During Cannes 2023, Universal Cinema Film & TV Journal’s Amir Ganjavie interviewed Paul Landriau the Head of Programming for the Quebec City Film Festival. What follows is that interview.
Amir Ganjavie, UniversalCinema Magazine (UM): Can you start by telling me about the selection process?
Paul Landriau (PL): Well, we have a call for entries. And it’s always nice, because you never know, and sometimes you discover new filmmakers out of the blue that you never heard of. So that’s always great. And we do a lot of reaching out to international distributors, to see what kind of films play at other festivals. [And also] keep track of the filmmakers we like, and what they are doing next. So, half of the selection might be stuff that we researched and the other ones are just regular submissions.
(UM): And do you have people who are helping you with decision-making? Or is it you making the final decision?
(PL): I’m making the final decision right now, because like so many festivals [we’ve had] great challenges. So, there was a whole movement in the team. We are a really smaller team now than we were before the pandemic. I’m trying to slowly [re-build] the programming committee and I’m trying to have people that are really specialists in a certain type of film. But this year, we are only two really that are doing the [selecting]. But I’m trying to stay open to suggestions. So, for example, we do some short film screenings and thematic screenings, but we never know for sure what those thematically will be before the selection begins. So, if I have a huge surprise short, maybe I’ll build a screening around the short.
(UM): I imagine you have a section for Quebec cinema.
(PL): I mean, we are really generous and of course, we want to focus and we want to showcase the best of Quebec cinema. So, that takes a huge part of the festivals, but we don’t have a section per se. It’s just like different kinds of screenings because this is the thing that we try to think about during the pandemic situation, how to change our festival and make sure that it’s still relevant. And what we decided is to think outside the box and look at other kinds of events. And right now, I’m trying to take lessons from music festivals. And at music festivals, usually, you’d go there, you have huge bands, you discover local stuff, there’s maybe a DJ set, you meet strangers, you meet friends and it’s really simple. And for a few days, you really just enjoy music and live life. And at the end, there’s no ceremony, awarding the best band or something like that. So for us in Quebec, we decided to remove all the protocols. So, there’s no competition, n jury, no award ceremony, and we just focus on the films. We go back to basics in a way, so we don’t have a separate section per se.
(UM): I studied in Quebec and I know it’s a very historical city, are there aspects of it that you’re trying to bring into the festival?
(PL): [The festival] takes place in the historic part of downtown, all [venues within walking distance].
And we have the Place D’Youville, an exterior screen with 500 chairs, and this is where we do like classic films or popular collections or maybe family screenings. We also have a pianist who plays with silent films. So, this is where we have our free programming to attract people and have fun, and there are food trucks and beers. And then between the screenings there, we show the schedule for the new films that play in the theaters.
(UM): What about the national cinema? Do you try to support Canadian cinema?
(PL): We don’t want to focus on any specific National Cinema per se. Of course, being in the same country and being close to Canadian Cinema, we always try to showcase some great Canadian films. There is, as you said, there is a kind of separation between the English and the French portions of Canada. Sometimes it’s just that we are not aware of each other. So sometimes Canadian filmmakers don’t know that Quebec City Film Festival exists, but I want to showcase some Canadian films, but we don’t have like a political statement or, we don’t make it a mission necessarily to have a quota of Canadian films. In the same way that we don’t have a quota of queer films or of other kinds of films, but we try to showcase it like, we want to show the diversity of world cinema, of contemporary cinema. We especially focus on new voices, new ways of telling stories and thinking about the art form. So, we mostly focus on young filmmakers, maybe they have their first, second, or third feature film. We’re less interested in [established] filmmakers because they’ll have distribution anyway and their films will play in theaters. So yeah, we like to be the place where you discover new artists. They can be Canadian or Quebecois or from elsewhere because I feel like art is really democratic, in the sense that anybody can make it. Especially now, it’s easier than with this new technology, new cameras. It’s easier than ever to make a film and we don’t have any restrictions based upon origins or budgets. I like to think that art is democratic but of course, there’s always the film that you never heard about that you’re really sad that you didn’t know about. So it’s our job to try to do our research and reach out to people.
(UM): Do you have a definition for a good film?
(PL): What is a good film, that is an eternal question, you know, because it’s an art form. There’s no mathematical process that determines which kind of films we take or we refuse. It’s not a product. There are no instruments that you can determine for certainty that this one is better than the other. This will always be subjective and this is also the great thing about art, right? That an art object will [resonate] differently with people and sometimes I feel that a thing is a masterpiece, but maybe you won’t be touched by it and vice versa. So that, in this way, it’s by definition, a faulty process and selection will never be perfect. But art also would never be perfect. It’s about creation and it’s about being vulnerable and trying to research something and trying to express yourself. So, for me, art is the most precious thing. I always try to be open-minded in the festival. I feel like we have to focus on new and original ideas. I’m not necessarily interested in the perfect classical film. For the festival, I want to find some new voices. And so, for example, in the last few years, Queer Cinema is really getting more and more known, and I’m really more interested in those kinds of new voices. So, maybe sometimes the film will be less good, even if this is subjective, but I prefer to have new voices and give them a chance. It’s also a way to try to counteract the stories written by the patriarchy. What is a good film? The answer will be different for everyone.
