS by Violet Du Feng
GRAND PRIZE
INSIDE MY HEART by Saskia Boddeke
Behind these events and these privileged moments, there is a team of passionate people who have only one thing to say, thank you and see you next year.
