Spotlight on a selection of Canadian talent en route to the 69th Festival de Cannes

MONTRÉAL, April 22, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Telefilm Canada applauds all the Canadian talent responsible for the success of the four films that will represent Canada at the 69th Festival de Cannes, taking place May 11-22. Juste la fin monde by Xavier Dolan has been selected for the Official Competition; Two Lovers and a Bear by Kim Nguyen and Mean Dreams by Nathan Morlando will premiere at the Directors' Fortnight; and the short film Oh What a Wonderful Feeling will screen at the 55th Critics' Week. Telefilm is taking this opportunity to profile a few of the talented members of the Canadian delegation, whose careers are as rich and diverse as Canadian cinema.

"Behind this selection of Canadian films that do us proud are women and men who pursue their creative vision on a daily basis, and who breathe life into their stories," said Carolle Brabant, Telefilm Canada's Executive Director. "Beyond these success stories are the talented people who create and sustain them, both in front of and behind the camera, who take them to events where they can truly shine, such as Cannes—a major festival and an incredible forum for the world's best films. Today, we want to thank these men and women for literally making our cinema."

Juste la fin du monde – Official Competition
This Canada-France coproduction was written and directed by Xavier Dolan and produced via Sons of Manual (Canada) and MK2 (France) by Nancy Grant, Xavier Dolan, Sylvain Corbeil, Nathanaël Karmitz, Elisha Karmitz and Michel Merkt. It stars Vincent Cassel, Marion Cotillard, Léa Seydoux, Nathalie Baye and Gaspard Ulliel.

Xavier Dolan, writer-director
The 27-year-old writer, director and actor returns to Cannes for a sixth year with his latest feature film. In 2015, he was selected to serve on the jury for the main competition section at Cannes, while in 2014 his film Mommy shared the Jury Prize with Jean-Luc Godard's Adieu au langage. In 2009, his first feature, J'ai tué ma mère (I Killed My Mother) screened at the Directors' Fortnight. His subsequent films, Les amours imaginaires (Heartbeats) and Laurence Anyways, were selected for the Un certain regard section in 2010 and 2012.

Nancy Grant and Sylvain Corbeil, producers
Nancy Grant and Sylvain Corbeil have produced more than 30 Canadian feature-length, medium-length and short films, including Xavier Dolan's Mommy, Denis Côté's Boris sans Béatrice (Boris Without Béatrice), Anne Émond's Les êtres chers (Our Loved Ones), and Maxime Giroux's Félix et Meira.

Their production company, Metafilms, provides young, unusual auteurs with the means to express their vision of cinema and has contributed to the success of several emerging filmmakers whose movies are now eagerly awaited in Canada and around the world.

Two Lovers and a Bear – Directors' Fortnight
This film was written and directed by Kim Nguyen and produced by Roger Frappier (Max Films) in collaboration with Ellen Hamilton (Hamilton-Coleman) and Jonathan Bronfman (JoBro Productions). It stars Tatiana Maslany and Dane DeHaan.

Kim Nguyen, writer-director
Filmmaker Kim Nguyen makes his debut at Cannes with his fifth fiction feature, which will have its world premiere screening at the Directors' Fortnight.

Nguyen shook the film world with his award-winning feature Rebelle (War Witch), which screened in official competition at the 2013 Berlin Film Festival and won 10 Canadian Screen Awards. It was also nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign-language Film category.

Roger Frappier, producer
Producer Roger Frappier is an old hand at Cannes. In 1998, the Festival honoured him in the Tribute to Producers series, along with 10 other producers from around the globe. His many trips to Cannes have been with films such as Le Déclin de l'empire américain (The Decline of the American Empire), Un Zoo la nuit (Night Zoo),Sous-sol (Not Me!), Cosmos, Un 32 août sur terre (August 32nd on Earth), Jésus de Montréal (Jesus of Montreal), La grande séduction (Seducing Doctor Lewis).

