2012, October 1

As Mother Nature is about to put its vivid, resplendent scarlet colours on, film lovers and movie enthusiasts can rejoice at the prospect of getting into warm, dark theatres. Festivals abound like the Toronto Palestinian Film Festival or ImagiNative with which Cinéfranco wholeheartedly partners to co-present 2 films.

Do not miss the Wages of Fear: The Films of Henri-Georges Clouzot at the Ontario cinematheque of the TIFF. When I think of Clouzot’s superb films such as The Wage of Fear or Diabolique or Le Corbeau, the hours of glory of Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, and Pierre Fresnay come to mind. Some directors (except for William Friedkin) tried without success to remake Clouzot’s films. But nothing brings more pleasure than seeing the real thing. Serge Bromberg, with his gripping documentary The Hell of Henri-Georges Clouzot, takes us into the depth of a fascinating, magic and yet tormented and luminous universe lit up by the humble, moving presence of a huge film icon Romy Schneider and of the sadly missed Serge Reggiani.

Franco-Ontarian and Franco Canadian filmmakers are not lacking talent either! That is why Cinéfranco wants to give them a window to meet their audiences by launching an appeal for them to send their short films.

The film Women on the 6^thFloorstole my heart this summer when I saw it in a small neighbourhood film theatre on the famous “Rue Mouffetard” in Paris.

French Immersionby Kevin Tierney opening on October 7^thshould keep us in stitches. Do not forget to see Gainsbourg with the divine Eric Elmosnino we are hoping to catch in the film La Guerre des boutons in our youth program. Starbuck, Sarah’s Keys continue to delight audiences in Toronto.

Who would have imagined that 15 years ago when Cinéfranco was born, that Toronto would offer such a cornucopia of Francophone films in movie theatres!

We are in seven heaven to see such an evolution because one of Cinéfranco fights is to prove to film distributors that there is an audience for Francophone films in movie theatres and that there is a demand for these films. Every day, for 15 years, we have been striving to increase audiences, to find effective ways to cultivate an interest for Francophone films among youth and adults,  to maintain the visibility of Francophone cinema through various programs all year round as well as providing French teachers with useful tools to develop Francophone film appreciation in schools.

Enjoy your October Francophone films!!!