New Montreal FilmFest!

1 Month & 3 Festivals? Personally, I’m sort of dreading the inaugural edition of the New Montreal FilmFest – not because of the quality of the one week fest – especially with honcho Program Director Moritz de Hadeln (former Berlin and Venice) hard at work, but because it follows my back to back coverage of The Montreal World Film Festival (August 26th to Sept.5th) and the highly anticipated (no sleep will be found here) Toronto film Festival which runs between Sept.8th to the 17th.

The fest organizers at the New Montreal FilmFest which runs between Sept.18th to Sept 25th have just released 4 films that will be found in their line-up with an obvious connection to the province French roots. The two that really stick out – one which you’ll most likely hear about for Best Foreign Picture at next year’s Oscars. The fest’s film d’ouverture comes with Cédric Klapish’s Les poupées russes – this is the follow-up to the yummy young adult drama-comedy is the follow-up to L’Auberge Espagnole.

Christian Carion’s Cannes acclaimed Joyeux Noël features an international cast of Diane Krüger, Daniel Brühl and Guillaume Canet and is set to the backdrop of a curious incident that occurred on X-Mas day in 1914.

Also announced we have local actor Luc Picard – Quebec’s version of a Sean Penn, who is helming his first film entitled L’audition – an example of how an international fest needs to get the local folks happy. Fest organizers have also pulled off a coup in getting a big name in French cinema in Claude Lelouch to bring over his newest film Le courage d’aimer

Thankfully, the fest will set a permanent summer date for the years to follow.