OTTAWA, April 10, 2010 - On behalf of the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, Royal Galipeau, Member of Parliament (Ottawa-Orléans), and His Excellency François Delattre, Ambassador of France to Canada, will kick off the 8th edition of the film festival DiverCiné: A World View of La Francophonie this evening at the opening ceremony that they will co-host at Library and Archives Canada.
"Our Government is an active member of the international Francophonie, and we are proud to work with the Embassy of France to present the 8th DiverCiné: A World View of La Francophonie," said Mr. Galipeau. "This festival is an annual gathering for film lovers that will allow us to discover the depth of talent of filmmakers from the Canadian and international Francophonie, as well as the diversity of cultural expressions."
DiverCiné will take place from April 10 to 17, 2010, in the auditorium of Library and Archives Canada. The festival aims to present Canadian audiences with quality works by filmmakers from various Francophone countries. Some films shown at DiverCiné have even been selected for major international film festivals, but are rarely shown at movie theatres in Canada.
"By opening DiverCiné with a Haitian film, we wanted to express the solidarity that the world of Francophone cinema feels with the talented artists of that nation, which has seen its share of troubles," said Mr. Delattre. "It is a privilege for me to present the 8th DiverCiné festival, along with the Government of Canada–a country that is so deeply committed to cultural diversity."
The 2010 DiverCiné festival will present eight films from the international Francophonie: Moloch tropical from Haiti, À la dérive from Vietnam, Le chant des mariées from Tunisia, Après l'océan from Côte d'Ivoire, Home from Switzerland, Contes de l'âge d'or from Romania, L'armée du crime from France, and Before Tomorrow from Canada.
DiverCiné is a major cultural event that celebrates the creativity of the Canadian and international Francophonie and helps implement the UNESCO Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
For more information about DiverCiné programming, visit www.divercine.com.
Matthew Deacon
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and
Official Languages
819-997-7788
matthew.deacon@pch.gc.ca
Caroline Jacquemot-Gindre
Audiovisual Attaché
Embassy of France
613-953-7403
Media Relations
Canadian Heritage
819-994-9101
1-866-569-6155
media@pch.gc.ca
