Telefilm Canada supports production of 10 French-language feature films for a total of $13 million
Ten films starring Monica Bellucci, Pascale Bussières, Anne Dorval, Suzanne Clément, Alexandre Goyette and Patrick Huard
Montreal, May 8, 2014—Telefilm Canada announces its support of the production of 10 French-language feature films since the beginning of the year through the Canada Feature Film Fund (CFFF). The films selected are Le Mirage (Ricardo Trogi); Endorphine (André Turpin); Le journal d’un vieil homme (Bernard Émond); Mommy (Xavier Dolan); La passion d’Augustine (Léa Pool); King Dave (Podz); Le journal d’Aurélie Laflamme, les pieds sur terre (Nicolas Monette); Le grand verglas (Sylvain Archambault); Les mauvaises herbes (Louis Bélanger); and Ville-Marie (Guy Édoin).
“We are proud of these promising projects. Mommy, by Xavier Dolan, is already in official competition at Cannes,” said Carolle Brabant, Executive Director of Telefilm Canada. “The other films funded, by renowned or emerging filmmakers, tackle various genres and promise to offer audiences films that are rich and exciting.”
Le Mirage
Director: Ricardo Trogi
Screenwriter: Louis Morissette
Production: Christal Films Productions
Distribution: Les Films Christal
Confirmed actors: Louis Morissette, Julie Perreault, Patrice Robitaille
Release: Summer 2015
Le Mirage is told from the point of view of a man in his late thirties who wonders: “what are we chasing?” and who is often pushed toward a goal not his own, a goal that others have chosen. He no longer does anything for himself until life catches up with him and reminds him that he is becoming the man he wanted.
Our society has become a monster of consumption, if not an abuser of consumption. Consumption is used to express success and to bandage an empty existence; it is as if consuming makes people feel they’ve gotten the better of a life they regret.
Endorphine
Director: André Turpin (Cosmos, Un crabe dans la tête)
Screenwriter: André Turpin
Production: micro_scope
Distribution: Les Films Christal
Release: Fall 2015
Marine (age 12) must learn to feel emotion again following a post-traumatic shock. Marine (age 25) is a solitary young woman who tries to control her panic attacks. Marine (age 60), a radiant physician, gives a lecture on the nature of time and reaches an orgasm in her sleep.
Three stories like three dreams: dealing with indifference and fear, they reflect each other with breathtaking déjà vu and temporality that runs counter to intuition.
Le journal d’un vieil homme
Director: Bernard Émond (La Neuvaine, La femme qui boit)
Screenwriter: Bernard Émond
Production: Association coopérative de productions audio-visuelles (ACPAV)
Distribution: Les Films Séville
Confirmed actors: Paul Savoie, Marie-Ève Pelletier
Release: Fall 2015
Nicolas, a famous doctor and scientist, is suffering from an incurable disease and knows he is going to die. He is ageing, suffering from insomnia, caught in a bad marriage to a younger woman, and father to a teenage daughter he doesn’t understand. The only thing connecting him to life is the affection of his adopted daughter, Katia. But Katia, in her thirties, has abandoned her career as an actress and is struggling with deep depression against which he feels powerless.
Mommy (in official competition at Cannes)
Director: Xavier Dolan (J’ai tué ma mere / I Killed My Mother), Laurence Anyways, Tom à la ferme / Tom at the Farm)
Screenwriter: Xavier Dolan
Production: Metafilms
Distribution: Les Films Séville
Confirmed actors: Suzanne Clément, Anne Dorval, Alexandre Goyette, Patrick Huard, Antoine-Olivier Pilon
Release: Winter 2014
A single-parent widow inherits custody of her son, an extremely unruly adolescent. Together they try to make ends meet, particularly thanks to the unexpected help of their neighbour from across the street, Kyla.
La passion d’Augustine
Director: Léa Pool (Emporte-moi, Mouvements du désir)
Screenwriters: Marie Vien et Léa Pool
Production: Lyla Films
Distribution: Les Films Christal
Confirmed actors: Céline Bonnier, Valérie Blais, Diane Lavallée, Pierrette Robitaille, Andrée Lachapelle, Marie-France Lambert, Marie Tifo, Gilbert Sicotte, Maude Guérin
Release: Fall 2015
Simone Beaulieu has become Mother Augustine, who successfully runs a little convent on the shores of the Richelieu. Passionate and resilient, Mother Augustine puts all her energy and her talent as a musician in the service of her students. Although small, the school is a musical gem that wins all the big prizes for piano. The walls breathe music. But when the Quebec government establishes a public education system in the mid-sixties, the future of Mother Augustine and her Sisters is threatened.
