Le FIFA unveils the program for its 43^rd edition

“The present times tempt us to withdraw, to freeze with fear, or to let cynicism take over. But art is, and must always be, a free territory. A space where we can still think. Where we can still dream. Where we can still take action. Faced with simplistic short cuts, art imposes complexity. Faced with immovable discourses, it invents languages. Faced with silence, it responds with the brilliance of sensitivity. 

So, yes. The world is ours. Not in the sense of possession, but in a dynamic of reinvention. The world is ours to question. To deconstruct. To reimagine. And, above all, to re-create together.

Through this 43^rd edition of the International Festival of Films on Art, we invite you to an exploration – a voyage through forms, gazes, resistances. Works about the present, of course, but also dialogues with history, for conceiving of the future also means understanding the past. From the intimate to the political, from abstraction to engagement, this program is a moving mapping of the issues that face us.”

- Philippe U. del Drago, Executive and Artistic Director of Le FIFA.

An emblematic category of the Festival, the Competition celebrates contemporary artistic diversity by showcasing the talent of visionary and daring filmmakers. Between intimacy and politics, abstraction and commitment, this program draws a living cartography of the questions that drive us.

Among the feature films in competition, don’t miss Johan Grimonprez​’s Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat. Nominated for a Best Documentary Film Oscar, it has been described by the press as an ​“eye-opening, never-going-back, stomach-in-mouth film”. This moving film traces Congo’s independence and the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, while weaving audacious parallels between jazz and decolonization. Il complotto di Tirana by Manfredi Lucibello, a captivating documentary that traces one of the greatest hoaxes in the history of contemporary art, questioning the legitimacy, value and mechanisms of the art market. A rare and extremely interesting subject, it explores notions of truth and manipulation. The director will be present in Montreal to present his film, which plays with the idea of fake documentary, hoax and swindle, with Oliviero Toscani at the center, a famous photographer and art director known for his daring and provocative advertising campaigns (Benetton). David Lynch, une énigme Hollywood by Stéphane Ghez, who introduces us to David Lynch through his films and his unique creative process. Another film icon and visionary artist who revolutionized the world of music videos and cinema is Michel Gondry. His long-time collaborator, François Nemeta, will be present for the screening of his documentary Michel Gondry: Do It Yourself, which opens this year’s festival. No More History Without Us by Priscilla Brasil, a film-manifesto that deconstructs colonial narratives about the Amazon and restores the voice of indigenous peoples, questioning injustices and contemporary ecological issues. Balomanía by Sissel Morell-Dargis, the only woman in an all-male world, takes us to the heart of the Brazilian favelas to discover the underground world of the baloeiros, where the art of hot-air ballooning, criminalized by the authorities, becomes an act of freedom and resistance.

COMPETITION — FEATURE-LENGTH FILMS

In the short film category in international competition, discover : Brittney Canda’s The Smile Club, an asylum where people are forced to smile. Tasty! Demain est annulé by François Nemeta, about visual artist Renaud Auguste-Dormeuil, Mont Noir by Erika Haglund and Jean-Baptiste Peltier, an animated film about the youth of Marguerite Yourcenar.

COMPETITION — SHORT FILMS

In partnership with the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) and thanks to the support of the Consulat général de France à Québec, Le FIFA will welcome none other than the Centre Pompidou. This 43^rd edition of the festival will present a collection of films from this international cultural landmark, also known as Beaubourg, where all disciplines meet, where artists and audiences interact, in the heart of the French capital.

This original program has been designed by Jonathan Pouthier, Head of Programming for the Film Collection of the National Museum of Modern Art, Centre Pompidou, Paris. Three themed screenings will feature a wide variety of films reflecting current questions on image and representation.

From Sophie Calle​’s road trip to Joëlle de la Casinnière​’s documentary essay, from Djourah Abouda and Alain Bonnamy​’s structural cinema to Andrew Kötting​’s filmed performance, each work explores a unique approach to cinematographic creation, highlighting the diversity and richness of this field. Through these recent works, she invites us to explore how we represent ourselves, how we show the other and the world, and how we perceive time outside of history.

CARTE BLANCHE CENTRE POMPIDOU

An invitational, non-competitive section developed by visual and media arts curator Nicole Gingras, discover (in theatres only) four programs that focus on the materiality of images and sounds, the fluidity of words, ideas and perceptions, the significance of gestures and actions, the discovery and exploration of places and their evocations, and the distribution, dissemination and production of works by women (Groupe Intervention Vidéo — GIV).

FIFA EXPERIMENTAL

Year after year, dance takes pride of place at FIFA. That’s why La Nuit de la danse will once again delight the dance community and fans of the body in motion. Today’s greatest talents will be on hand for this 4^th edition at Théâtre Outremont: Chélanie Beaudin-Quintin, Chun Liu, Sylvain Émard & Sandrick Mathurin, Suzanne Smith & Sylvia Solf, Valeria Galluccio, Gabriel Dharmoo & Jonathan Goulet and many others will present their latest creations on the (very) big screen.

LA NUIT DE LA DANSE

Launched by FIFA in collaboration with several festivals in the Americas, this flagship festival project opens a window on indigenous cinema across the continent. By providing a platform for exchange and dissemination, it aims to showcase the diversity of indigenous voices and encourage encounters between artists, curators, partner organizations, festivals and audiences. This itinerant program offers evolving programming built with indigenous creators, reinforcing their recognition in the international cultural landscape. This year’s program includes Caroline Monnet’s short film Mobilize.