With more than 50 films to his credit, Frappier has won numerous honours over the course of his career, including three Golden Reel Awards and several Genie (now Canadian Screen) Awards. The Decline of the American Empire and Jesus of Montreal, both by Denys Arcand, were Oscar nominees for Best Foreign-language Film.

Tatiana Maslany, actress
Tatiana Maslany stars in Two Lovers and a Bear. Famed for her role in the hit series Orphan Black, Maslany has been nominated for a Golden Globe and won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series in 2013 and 2014. She was also honoured by Telefilm and Birks at the 2014 Birks Diamond Tribute to the Year's Women in Film presented at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Mean Dreams – Directors' Fortnight
This film was written by Kevin Coughlin and Ryan Grassby, directed by Nathan Morlando and produced by William Woods (Woods Entertainment) and Allison Black (Euclid 431 Pictures), in collaboration with Patrice Theroux, Jonathan Bronfman, André Bharti, Mark Gingras, Rob McGillivray, Ben Stranahan and Tom Spriggs. It stars Sophie Nélisse, Josh Wiggins, Colm Feore and Bill Paxton.

Nathan Morlando, director
Writer-director Nathan Morlando will be on hand for the world premiere screening of his second feature film, Mean Dreams, at the Directors' Fortnight. This will mark his first visit to Cannes.

He gained recognition in 2011 with his debut feature Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster, winner of the award for Best Canadian First Feature Film at the Toronto International Film Festival.

William Woods and Allison Black, producers
William Woods, making his first trip to Cannes, founded Woods Entertainment in 2011. Since then, he has produced three short films, shown at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and a first feature, In Return (2012), winner of the Audience Choice Award at Cinefest.

Mean Dreams is his second feature production.

Producer Allison Black has played a role in Nathan Morlando's success by producing his two feature films. There's no question that she'll be a producer to watch in the years ahead.

Sophie Nélisse, actress
This young actress shot to fame in The Book Thief, which earned her several prestigious nominations and the Spotlight Award at the 2013 Hollywood Film Festival. She also gained acclaim for her performance in Philippe Falardeau's Monsieur Lazhar, which was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2012.

She was also honoured by Telefilm and Birks at the 2014 Birks Diamond Tribute to the Year's Women in Film presented at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Oh What a Wonderful Feeling – Critics' Week
This short film was written and directed by François Jaros and produced by Fanny-Laure Malo (La Boîte à Fanny). It stars Karelle Tremblay, Frédérike Bédard, Catherine Hughes, Tania Kontoyanni, Ellen David and Patrice Beauchesne.

François Jaros, writer-director
François Jaros delighted audiences with the caustic humour of his short Toutes des connes (Life's a Bitch), selected for the Sundance Film Festival, and then turned to a darker and more troubling theme, dying with dignity, in the short Maurice, winner of the award for best short or medium-length fiction film at the 2016 Gala du cinéma québécois.

He once again shifts gears with his short film Oh What a Wonderful Feeling, which will premiere at the Cannes Critics' Week.

Fanny-Laure Malo, producer
Fanny-Laure Malo of La Boite à Fanny has been increasingly making her presence felt over the last several years, joining a select group of talented young women producers. In addition to producing François Jaros's films, she has produced Chloé Robichaud's movies Sarah préfère la course (Sarah Prefers to Run), from 2013, and Pays, slated for release this year.

This will be Malo's third trip to Cannes with officially selected productions: Sarah préfère la course was shown in the Un certain regard section in 2013, and the short film Chef de meute, also by Chloé Robichaud, screened in the Official Competition in 2012.

Karelle Tremblay, actress
Young Karelle Tremblay starred in two major movies in 2015, Mathieu Denis's Corbo and Anne Émond's Les êtres chers (Our Loved Ones). She was nominated for Best Actress at the Canadian Screen Awards for her performance in Les êtres chers.

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SOURCE Telefilm Canada

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