(UM): And suppose that I’m a filmmaker and I have submitted a very controversial film. Will you accept a movie that is very controversial, and divisive?
(PL): It’s a case-by-case situation. Every film is political. [All] art is saying something. There’s no such thing as objectivity. And can you make, can you find beauty in the most horrific things? I think you can. I also think some beautiful films are really dangerous. So, there’s no correlation necessarily but you cannot remove “the political” from the film. And, I’m not afraid of controversy, but we got to talk about which controversy. So, for example, a few years ago, maybe decades ago, it was really controversial to show homosexual or queer characters or the queer characters were always really caricatural. And for example, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, a great filmmaker, was sometimes banned in many countries or it was or he was considered controversial just by way of expressing himself. I like those kinds of controversy. I like to shake up the mindset and be open to new ideas if it’s a controversy that makes sense. But like, for example, this year, I don’t think I would take some things that could be considered, for example, Russian propaganda regarding the war. That doesn’t mean I’m opposed to Russian films per se, but yeah, it’s a case-by-case situation and what is considered controversial now might be the norm in the future. In the same way that at some point sexuality was, and is still in some places considered a crime, which for me is absurd. I am open to queer community and art and I want to showcase it.
(UM): And you mentioned that you are looking mostly for new voices and not established ones, so how important is box office or ticket sales for your festival?
(PL): Well, I believe that if you justify your presence and if people know that they can find new films and new ideas in your festivals, then they [know they can] support you. I believe that there’s an audience that is curious and wants to discover new things because if people just want to watch blockbusters or watch Netflix, they already can. Why would we show Marvel films or Netflix series or stuff? It’s already there for everybody to grab. So if you want something different, the same way that when you go to a music festival maybe you want to discover some new bands. Well, it’s the same thing for us. People that are willing to go to film festivals I feel are curious and want to discover new things. Like, can you remember the first time watched a David Lynch film? For me, I’m trying to, if I can provide that for one person.
(UM): How important is it for you to come to Cannes? What are you looking for here?
(PL): Cannes is a great place to meet people because this is where everybody is coming from every year. It’s also because it’s in May and [our festival’s in] September, that’s really great timing for us to try to find new films that maybe premiered here or maybe in the market like you have films that played at Berlin or other places, or that are still looking for their World Premiere. So, for us, it’s an [opportunity] to find new films but also just to say that we exist, to try to sell the festival to filmmakers because there are so many film festivals in the world. Quebec City Film Festival will never be one of the top five, it’s not our goal. So of course, for us, it’s like David versus Goliath. We’re just trying to show that we exist but I mean there are other places than Cannes and Berlin and there are other films than just the blockbusters, they all contribute to society in different ways. So, coming here every year, I’m trying to be surprised. The thing is that I never know what I’m going to find out in Cannes. That’s the beautiful part of it, the most satisfying thing for me is just being completely surprised by a new filmmaker.
(UM): You mentioned that during Covid, you had the possibility to think about the future. I’m just curious, what was the impact of Covid, in the long term for your festival?
(PL): I feel it changed everything because people realized the technology’s there now to just, you can have your own film festival at home every week if you decide to and there’s more film than ever that are really easily available on iTunes. I grew up before this technology existed. It was still DVD, and with VHS before, it felt like the Alibaba Treasure. So, in a way, the programmer and the curation are more important than ever because I feel like sometimes you can just browse Netflix and you never know what to watch. But if there’s a team of people that go to festivals around the world and they really have great care and take pride in what they choose and they present, then I feel like you can remove this portion and you can just trust the festival. And regarding Covid, I feel like some people, will never go back to theaters and it’s okay. Everybody is different. And of course, many people like suffered greatly from Covid and lost dear ones. So I am not at all mad about this. But for us, it was “How can we make sure that each screening is an event?” So, it’s making sure that it’s an original film, having maybe a cast or crew member on-site, having activities and master classes, and making sure that it’s the right environment and the right type of film with the right people to make sure that it’s conducive to discovery. And I don’t need everyone. We are there for people that are curious and that they want to discover new things.
(UM): At the end of our conversation, I wonder if there is anything left that you want to say about your festival or something that you feel missed.
(PL): You know I feel like every year we lament the end of Cinema but people like stories, you know. And before Cinemas, there was literature and literature is still there and still really alive and thriving. So, I believe in the art form and in a million cultures and we will always [have] cinema. It’s okay if we are not first anymore and if there are TV shows that are bigger or if video games are bigger. There will always be a need to tell stories and to have art to process the trauma of the world and to think about the world. So, in Quebec City or elsewhere we can meet and we can be together and gather and think about the world.
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