An underground women’s roller derby team. A burnt out Montreal advertising exec-turned-shepherd in Provence, France. A widow who fights to keep her lifelong home in Morocco after her daughter decides to sell it. These stories and many more will be coming to the big screen in Fort-Coulonge this weekend, as part of the return of the Festival international du Cinéma des Femmes du Pontiac.
From Friday to Sunday, Aug. 7-9, six feature films and six short films will be shown at Cinéma Lyn, Pontiac’s last remaining movie theatre. On Sunday evening, a seventh feature will be shown outdoors at Plage du Pont Blanc, free of charge. All, according to the festival’s organizers, will showcase the richness, diversity, and power of the perspectives of female filmmakers from Quebec and abroad.
First launched in 2018 by Pontiac cultural group Phare Ouest, the festival had as a simple mission to bring francophone films made by women to Pontiac audiences.
“We realized in 2018 that it was so hard for women to produce a film, to get the money needed [ . . . ] This is mainly why we are highlighting films made by women,” said Phare Ouest co-founder France Lavoie.
“Also, the way the women send their message is so different than the men sometimes. It can offer a new view of the world, of the way things are, and sometimes we don’t have much of a chance to see that.”
Phare Ouest formed over 10 years ago with the mission of supporting Pontiac’s revitalization through art and culture. Over the years, the group has hosted poetry evenings and monthly film screenings, among other activities in Mansfield and Fort-Coulonge. Today, the group’s members are Michele Parent, France Lavoie, Suzanne Dazé, Pierre St-Cyr, and Louis Harvey.
The film festival ran for two years out of a school basement that had been temporarily converted into a movie theatre, until its organizer moved to Montreal. And then the Covid-19 pandemic hit, putting it on pause indefinitely. This weekend it will make its comeback, once again sharing perspectives on the world that don’t often make it to Hollywood.
Two films by Quebec director Mélanie Charbonneau will bookend the festival, with Les Furies kicking things off at Cinéma Lyn on Friday and Out Standing closing the event at Plage du Pont Blanc on Sunday.
Charbonneau, who has been named the honorary president of the festival, will be present at both to discuss her films.
“These are unique, powerful, and unifying stories that make us laugh, move us deeply, and remind us that cinema is, above all, an experience to be shared,” she said of the festival’s chosen films.
Sarah Seené will also be present for a discussion following the screening of her short film Orbites on Saturday afternoon.
“Film can open the mind to new stuff,” said Lavoie. “Most of the movies coming from the states have the same kind of values.
[ . . . ] American blockbusters, with American values, sometimes don’t correspond with our values here.”
For tickets and full festival details, visit www.phareouest.ca/festival. The film festival coincides with two other cultural events in Fort-Coulonge this weekend – the annual Village en fête street party, and the second annual Fort-Coulonge Salon du Livre book fair.