King Dave
Director: Podz (Daniel Grou) (Les 7 jours du talion, L’affaire Dumont)
Screenwriter: Alexandre Goyette
Production: Go Films
Distribution: Les Films Séville
Confirmed actors: Alexandre Goyette
Release: Spring 2015
Dave is a young rebel, a self-proclaimed king, easily influenced but not oblivious. He gets it into his head to find the stranger who danced with his girlfriend, grabbing her ass as if he had the right, and decides to take revenge. Violence, romantic disappointment and betrayed friendship: Dave puts himself through the wringer and dives in, always pushed ahead, never being able to stop.
King Dave is the story of Dave, told in one single sequence.
Le journal d’Aurélie Laflamme, les pieds sur terre
Director: Nicolas Monette (C.A.)
Screenwriter: India Desjardins
Production: Films Vision 4
Distribution: Téléfiction distribution et marketing
Confirmed actors: Marianne Verville, Édith Cochrane, Aliocha Schneider
Release: Summer 2015
In the first part of her adventures, Aurélie believes she has finally found her place in the universe. Today she realizes nothing can be taken for granted and she must reinvent her place each day. Our everyday heroine will face the obstacles with her head held high as she deals with a heartbreaking love triangle, questions about her future and defining her role in her blended family.
Le grand verglas
Director: Sylvain Archambault (Piché: entre ciel et terre)
Screenwriter: Jacques Savoie
Production: Ad Lib Films
Distribution: Les Films Séville
Release: Fall/Hiver 2015
In January 1998, Southwestern Quebec is hit by an ice storm. Ethel and Ernest Julien, a couple of retirees whose son, Polo, a small mechanic who has often disappointed them, find themselves at the centre of events they have trouble understanding. As these days of chaos accumulate, they realize that their son is nothing less than one of the heroes of this unusual crisis. A gallery of characters revolve around Polo, from his parents’ home in the Town of Mount Royal, and CEGEP Ahuntsic, a shelter improvised by emergency preparedness. Our mechanic, who specializes in generators, an advantage in the midst of the ice storm, then meets Ginette, a single-parent mother whose life is at a crossroads.
Les mauvaises herbes
Director: Louis Bélanger (Gaz Bar Blues, Post mortem)
Screenwriters: Louis Bélanger et Alexis Martin
Production: Coop Vidéo de Montréal
Distribution: Les Films Christal
Confirmed actors: Alexis Martin, Gilles Renaud
Release: Fall 2015
Jacques Thériault, an actor with big gambling debts, takes refuge in the country where he is found by Simon, a sly, uncouth farmer. Simon forces a “reasonable association” between the two. The men end up becoming friends and begin to grow cannabis. They meet Francesca, a young Hydro-Québec employee who embraces their project. During the winter harvest, they learn to live together with a degree of happiness. Yet a threat from the outside comes to disturb this delicate balance.
Ville-Marie (selected to the Cinéfondation’s Atelier at the Cannes Film Festival)
Director: Guy Édoin (Marécages)
Screenwriter: Guy Édoin
Production: Max Films
Distribution: Filmoption International
Confirmed actors: Monica Bellucci, Pascale Bussières
Release: Fall 2015
In the heart of Montreal, the destinies of four people violently collide: a French actress, her son, a nurse and an ambulance driver. At the emergency department of Ville-Marie Hospital their lives will be turned upside down.
About Telefilm Canada
Telefilm is dedicated to the cultural, commercial and industrial success of Canada’s audiovisual industry. Through its various funding and promotion programs, Telefilm supports dynamic companies and creative talent here at home and around the world. Telefilm also administers the programs of the Canada Media Fund. Visit telefilm.ca and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/telefilm_canada or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/telefilmcanada.
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Media inquiries:
Douglas Chow, Manager, External Communications
Telefilm Canada
(514) 283-0838, ext. 2225 or 1-800-567-0890
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