| The 30th Montreal World Film Festival will be held August 24 to September 4, 2006. The program of this edition will offer a broad selection of films from five continents. Attentive as ever to what is being filmed around the globe, the MWFF will screen works including features, medium-length films and shorts from more than 70 countries. |  |
A Window on the World – D. Cauchard
The 30th Montreal World Film Festival will be held August 24 to September 4, 2006. The program of this edition will offer a broad selection of films from five continents. Attentive as ever to what is being filmed around the globe, the MWFF will screen works including features, medium-length films and shorts from more than 70 countries. Every year, the Montreal World Film Festival offers an exciting program that veers off the beaten paths.
At a time when the choice of films available in commercial theatres is shrinking, the World Film Festival, as it has since it was founded, continues to support cultural diversity. The survival of national cinemas and their exposure outside their countries of origin is as important to our culture as biodiversity is to nature. The World Film Festival gives priority to this diversity in its evolutionary process, its creative capacities of expression and innovation.
Cultural diversity in the cinema isn’t just about geography; it is also about economics and style. The World Film Festival’s perspective goes beyond a diversity of producing countries. By opening wide its doors to young creators, the Festival gives many young cineastes the chance to be seen and discovered. The abundance of shorts shows also illustrates that a new generation is waiting in the wings. With a selection of shorts of all kinds; fiction, animation, documentary and experimental the Festival provides as warm a welcome to small, low-budget films as well as big, expensive ones.
In 2005, no less than 80 features had their world or international premieres, 34 features were North American premieres and 30 were Canadian premieres. The premiere of a film is a crucial step in a film’s career. Some directors say that they want to return to the Festival because of how their previous film was received by the Festival’s audience.
The world competition section, of interest to the public as well as the critics, is made up of 20 to 22 features and 12 to 15 shorts from countries across 5 continents. They promise to be a diversity of inspiration and creativity. Fifteen first works of fiction were selected for this competitive section. Winners will receive Zeniths. The non-competitive section includes works by established directors or films that have already participated in major festivals. The world cinema section reflects the Festival’s spirit of openness to the world. It is also the Festival’s largest section, with many features and shorts. Also the number of documentaries being made in the world keeps rising. The commercial success of many documentaries has meant a new acceptance of the genre in the commercial distribution network.
Every year, the Montreal World Film Festival pays tribute to directors, actors, producers, film personalities for their contribution to the art of cinema. The MWFF has recently paid tribute to filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos, actresses Isabelle Adjani and Maggie Cheung. During the evenings while the festival is running free outdoor screenings are organized for the general public. These screenings are extremely popular.
The 37th Canadian Student Film Festival will be held from August 26 to 30, 2006 during the Montreal World Film Festival. The aim of the Student Film Festival is to held discover new talent by presenting films made by students from Canadian schools and universities within the framework of an international event. Many of Canada’s best filmmakers were discovered at the Student Film Festival.
The Festival each year appoints the members of the different juries who announce the awards on closing night. The prizes will include Grand Prix of the Americas (Best Film), Special Grand Prix of the Jury, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Artistic Contribution and Innovation Award.
Short films: 1st Prize and the Jury Award. The First Film World Competition includes a different jury from the World Competition jury and will award the following prizes: Golden Zenith, Silver Zenith and Bronze Zenith.
The general public will vote for the winners in the following categories: People’s Choice Award (Air Canada Award), Award for the Most Popular Canadian Film, Glauber Rocha Award for the Best Film from Latin America, Best Documentary Film Award and Best Canadian Short Film Award.
