Universal Cinema Film & TV Journal’s Amir Ganjavie recently interviewed Zoé Protat, the Director of Programming for Montreal’s Festival du Nouveau Cinema. What follows is part of that interview.
Amir Ganjavie, UniversalCinema Magazine (UM): Can you start by telling us a little about your selection process?
Zoé Protat (ZP): Okay. So we have [about] 90 features a year. We stop at a hundred, it’s like the final limit. And we have a lot of short films, too. For the features, we’re 5 or 6 programmers, it depends on the time of the year because not all of them obviously are working full time for the festival. So, there are different contracts.
Usually, the selection process is a collective one. We usually do most of the work together, and then, if there is a final decision, that’s for me to do it.
For a long time, 3 to 4 years, I made all the programming for Canadian Features, because that was my first job at the festival. I became a programmer in 2018 for Canadian Features, and for the next 3 years, I was the only one programming the Canadian Features, but now, I have help. So, it is a collective process. But for the International Competition, I make the final decisions.
(UM): And how do you select films? Is it by submissions through FilmFreeway? Do you invite filmmakers?
(ZP): We have an official submission process via FilmFreeway, that’s for sure. We have a pre-selection committee to help us to screen all those submissions, but we also do a lot of scouting. In a perfect world, we go to film festivals. We see films. We do a lot of research. Also, year after year, we build relations with the filmmakers. So, they are sending us their film also directly. So, they don’t use the submission process anymore. We have a private channel with them.
(UM): Some programmers told me they trust a film more when it has a distributor while others are more open to any film.
(ZP): We are very open to all films. We really love, actually, to receive spontaneous messages from filmmakers from all around the world, because we, in our festival, are specialized in first-time and second-time filmmakers. We are really searching always for new voices and new approaches. That’s the new cinema. Even if we are quite an old festival.
Obviously, we talk a lot with distributors and international sellers, but we are always open to having something that comes out of the blue, out of nowhere. Like, someone who doesn’t know how to navigate the “official” world, someone who made a very independent movie with no money at all. Also, filmmakers that are artists, like photographers, choreographers and they do this movie a bit on the side, and they’re not in the whole industry circus of movies. So, we like that a lot, actually.
(UM): Montreal used to have a very big festival, Montreal World Film Festival (WFF).
(ZP): I didn’t experience the big days of WFF. When I became a film critic after my studies, it was already kind of dead. So, I went, maybe, for the last few years, and then it disappeared. So, I’m not nostalgic about that era because it was such a long time ago for me. I know some people remember WFF with a whole warm heart, but it’s not my case.
Montreal, as you know, is a festival city. We have a lot of amazing festivals, not only for movies but for music, theater, and everything. So, there’s a lot to do. It is a very vibrant city, culturally, that’s for sure. All the film festivals are amazing in Montreal. We have all different ambiances, like, Fantasia is humongous, but it’s more genre-oriented and Asian cinema, a lot. RIDM is marvelous for documentaries in November in Montreal. There are several others, like a smaller festival with a target audience, very precise, and they’re doing amazing work.
But we are this generalist, big, festival for all genres, like fiction. We do mostly fiction, of course, but we still have documentaries, animation, and movies from all around the world. We don’t restrict ourselves to some territories or some languages.
(UM): As a Canadian filmmaker, what I realize is that in Canada, there is not too much support for the Canadian film industry. Usually, we can name Canadian filmmakers when they go to, for example, Cannes, and Berlin. But nobody cares when you get into festivals domestically like Montreal.
(ZP): Yeah, it’s always like this. It’s like this syndrome, you’re more well-known outside of your country than in your country. And you search for recognition outside rather than to be well-recognized in your own country. You’re absolutely right.
(UM): Do you have any thoughts because you worked for the Canadian Section, do you try to help, for example, to promote them or to give them in the Canadian industry, or as a new voice?
(ZP): Yes, absolutely. In Quebec, English-speaking Canadian movies, they are not well distributed at all. We have a really strong industry for Quebec (French-language) movies. We are very lucky. I think in Canada, Quebec filmmakers are really supported, and [celebrated]. But for [non-Quebec] Canadian filmmakers, it’s more difficult. So, that’s where festivals play a major role. Because if you want to see a panorama of what’s going on in Canada in film, you have to go to a festival.
You cannot see new Canadian films every year in Montreal. Some independent venues like Cinéma Moderne or Cinéma du Parc, sometimes play Canadian movies for a short period of time. But sometimes, it’s way after the world premiere. Yeah, so it’s very important for us in the Canadian section. We have a national competition, so that’s for sure, that’s only Canadian movies. We try to go from coast to coast as much as we can and be a representative of all provinces and also all tendencies of current Canadian Cinema.
