Festival du nouveau cinéma (FNC)
08—19.10.2025
It’s a chilly yet sunny October afternoon, and you are sitting in one of Montréal’s go-to places with Émilie (Poirier) and Dan (Karolewicz), the short film team of Festival du nouveau cinéma, who invited you to their favourite place to get one of Québec’s most sought-after products: poutine. It would take too long in this short text to describe it fittingly, so let’s just say it’s very rich, most likely very unhealthy, and just too good. If you happen to have had one too many drinks at a party the night before, then poutine might be your go-to meal. Of course, FNC is not just about poutine. It’s also about the best bagels in town and maple syrup; the Québecoise export hit that you find in many variations everywhere you go. But let’s not get carried away with food here.
Founded in 1971 by two film enthusiasts, the festival quickly developed into a hotspot for up-and-coming talent both in features and shorts, including the likes of Cassavetes, Akerman, or Jarmusch, and has, over the years, become one of Canada’s leading film festivals. Today, FNC’s short film programme is a carefully selected collection of artistic short films from all over the world: you’ll easily discover some new and amazing films there. The screenings of the national programmes are packed, and it’s great to see how supportive the filmmakers are of each other. It feels like a very close-knit family. The accompanying programmes are just as interesting and diverse, such as a retrospective of the works of directing duo Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel or a programme dedicated to indigenous filmmaker Darryl Nepinak.
Outside the cinema, the team will ensure that everybody feels as welcome as possible, be it at the traditional karaoke event or at the daily—or shall we say nightly—get-togethers at the festival centre where you can drink, dance, and talk.
If you have the time, make sure to visit the offices of the National Film Board of Canada. They moved to a new place in 2019, which is close to the festival centre, and if you are lucky enough, you might get a peek into the studios of some of Québec’s animation greats. If not, there are still the best bagels in town to be had (they know where to get them!).
Text by Enrico Vannucci
Reading List
looking she said I forget by Naomi Pacifique
Recalling Experiences Through Surfaces and Matter
The Oasis I Deserve by Inès Sieulle
Nastia Korkia on Dreams About Putin
Isadora Neves Marques on Becoming Male in the Middle Ages
Reading List
Alpha Kings by Faye Tsakas, Enrique Pedráza-Botero
Oyu by Atsushi Hirai
The Veiled City by Natalie Cubides-Brady
Ardent Other by Alice Brygo
The Birthday Party by Francesco Sossai
Shrooms by Jorge Jácome
Flores del otro Patio by Jorge Cadena
Moth by Sarah-Anaïs Desbenoit
Reading List
I Am Good At Karate by Jess Dadds
Airhostess-737 by Thanasis Neofotistos
Watch The Fire Or Burn Inside It by Caroline Poggi, Jonathan Vinel
The Sower of Stars by Lois Patiño
It’s Raining Frogs Outside by Maria Estela Paiso
Lake of Fire by Neozoon
backflip by Nikita Diakur
Simo by Aziz Zoromba
On Xerxes’ Throne by Evi Kalogiropoulou
Will My Parents Come to See Me by Mo Harawe
Reading List
One Thousand And One Attempts To Be An Ocean by Wang Yuyan
A Lack of Clarity by Stefan Kruse Jørgensen
Hotel Royal by Salomé Lamas
Techno, Mama by Saulius Baradinskas
On Solid Ground by Jela Hasler
Deconstructing Realism In The Modern Day
Neon Phantom by Leonardo Martinelli
Love, Dad by Diana Cam Van Nguyen
Vadim on a Walk by Sasha Svirsky
A Present Light by Diogo Costa Amarante
Inherent by Nicolai G.H. Johansen
Lemongrass Girl by Pom Bunsermvicha
Reading List
Maalbeek by Ismaël Joffroy Chandoutis
The End of Suffering (A Proposal) by Jacqueline Lentzou
The Unseen River by Phạm Ngọc Lân
Menarca by Lillah Halla
Eyes on the Road by Stefanie Kolk
Heaven Reaches Down To Earth by Tebogo Malebogo
Something To Remember by Niki Lindroth von Bahr
