Montreal: Softimage founder Daniel Langlois has established a fund in his own name to finance a new festival, the Montreal International Festival of Cinema and New Media.

The first edition of the festival will take place June 5-17, 1997, with former International Festival of New Cinema and Video director Claude Chamberlan taking on the role of the new festival’s director and former International Short Film Festival director Bernard Boulad acting as executive manager.

Both defunct festivals were facing ongoing cuts in public funding, with Chamberlan’s festival reported to be an estimated $300,000 in debt. At a press conference Nov. 26, Langlois announced he would pay down the debt.

The new festival will be devoted to films d’auteur, short films, video and new electronic art forms including dvd.

The Daniel Langlois Foundation for Art and Technology intends to build a multimillion dollar film and multimedia arts complex in the upper Boul. St. Laurent area, with construction pegged to start in ’97.

Telefilm Canada, sodec, the Quebec cultural funding agency, the MUC Arts Council and the City of Montreal have announced financial support for the new festival.

The arts complex will consist of two theaters, a 250-seat, mixed-media screening room, and a 300-seat hd film and video center.

The complex will also house the Cinema Parallel Cafe and a Boite Noire video club outlet.

An expanded Virtual Film Festival Internet site, headed by Montreal documentary filmmaker Peter Wintonick, is also on the program.