We also program Canadian movies in other sections of the festival. They are not like only in the national competition. For example, we have this section, it’s called the New Alchemists, and it’s a section devoted to more formal, experimental works. We also select Canadian filmmakers in that section when we stumble upon a Canadian filmmaker that does more formal, experimental work. We also have some Special Presentations where we can feature more big Canadian films that are not eligible for our National Competition. Because in the National Competition, we choose only first and second-time filmmakers. So, we try to put Canadian cinema everywhere in the festival.
(UM): What about awards?
(ZP): We have a cash award for the National Competition. We have also a cash award for the International Competition, and sometimes, a Canadian filmmaker can also win in the International Competition.
We also have a pitch or a session in collaboration with Netflix. It’s been 3 to 4 years that we’re doing it. So, our filmmakers can come to our forum that’s our professional section of the festival and they can participate in the pitch and win cash to continue the program.
(UM): One of the major themes in most of the festivals right now is taking what is diversity? The representation of diversity, race, minorities, all. But there has been some debate about whether you sacrifice quality for the sake of diversity.
(ZP): I don’t believe in the sacrifice argument. I don’t think you have to sacrifice anything for diversity. I think that’s the wrong way to think about that. The very big movies, yes, we screen some of them, in our master section, like films that won Cannes or Berlin and everything. We have some premieres for Quebec audiences for those big movies, but the main core of the festival is really discovery and new talents. When you’re in that field, you don’t have to sacrifice anything for diversity. It’s there, you know. As I said, we do a lot of research. That’s what keeps us alive and happy, and [making] some discoveries. I find it very easy to be diverse, actually. Because you talked about the quality, the quality is there. I don’t have to sacrifice it. If you’re searching and you’re seeing movies from all over the world, they are very diverse in terms of the work itself, and in terms of the creators. And the quality is there. Yes, pick the quality, but pick the diversity as well at the same time. It works together for me.
(UM): This is maybe a more specific question, but sometimes, when I am watching movies from different directors or, for example, from different races or gender, I don’t see any special rhetoric. I see that, for example, when a female filmmaker makes a movie, it’s very similar to a male filmmaker. I don’t see any kind of female gaze or any different-
(ZP): It depends. Sometimes, it happens. It depends on the subject. Also, when you see some subject that is taken by a female filmmaker, yes, I think there is a difference. But it depends on which female filmmaker also. You can see films directed by women and it seems like it was directed by a man. It depends. Each work is different.
(UM): So, I’m curious if you are also looking if you can, for example, see a different way of representation in diversity?
(ZP): Yes, absolutely. We really try to be diverse in terms of territories at first. When we begin to sell up the international competition, our first favorite movies, “Okay, we’ll work with this one, and work with this one.” But when the months come and the deadline approaches, it’s like a Tetris game. Like, “Oh my God, we missed that kind of cinema, we missed that kind of territory. Oh, we want a documentary as well. We want an animation film in the International Competition.”
But in terms of clarity, it’s very easy. Not in the Master’s Section, I told you about because those filmmakers are old men. For most of them. Not all of them, of course. But in the new filmmakers, it’s really easy to do it, and it’s really important at the same time. When I say it’s easy, it’s not like, “Oh, it [does it] itself.” No, we really try to do it, but it’s fun and it’s easy because the quality is there.
(UM): What’s your reason for attending other festivals?
(ZP): I usually go to Berlin and Cannes. This year, I went to Rotterdam. I really loved the festival. We had it online for the last few years, but it was my first time in person. It was amazing in Rotterdam. We are very much alike in our way of programming. Usually, I go to those festivals, and if I’m lucky, I can go to some others. The festivals at the end of the summer, it’s more difficult for us, because we’re in the big selection process and the deadline is coming soon.
Yes, I go to Cannes, I enjoy it very much. But Berlin is very important for me because it’s a really big festival unlike Rotterdam as I told you about. But they are very keen to stay very current with social themes, representation, and new talents. Even in this big festival, they are very keen to stay very close to the current world and what’s happening. So, it’s very important for us to [attend]. And networking. I do meetings with distributors, sellers, and cultural institutes a lot. It’s very important to make contact with all of these people. For the selection process, cultural institutes are very important too, because they can submit movies that are not in the official industry scheme.
But I’m mainly here (in Berlin) to see a lot of movies and to work a lot in a concentrated time. So, it’s very exciting. Berlin venues are so beautiful and amazing. The audiences are great, too. It’s always a pleasure to come here, and I love this city. Like in Cannes, you see movies, but apart from seeing movies, you can go to the beach. You can go to the beach, to parties, and everything. But here, the city is so amazing. If you have a gap between two screenings, you can go to the museum, to a gallery, or you can go to a concert.
(UM): In terms of topic, suppose that I’m a filmmaker and I’ll present you with a movie with a very controversial topic. For example, I am making a movie against abortion. Will you show this kind of movie, even if it is very good?
