In Dieppe, the Canadian Film Festival asserts itself in the world of cinema

From March 24 to 27, the ninth edition of the Canadian Dieppe Film Festival will be held in Dieppe. Thanks to the arrival of prestigious guests and original programming, the festival has grown over the years.

It is one of the only festivals that has maintained the 2020 and 2021 editions in the midst of a health crisis despite the virtual absence of Canadians. Both editions were held in the summer, and not in March, as in previous years: “It was important for us to have a beautiful festival and the audience was there”explains Ben Collier, president of Ciné Deep, the festival’s organizing association.

Perseverance and volunteer work that pays off. ninth edition It will officially open this evening at the Grand Forum Cinema in Dieppe in front of a crowded house.

It must be said that over the past few years, the festival has made it a point of pride to bring in many directors, producers, actors and actresses from Canada.

Fifteen feature films will be shown over 3 and a half days. At approximately half of these screenings, a member of the film crew will attend to discuss with the audience: “After two years of absence, we are very pleased to welcome the professionals again. This is what makes the festival’s identity, it is on a human scale, friendly and above all viewers can chat with the guests”says Ben Collier.

The jurors’ choices also tempt the audience. After, among others, director Oscar Sesto and singer Daniel Lavoie in 2020, and actor Bruno Salomon in 2021, this version chose a selective jury headed by Suzanne Clément, the favorite actress of director Xavier Dolan in Quebec.

Alongside him are “Inconnnu” Pascal Legitimus, Frederic Pierrot, an actor from Auffay (76) and “psy” from the hit series “En Thérapie” or young actress Emilie Camp, one of the four sisters in the movie What the Hell Did We Do? The third part will be released at the beginning of April.

We want this meeting to become unmissable.

Ben Collier, Organizer Member, Canadian Dieppe Film Festival

Word of mouth and these bold choices have a direct impact on ticket sales for the 2022 edition. In just a few years, the festival has succeeded in making itself known beyond the borders of Normandy: “cela fait 2 ans qu’on a mis en place une billetterie en ligne et on sait d’où vienent les gens qui achètent un pass. Ils viennent de plus en plus gens d’autres régions voisines, comme la Bretagne et l’Ile from France” Ben Collier explains. Nearly 3,000 spectators are expected, a record number since the event’s inception.

Especially since Dieppe City this year celebrates the 80th anniversary of the August 19, 1942 raid. Also called “Operation Jubilee”, this landing was a failure but allowed the success of the August 6, 1944 operation, it is well known in Canada.

Thus, the festival officially begins series of festivities that will be held throughout the season.

One of the main advantages of the festival is its geographical location. The cinema is a direct neighbor of Dieppe SNCF, and it doesn’t take Parisians and Ile-de-France residents long to get to the Normandy coast for some shows.

For this 2022 edition, the organizers have chosen to revive the festival outside of darkrooms. A village was held in front of the cinema, Esplanade Rosa Leroy and will host festive evenings, a Quebec ball on Saturday 26 March as well as concerts.

Then there is the course program carefully chosen by the festival team: “We want high-quality programming and films that speak to and influence the audience.”. It is, according to Ben Collier, the DNA of Canadian cinema: “This cinema is all about emotions. Quebecers and Canadians have a sense of humor and drama. We feel a lot of things.”.

The spotlight will be on the indigenous peoples of Canada this year. Each film will be preceded by a short film produced by First Nations characters.

A small festival within the big festival organized with the Wakiponi group which will allow viewers to discover all the facets and all the provinces of Canada.