Telefilm Canada delighted that Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will present a Denis Villeneuve Retrospective
Montréal, February 14, 2011 – Telefilm Canada is proud to announce that the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) will present a Denis Villeneuve Retrospective honouring the filmmaker’s career and feature and short films to date. The only Category A film festival and leading competitive film festival in Central and Eastern Europe, KIVFF attracts an audience of over 135,000 each year. This year’s edition will run from July 1 to 9, 2011.
“Denis Villeneuve is one of Canada’s leading filmmakers and his Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film has now placed him among the world’s best,” said Telefilm Canada Executive Director Carolle Brabant, speaking from Berlin where she is promoting Canadian films. “The international recognition that Denis has garnered has raised the profile of Canada’s film industry around the globe, and we’re very proud of that!”
“The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival aims to nurture cinephilia by giving exposure to original storytellers who are passionately bringing their vision to the screen. We are thrilled to shine the spotlight on Denis Villeneuve and his unique body of work this year. Never afraid of shaking conventions, his highly personal approach and strong statements about society have been applauded throughout his career,” said Karel Och, Artistic Director of the Festival.
A leader of the new generation of Canadian filmmakers, Denis Villeneuve has developed a highly personal film style. In 1998, his first feature, Un 32 août sur terre, was screened at more than 35 film festivals around the world, including Cannes, Telluride and Toronto. His second feature, Maelström (2000), was selected by more than 40 festivals and picked up more than 25 awards, including the prestigious International Federation of Film Critics’ (FIPRESCI) prize at the 2001 Berlin Film Festival. In 2008, his short film Next Floor won the Canal+ prize at the international critics week at Cannes. And in 2009, his third feature premiered at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes. In Canada, Polytechnique won nine Genie awards and five Jutra awards.
Villeneuve’s latest film, Incendies, based on the play by Wajdi Mouawad, had its world premiere last summer at Venice Days where it picked up two awards; the Silver Mouse from online critics for Best Film Out of Competition and the 27 Times Cinema Award from the young jurors of the European Parliament, winning the prize for Best Film. The film subsequently toured the Canadian festival circuit, winning the Best Film award at the Toronto, Atlantic and Vancouver film festivals. To date, Incendies has won 14 international awards and has sold to over 30 foreign territories. The film is in the running for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards, to be held on February 27, 2011.
For further information about the Karlovy Vary festival, visit www.kviff.com.
About Telefilm Canada
Telefilm Canada is a federal cultural agency dedicated to developing and promoting the Canadian audiovisual industry. Telefilm provides financial support to the private sector to create distinctively Canadian productions that appeal to domestic and international audiences. Telefilm also administers the Canada Media Fund’s programs. Visit www.telefilm.ca.
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Media inquiries:
Élise Proulx
Telefilm Canada
514-283-0838 or 1-800-567-0890, ext. 2090
proulxe@telefilm.ca
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