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Dec.26/04 - Jan.2, 2005 |
Montreal refuses to give in to criticism
The World Film Festival this year to feature works by Italians Avati, Piccioni, Scola and Franchi
By Angela Baldassarre
Originally Published: 2004-08-22
This doesn't look like a good year for Montreal's World Film Festival. In a statement issued earlier this year, federal and provincial agencies that provide almost $1 million in funding to the international festival want to see some changes in the near future.
In particular, Telefilm Canada slammed the festival for its strained relations with the film industry, arrogant management style and lack of collaboration with public sector partners.
The criticisms came in a report on the country's main festivals by Montreal consulting firm Secor. It was commissioned by Telefilm and Quebec provincial funding agency Sodec.
The Toronto, Vancouver and Atlantic events were given top marks but Montreal, whose president Serge Losique refused to co-operate with the study, didn't fare well.
"With respect to deal-making, the verdict is unanimous: Montreal offers few opportunities since the film market is not normally on the agenda of major international buyers and sellers," says the report. "The market is poorly attended and the majority of people consulted question its usefulness."
The report goes on to says that local industry players are dissatisfied with Montreal's style of management. "This may be a turning point for the festival's future, as some industry members admit that dialogue now appears to be out of the question," the report said.
The study does concede that the festival is popular with local film fans, but says attendance is small for the size of the city.
Meanwhile for the festival, which runs from August 26 to September 6, it's business as usual but without the big names.
The Hollywood majors, in fact, have virtually deserted Montreal in recent years, so it's notable that the festival managed to snare two studio pics for its official competition. One of the studio entries in the competition is Scottish director Paul McGuigan's Montreal-shot drama Wicker Park which stars Josh Hartnett, Rose Byrne, Diane Kruger and Matthew Lillard. The other U.S. picture in competition is Around the Bend, from writer-director Jordan Roberts that stars Michael Caine, Christopher Walken and Josh Lucas.
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