THE OPENING FILM ANNOUNCEMENT AND FOUR FILMS FROM THE 2024 SELECTION

We are delighted to announce that BERGERS, by the talented Quebec filmmaker Sophie Deraspe, will inaugurate the opening night presented by Crave on November 6th, marking the start of the festival running until November 17th.

A French-Quebec co-production by micro_scope (Incendies, Viking) and Avenue B Productions (L'Origine du Mal), BERGERS plunges us into the poignant story of Mathyas, a man searching for meaning in the frenetic world of advertising, beset by a sense of emptiness. This growing malaise drives him to make a radical decision: leave everything behind to become a shepherd.

Sophie Deraspe, director of the film "Bergers"

"BERGERS is a wonderful opportunity for us to reunite with Sophie Deraspe, who presented ANTIGONE in 2019 as a pre-opening to CINEMANIA. Her new film explores the disillusions of the farming world, the beauties of transhumance, its traditions, and the men and women who sustain it. With France as the Country of Honor for this 30th edition, this transatlantic cooperation with a Quebec filmmaker, and crew in co-production with a French team, reflects the essence and raison d'être of CINEMANIA." - Guilhem Caillard, General and Artistic Director.

Synopsis

Mathyas trades in his Montreal life as a young advertising executive to become a shepherd in Provence. But the harsh realities of the pastoral world force him to question his romantic vision of the profession. A visit from Élise, a civil servant who abruptly quit her job, gives a new direction to Mathyas's quest. Together, they embark on a transhumance with a flock of sheep in their care. Through the encounters and trials of the mountains, they forge a new life for themselves.

A few months before unveiling the program for our 30th anniversary edition, here is a sneak preview of four of the year’s best French-language feature films, which join the official selection of CINEMANIA 2024.

True to our tradition, CINEMANIA will offer previews of feature films that have made a lasting impression and stood out at internationally renowned festivals throughout the year, promising a program rich in emotion and discovery.

COMME LE FEU

by Philippe Lesage

World premiered at the Berlin Festival (where it won the Grand Prix Generation), it features Noah Parker in a most demanding role, alongside Paul Ahmarani, Sophie Desmarais, Guillaume Laurin, Irène Jacob, and Arieh Worthalter.

Synopsis

Jeff is invited by his friend Max to stay at the large, secluded estate deep in the woods where the renowned filmmaker Blake Cadieux lives. Expectations are high. He meets an artist he admires, and spends a few days in the company of Aliocha, his friend's older sister, with whom he is secretly in love. The wild, hostile forest, like the vast house, becomes a place where youth in search of ideals and freedom confront the wounded egos of adults.

LEURS ENFANTS APRÈS EUX

by Ludovic Boukherma, Zoran Boukherma

Presented in the Official Competition at the Venice Mostra, this beautiful and faithful adaptation of Nicolas Mathieu's book, Prix Goncourt 2018, brings back directors Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma, who were already present at CINEMANIA in 2022 with the film The Year of the Shark.

Synopsis

August 1992. A lost valley in the East, blast furnaces no longer burning. Fourteen year-old Anthony is terribly bored. One scorching afternoon by the lake, he meets Stéphanie. Struck by love at first sight, that very evening, he secretly takes his father's motorcycle to attend a party where he hopes to see her again. The next morning, when he realizes the motorcycle has disappeared, his life takes a dramatic turn.

QUAND VIENT L’AUTOMNE

de François Ozon

As a loyal supporter of François Ozon's films, CINEMANIA is thrilled to welcome the filmmaker back with this genre-blending film, giving us the pleasure of following the intriguing characters played by Hélène Vincent, Josiane Balasko, and Ludivine Sagnier.

Synopsis

Michelle, a grandmother with a perfect reputation, lives in peaceful retirement in a small village in Burgundy, not far from her best friend Marie-Claude. On All Saints' Day, her daughter Valérie comes to visit and drops off her son Lucas for the holiday week. But nothing goes according to plan.

NIKI

by Céline Sallette

As actress Céline Sallette steps behind the camera for the first time, she brilliantly directs the magnificent Charlotte Le Bon as Niki de Saint Phalle. A success presented in its World Premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.

Le synopsis

Paris, 1952. Niki has settled in France with her husband and daughter, far from a stifling America and family. But despite the distance, Niki is regularly shaken by reminiscences of her childhood that invade her thoughts. From the hell she is about to discover, Niki will find in art a weapon to free herself.