(ZP): My God. This topic, I don’t think so. You chose the wrong one. That would be difficult, actually. My God. We have to see it, but that would be difficult. But yeah, we show some pretty controversial movies. Actually, last year, we had a little of an issue with Sparta (directed by Ulrich Seidl).
He also made another film Rimini. Rimini was in Berlin, the Official Competition last year. We saw it, we liked it a lot. It’s already confirmed with us, and we talked a lot with the distributor and the producers, too. “Yes, we want Sparta also. That’s perfect.”
It’s the story of two brothers. The first film, it talks with the second, and it’s all intertwined and everything. But then, we saw the whole controversy about Sparta, and we haven’t seen it yet, because the world premiere was in San Sebastian. So, I had a meeting with the distributor, and I said, “Okay, now, there is a whole new situation about that film. I cannot confirm it without seeing it.” Because at first, it was okay to confirm it without seeing it. We were three programmers because we needed more than one brain to solve that issue. And we found that the quality was there, very much so, that it made sense to show both of the movies because they go so well together, obviously.
We also did a lot of research about the accusations that were made, and I translated very long articles from German. I read everything. We talked about it. We thought about it, and we decided to show both films. Looks like, now, all the accusations are dropped, and it seems like it was okay. But I respect the journalist’s work very much. They did very in-depth research about how the film was made because the problem wasn’t the film itself so much. It was more like how it was made in Romania, in this very remote place and villages, and how the production team presented the film to the non-professional actors that appeared in the film. And how they handled everything. It was more work methods and work ethics. There was something there for sure, but that’s not for us to judge, and the film was there. So, that was an issue last year.
(UM): In terms of independent cinema and funding, do you check, for example, a movie that has been submitted, who is funding the movie? For example, if it is funded by the Russian government or the Iranian government, do you consider that?
(ZP): We do. Yes, absolutely. Yeah, we do. It doesn’t mean that we are not taking the movie in the end, but everything is taken into consideration. We want to be prepared, and we want to watch what are we confirming, and where it’s coming from. Yeah, absolutely.
(UM): Last question. What is your vision for the future of your festival? Do you have any special idea or utopia that you want to achieve in the next 5-10 years?
(ZP): Yeah, totally, I don’t know how it is in the rest of Canada, but in Quebec, cinema is becoming more and more difficult to see. Like distributors, they are very tight on money, and maybe they don’t want to take as much risk as they were taking in the 90s or in the 2000s. We have a lot of French-speaking movies. French cinema is quite well-distributed in Quebec. But for movies from all around the world, like subtitled movies, it’s much more difficult.
So, a lot of what we program, will not reach normal distribution, normal venues, or normal audiences. I think that the mission of the festivals, in general, is becoming more and more important for cinephiles. Because now, it’s basically the only place that we can see movies from all around the world, and first-time filmmakers and totally unknown names in the North American territories. So, I think our mission is more and more important for cinephiles in Montreal.
I really hope that we can grow bigger and touch more and more cinephiles audiences. This year, our audiences were much younger than before the pandemic. It was such a joy for me to come, introduce a movie, and see that the whole room was packed with students. When I asked, “Is it your first time at the festival?” There were a lot of people that said, “Yes, it’s my first time. I’m discovering. I’m 18. I’m 19, and I’m going to the festival for the first time.” If they want to see different movies, they have to come see us. So, I’m hoping to touch those younger audiences, and maybe hopefully, they will become regulars all of their lives.
It’s very important to fill that gap, like, I know not everyone is interested to see first-time directors’ movies from little countries, very far away from North America. I’m aware of that. But there is an audience. We just have to find it, touch it, I think.
(UM): I’m from Toronto and I see that many young people are very economy driven. They don’t have a very good appreciation of culture or cinema. Montreal’s situation is different.
(ZP): Yes, it’s a bit different, but it still works. We have to make ourselves known in our own community. There are a lot of people that are not aware.
I’m always saying, going to see a film at a festival or in a regular venue, it’s not that of a big deal. Take a chance. It’s not like going to the opera, where you have to book a ticket in advance and it’s very expensive and it’s very long, and you don’t know if you like opera. So, you’re like, “Oh no, I’m not going to book $200 tickets, 6 months in advance.” But a film, it’s quite accessible. It’s becoming more and more expensive, I know, but if you’re not sure, maybe take a chance.
If you never saw movies from Afghanistan, well, you see this Afghan movie, you don’t know, take a chance, and you will discover something. If you don’t like it, at least you can talk about it after. I saw that Afghan movie, it wasn’t for me, but you saw it, and you took a little something with you. So, I think it’s more accessible to go see a film than some other forms of art that are more expensive.
I’m always saying, take a chance. Everyone is asking me all the time, like, “How do I make a choice?” I’m like, “Okay, but if it fits in your schedule, and if it seems okay, take a chance. You will discover something.”
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