No fewer than eight feature films will be on the program this year, including two Canadian ones: Arthur Erickson: Beauty Between the Lines by Danny Berish & Ryan Mah, which offers an in-depth exploration of the life of one of the most iconic and important modernist architects, and Joshua Frank​’s Across the Island, which looks at the importance of field research and the conceptual work that flows from it. We Start with the Things We Find: the LOT-EK Movie by Thomas Piper, LOT-EK one of the world’s most visionary and acclaimed architectural studios, has been reinventing the shipping container, as well as other wastes of our industrialized economy, as materials for unique architectural and artistic spaces for over 30 years, Ouvidor by Matias Borgström, about Latin America’s largest art squat where 120 artists from many different countries transform an abandoned 13-storey building. This edition will also feature the exceptional work of cult Franco-Italian duo Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine, who will present The Sense of Tuning, a celebration of the architectural sensibility and creative intuition of Bijoy Jain, founder of Studio Mumbai.

A sensory film in which gesture becomes the language of intuition. Artist-videographers, producers and editors, Ila Bêka and Louise Lemoine have been working together for over 15 years on a body of work that is distinguished primarily by its experimentation with new narrative and cinematographic forms in relation to contemporary architecture and the urban world. From the New York Times to Le Monde and El Pais, the duo scored a major coup in 2016 when New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) welcomed their work to its permanent collection. Following the screening of their film at the Canadian Center for Architecture, they will be offering a class on how to film architecture. They will also be the recipients of the FIFA Tribute Award. A retrospective of almost their entire catalog will be featured on ARTS.FILM in April.

ARCHITECTURE

A powerful edition on the music front, with an immersive screening of Guillaume Monette​’s film Flore Laurentienne à Saint-Pacôme, almost fifty minutes to plunge into the unique universe of Flore Laurentienne, Mathieu David Gagnon​’s musical project, through an intimate, spellbinding performance recorded in the Saint-Pacôme church. Composer Mathieu Pelletier-Gagnon will be present at the screening at the Cinéma du Musée. Also on the program, a special moment with Antoine Corriveau.
This unique evening features a full listening of Antoine Corriveau​’s new album, Oiseau de Nuit, due for release in April, along with the very first screening of the film Pastorale, directed by Francis Leclerc. Another highlight of the selection is DJ Mehdi: Made in France by Thibaut De Longeville. Fresh from winning the Victoires de la Musique award and the Best Documentary Series prize at the Canne Series Festival (France, 2024), this must-see work tells the story of the late DJ and producer DJ Mehdi, a young ​“banlieusard” of Tunisian origin who left his mark on the history of music in France and beyond. Thierry Teston​’s documentary My Way, narrated by Béatrice Dalle, traces the history of the legendary song My Way, and explores its cultural impact across generations.

MUSIC!

Une journée (extra) ordinaire, 24h à l’Opéra Garnier by Priscilla Pizzato

As a partner in this film event, the Opéra Garnier opens its doors to an exceptional 24-hour immersion in this palace of the arts, up close to those who bring it to life. Created by Napoleon III and inaugurated 150 years ago under the 3^rd Republic, the Opéra Garnier is world-famous for its façade and spectacular double-revolution staircase. But first and foremost, it’s a lively place, welcoming nearly 5,000 visitors a day, hosting one of the world’s most prestigious dance companies and staging over 200 curtain-raisers a year. Shot exclusively in sequence, without commentary or archive footage, this documentary takes us to the heart of a temple of illusion where the real and the imaginary are constantly intertwined.

The Opéra Garnier celebrates its 150^th anniversary

A laboratory for experimentation, a laboratory for the next generation, a perilous cinematic exercise, the short film will be seen in a big way at Concordia University. With a selection of films that will transport you to the four corners of the globe, from Mexico to South Korea, via Switzerland, Greece, Italy, Canada and many other destinations, this second edition of La Nuit du court promises to be grandiose, with films by Caroline Monnet, Claude Piguet & Annelore Schneider, Marion Chuniaud, Dina Yanni, Mostafa Keshvari, Eleonore Coyette, Armando López Castañeda, Comité de femmes, David Ledoux & Jan Melka, Mathieu Fortin, Christine Fellows, Audrey St-Laurent, Carlo De Togni, Erika Haglund & Jean-Baptiste Peltier, Simon Vermeulen, Jagoda Turlik, William Brunelle, Quentin Montant, Pierre Gill, Zahra Mojahed et Tal Amiran.

LA NUIT DU COURT

Last but not least, Le FIFA’s cartes blanches offer artists and curators a space for expression and sharing, opening doors to discovery and dialogue. On the occasion of Concordia University’s 50^th anniversary, the Department of Cinema accepted an invitation for a carte blanche in collaboration with Associate Professor Jean-Claude Bustros, a specialist in experimental and interactive cinema. This initiative has led to the creation of a program featuring works that explore various facets of contemporary cinema and reflect Concordia’s commitment to innovation and creativity. The program proposed here does not claim to be an exhaustive look at 50 years of experimental cinema at Concordia/​Montreal. Rather, it is a series of impressions or moments. Each film represents a milestone in this trajectory.

Paul Rothé, inspired programmer of the ARTS.FILM platform, offers a carte blanche that explores the margins of the visible through works that seek to give form to emptiness, absence and the invisible. From the spectral crossing of a museified Paris in Marguerite Duras’ Les mains négatives to the materialization of an elusive presence in Elias Bötticher​’s Schlafsand, each film questions the limits of perception and the sensible.

CARTES BLANCHES