Cinemania Celebrates 20 Years

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You know that big movie theater on Bleury Street by Place des Arts, the Cinema Imperial? Well, this place is normally calm, but these days when you pass in front of it and walk down in the street, you can see an unusual ruckus taking place in front of the theater.

Unusual yes, but strange? Definitely not! And do you know why? Because it is that time of year again. It’s time again for another edition of the Cinemania Movie Festival. This year it is a special one: Cinemania is celebrating 20 years of existence!

Cinemania is the festival designed to show francophone films to the Canadian public. Most of those films come from France, and many movies are directly chosen from the Cannes program. Other movies come from other francophone countries such as Guinea for example. Wherever they come from, they are always chosen for their quality, their artistic achievement, and the wonderful actors who portray the characters in them.

For 20 years now, festival President Maidy Tatelbaum has been directing the festival and her team in one direction: success. She has presented to the public hundreds of wonderful movies and permitted French actors and directors to meet their Canadian audience. At the Festival wonderful guests have walked on the red carpet like Juliette Binoche, Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Patrick Bruel and a lot of other wonderful comedians. And, of course, wonderful directors as well.

This year, to celebrate their 20th year, the program is absolutely stunning, with a lot of special events taking place. Some of the most expected movies are Gemma Bovery by the wonderful Anne Fontaine (who was chosen to open the festival this year), Two Days, One Night by the Dardennes Brothers, or Sils Maria by Olivier Assayas.

This year’s special guest is Mister Lambert Wilson, a french actor who has portrayed characters in many wonderful movies under the direction of such talents as Jacques Demy, Claude Chabrol or André Téchiné. A retrospective of his movies will be shown at the Cinemathèque Québécoise during the duration of Cinemania.

Other events are highly expected like the Brunch at Renoir event (on November 16 at the Renoir restaurant) in presence of Dominique Besnehard (producer, actor, writer, impresario) and Herby Moreau (journalist, reporter). The conversation between these two unique men should prove interesting for all movie lovers and art fans.

Finally, a special exhibit of pictures is on display in front of Cinema Imperial and at the Renoir Restaurant on the Banquet Floor. The pictures are an homage to the past guests who attended the festival.

With more than 50 films, special guests and a number of special events, this edition is certainly not one to miss! Tickets are inexpensive and the team of volunteers make the experience worth the trip. Add to this all the special guests in attendance this year, and we have the recipe for an exceptional edition!

Cinemania takes place November 6 to 16 at Cinema Imperial (1430 Bleury). See HERE for details.