The NFB at RVQC 2023: 13 productions and co-productions, including three Quebec premieres.  Works by seasoned and emerging filmmakers exploring social issues and questions of identity.

News release

February 6, 2023 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)

The National Film Board of Canada will be taking part in the 41st Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma (RVQC), with 13 NFB productions and co-productions appearing at the festival. Three of these films are Quebec premieres screening in competition: the feature documentary L’Ordre secret (The Secret Order) by Phil Comeau, the medium-length documentary Croque-Mort: C'est beau la vie! (Undertaker for Life!) by Georges Hannan, and the short documentary Assez French (French Enough) by Alexis Normand.

The full selection of NFB films at RVQC consists of: two feature documentaries; one medium-length documentary; three short documentaries; and seven animated shorts in competition. The films—some made by highly experienced filmmakers and others by emerging directors—take very diverse approaches to social issues and questions of identity. An annual celebration of the best of Quebec filmmaking, the RVQC runs from February 22 to March 4, 2023, in Montreal.

Quick Facts

Competition – Best Franco-Canadian Film

  • L’Ordre secret (The Secret Order) by Phil Comeau (NFB, in collaboration with Unis TV, 85 min) – QUEBEC PREMIERE
    Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/the-secret-order

    Acadian filmmaker Phil Comeau shines a spotlight on the Ordre de Jacques-Cartier, a powerful secret society that operated from 1926 to 1965, infiltrating every sector of Canadian society. The Secret Order paints a gripping portrait of the social and political struggles of Canadian francophone-minority communities. It was a battle that continues to resonate today. The film had its world premiere at the Festival international du cinéma francophone en Acadie (FICFA), where it earned a special mention from the jury and won the audience choice award. The doc also had a successful theatrical release in the Atlantic region.
  • Croque-mort. C’est beau la vie ! (Undertaker for Life!) by Georges Hannan (NFB, 52 min) – QUEBEC PREMIERE
    Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/undertaker-for-life

    Undertakers are anything but gloomy; they’re funny, generous and dedicated. We would gladly go on vacation with them—but sadly, they never seem to have any dead time. Undertaker for Life! had its world premiere at FICFA, where it won the La Vague Léonard Forest Award for best medium or feature-length Acadian film.
  • Assez French (French Enough) by Alexis Normand (NFB, 18 min) – QUEBEC PREMIERE
    Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/french-enough

    At her family’s summer cabin, singer-songwriter Alexis Normand weaves old home movies with current conversations to illuminate the struggle and triumph of reclaiming francophone Canadian identity on the Prairies. French Enough was selected to screen at Cinéfest Sudbury and the Cinema on the Bayou Festival in Louisiana. It will also be presented in March at the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie, where the filmmaker is one of the spokespersons this year. This short film is also in competition in the Best Documentary Short category at the RVQC.

 Feature-length documentary

  •  En attendant Raif (Waiting for Raif) by Patricio Henriquez and Luc Côté (Macumba Média/NFB, in collaboration with Radio-Canada, 150 min)
    Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/waiting-for-raif

    Filmed over a period of eight years, Waiting for Raif tells the tragic tale of a family torn apart by the intransigence of an absolute monarchy, bringing us the inside story of Ensaf Haidar’s inspiring battle to free her husband, renowned prisoner of conscience Raif Badawi. The film had its world premiere at the Festival du cinéma international en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, followed by a theatrical run in Montreal, Quebec City and Sherbrooke. Some of the film’s protagonists will participate in an RVQC roundtable entitled “Quand le privé devient public: la parole aux personnes filmées en documentaire” (“When the private becomes public: Giving the floor to people filmed in documentaries”), on Monday, February 27, at 6 p.m.

Short documentaries

  • Upstairs with David Amram (Au Upstairs Jazz Bar avec David Amram) by Alanis Obomsawin (NFB, 16 min)
    Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/david-amram

    Made by one of the most acclaimed documentarians in Canada, this film had its world premiere at the 2022 First Peoples International Film Festival.
  • Linda Rabin: tout est mouvement (Linda Rabin: Everything Is Moving) by Christine Chevarie-Lessard (NFB, 4 min)

    A portrait of one of Quebec’s modern dance pioneers, recipient of a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award.

Competition – Best Animated Short

  • What Rhymes with Toxic (Ce qui rime avec toxique) by Lynn Smith (NFB, 4 min 59 s)
    Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/what-rhymes-with-toxic

    Directed by veteran animation filmmaker Lynn Smith, this film had its world premiere at the 2022 Sommets du cinéma d’animation in Montreal. It will be presented at the RVQC for the first time in its French version, featuring the voice of Alanis Obomsawin.

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Contacts

Osas Eweka-Smith
NFB Publicist
C.: 587-385-9771
o.eweka-smith@nfb.ca

Lily Robert
Director, Communications and Public Affairs, NFB
C.: 514-296-8261
l.robert@nfb.ca

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