from vk & associates

Cinéfranco, English Canada’s largest celebration of international francophone cinema is celebrating its fourteenth year in Toronto from Friday, March 25 – Sunday, April 3, 2011 at Toronto’s new centre for film lovers – the TIFF Bell Lightbox as well as the NFB Mediatheque. Cinéfranco 2011 is an oasis for lovers of francophone cinema with 7 North American Premieres, 3 Canadian Premieres, and 10 English Canadian Premieres and a showcase of 27 features, 7 documentaries and 10 shorts.

Also at Cinéfranco 2011, master classes with Moroccan film director Driss Chouika (Destins croisés /Crossed Destinies) and a conversation with Professor Eric Jennings (U of T) and celebrated TFO film critic Yves-Etienne Massicotte on understanding the immigration malaise in France through its colonial history. In partnership with FRIC (the Front for Independent Filmmakers in Canada), Cinéfranco will present two debates on fiction past, present and future with Jean-Marc Larivière, Dominic Desjardins and Dany Chiasson as well as the debate on the distribution and marketing of Francophone documentaries in Canada with talented Canadian documentarists Fadel Saleh, Suzy Cohen, Jocelyn Forgues and Suzanne Chiasson at the Blackberry Lounge on March 27th.

Marcelle Lean, Founder/Artistic & Executive Director of Cinéfranco says of this year’s festival, “Family is the thread that runs through much of this year’s Cinéfranco program. From ‘policiers’ to comedies and thrillers, to adventures, documentaries and dramas – films from Algeria, Belgium, Canada (Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick), France, Morocco and Switzerland by master filmmakers with stars like Gérard Depardieu, Natalie Baye, Patrick Bruel, Isabelle Huppert, Canada’s Saul Rubinek, and Sabine Azema explore the ties of blood, as well as families created by need or circumstance.”

Cinéfranco’s 2011’s Opening Night film (English Canada Premiere) is a psychological drama in the tradition of Hitchcock. Impasse du désir directed by Michel Rodde and starring Quebec superstar Rémy Girard, is a Swiss film with an international cast including Natacha Regnier, the Belgian actress in the role of Carole Block, who cheats on her older husband (Rémy Girard). Robert (Girard), a psychiatrist is obsessed with the situation, preventing him from concentrating on his patients until he meets Leo Debod, a depressive and psychotic bachelor who Robert realizes will provide him with the perfect means of relieving his suffering……………

Director Michel Rodde will present his film Impasse du désir at Cinéfranco.

Quebec actor Rémy Girard will be in attendance at Cinéfranco with two films:

The Swiss thriller, Impasse du désir and Quebecois comedy Y’en aura pas de facile (Tough Luck).

This year’s Closing Night film, Comme les 5 doigts de la main (5 Brothers) is an English Canadian Premiere by French director Alexandre Arcady. Well known for his sagas of North African (Pieds Noirs) Jewish families, Arcady combines the drama of a complex family and the discovery of a secret that will tear the brothers apart. A captivating thriller, 5 Brothers features a cast of renowned French actors including Patrick Bruel, Pascal Elbé (also seen in Tête de Turc/Turk’s Head), Eric Caravaca (also seen at Cinéfranco in La Petite chambre/The Little Room), Vincent Elbaz (also seen at Cinéfranco in Tellement proches/Happy Together), Françoise Fabian, and Michel Aumont (also seen at Cinéfranco in Les Invités de mon père/My Father’s Guests).

Canada’s contribution to Cinéfranco 2011 includes features, shorts and documentaries from Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick.

The Festival takes place Friday, March 25 – Sunday, April 3, 2011 at the Bell Lightbox and the NFB Mediatheque.

For more info on the festival please visit: http://www.cinefranco.com