Founded in 2011, the Quebec City Film Festival is a non-profit organization that strives to offer film enthusiasts from Quebec and visitors from outside the province and abroad a major film event similar to other iconic international film festivals. It is a renowned and recognised platform that screens regional and international productions of new and original films. The QCFF also supports local and regional emerging artists by providing them with a showcase to present their works that attracts major media exposure.
History
Since its inception, every year in the month of September the QCFF presents about 50 international feature films and more than 100 short films. The films represent all cinematographic genres and perspectives from all over the world, attracting an audience of more than 25,000 festival visitors every year. In addition to these works come the artisans that create them. At past events, the QCFF was proud to welcome more than 300 special guests to the festival, including well known filmmakers Jean-Claude Labrecque, Xavier Dolan, Jean-Marc Vallée, Denys Arcand, Christophe Gans, Mike Figgis, and Larry Clark as well as the many actors, writers and producers who also accompany their works at the festival.
Based on a true story, L'Affaire Dumont was presented as the opening film of the second edition of the QCFF and attended by director Podz, producer Nicole Robert and actors that appeared in the film. Filmmaker Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette's Inch'Allah was chosen to close the second festival. Festival activities were centred around the Dôme in Place d’Youville and became a distinctive feature of the festival. It was open free to the public and hosted several evening parties and VIP events.
2013
18 – 29 September
161 films
88 special guests
25 464 festival visitors
For its third edition, Parkland by Peter Landesman, an ensemble film based around the assassination of JFK, was presented to open the festival. The Quebec premiere of Stefan Miljevic’s film Amsterdam was chosen to close the festival. New for the third year: the creation of the Cinephile Jury, made up entirely of residents of Québec City. The jury awards the most original film among first-time filmmakers. In 2013, the award went to Don Jon, the debut by American actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Mommy by Xavier Dolan was presented as the opening film and attended by the film's team. The North American premiere of Beauty and the Beast was screened at the awards ceremony and attended by the film's writer and director Christophe Gans. The usual closing ceremony, which had been held on the last Saturday, is from then on replaced by a gala on the second Wednesday, during which the award ceremony takes place. Shortly before the festival began, containers were remodelled as mini cinema halls named Ciné Pop-up. A roaming project, they are placed in different locations throughout Québec City. The goal of Ciné Pop-up is to relocate screenings to where residents live so that they can view a selection of short films in their neighbourhoods.
2015
16 – 27 September
217 films
208 special guests
24 839 festival visitors
Paul à Québec by François Bouvier was presented as the opening film: author Michel Rabagliati, producer Karine Vanasse and actors from the film descended on the red carpet of Place d’Youville for the occasion. Philippe Falardeau's film My Internship in Canada was screened at the awards ceremony. The concert film The Phantom of the Opera was presented at the Palais Montcalm and featured a Casavant organ. Ciné Pop-up continued to relocate throughout the city as Place d'Youville was transformed into a large open-air cinema, with screenings that included, among others, the Back to the Future trilogy to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the release of the first film.
2016
14 – 24 September
204 special guests
294 films
over 30 000 festival visitors
For its sixth edition, the festival opened with Boundaries by Chloé Robichaud, with some members of the film's crew attending. Along with the director, actors such as Rémy Girard, Yves Jacques, Macha Grenon, and Emily Van Camp, as well as Quebec cinema artists like Julien Poulin, Marie Eykel, Manon Briand and Rock Demers walked up the red carpet of place D’Youville. The Palais Montcalm also hosted the North-American premiere of by Yan England, screened as the film of the Award ceremony night. The features It's only the End of the World by Xavier Dolan and Kiss me like a Lover by André Forcier, both premiered at the festival and were favorites among the audience, the latter winning the Public's Choice Award for a Feature Film. For a third year in a row, the Ciné Pop-up also spread around downtown, both before and during the festival, becoming over the years a classic and must-see event.
