Three Canadian movies in competition at Locarno Film Festival, including one to be screened in the Piazza Grande

Canadian directors Philippe Falardeau, Anne Émond and Igor Drljaca at the festival to present their movies.

MONTREAL, July 15, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Telefilm Canada is proud to announce that three Canadian movies will be in competition at the 68^th Locarno Film Festival, which runs this year from August 5 to 15. Philippe Falardeau's latest film, Guibord s'en va-t-en guerre, will have its world premiere screening in the Piazza Grande sidebar, which includes an outdoor screening that could attract an audience of 8000—a record for a film festival. The Waiting Room, by Igor Drljaca (Krivina), and Les êtres chers, by Anne Émond (Nuit #1), will also have their world premiere screenings in the Cineasti del presente (Filmmakers of the Present) sidebar, aimed at directors with their first or second film.

"What an honour for Canada to have three of its movies in competition at Locarno, a festival that has celebrated our cinema several times over the last few years," said Carolle Brabant, Telefilm Canada's Executive Director. "This selection truly reflects the diversity of Canadian filmmaking: Philippe Falardeau, whose movie Monsieur Lazhar was screened in the Piazza Grande section and picked up two awards at Locarno in 2011, has an impressive body of work to his name, while directors Anne Émond and Igor Drljaca are at their second feature films."

Guibord s'en va-t-en guerre, which will be screened on August 10 in Locarno's main Piazza Grande square, will compete for three awards in its section, including the prestigious "Prix du Public UBS" (UBS Audience Award)—won, incidentally, by Monsieur Lazhar in 2011. Director Philippe Falardeau and producers Luc Déry and Kim McCraw (micro_scope) will be onsite to introduce their film.

The features The Waiting Room and Les êtres chers, in the running for three awards in the Filmmakers of the Present sidebar, will be screened, respectively, on August 7 and 12, with Canadian talent in attendance. The Canadian delegation will include director Igor Drljaca, producer Albert Shin (In Her Place), actor Jasmin Geljo (The Waiting Room), director Anne Émond and producer Sylvain Corbeil (Metafilms).

The Forbidden Room, by Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson, will be screened in the non-competitive Film delle giurie sidebar, which presents films featuring or made by members of the official juries. Renowned German actor Udo Kier is one of the stars of the film.

Isiah Medina's first experimental feature film, 88:88, will be included in the non-competitive Signs of Life sidebar, which aims to explore the less conventional side of filmmaking, engaging with new forms of narrative.

Canada at Locarno
In addition to Philippe Falardeau's Monsieur Lazhar, a hit at the Festival in 2011, Louise Archambault's Gabrielle was also screened in the Piazza Grande sidebar, in 2013. That event marked a return to the Swiss festival for the director, who had the honour of taking her first film, Familia, to the Festival in 2005. Gabrielle, like Monsieur Lazhar in 2012, was Canada's selection for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 2013.

Denis Côté, for his part, picked up five prizes in five years at Locarno, for his films Les États nordiques (2005), Nos vies privées (2007) and Elle veut le chaos (2008).

Created in 1946, the Locarno Film Festival has occupied a unique position in the festival landscape by focusing on auteur cinema. Each year, the Festival presents some 300 movies, drawing 160,000 festival-goers and more than 4000 industry professionals.

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SOURCE Telefilm Canada

Media enquiries: Françoise Lapointe, Advisor, External Communications, Telefilm Canada, [phone], ext. 2028 or 1-800-567-0890, [email protected]