Montreal: A record 163 film and video productions are on the program at the 16th Rendez-vous du cinema quebecois, including, for the first time, a significant number of English-language productions screened in their original versions.

The annual retrospective runs Feb. 19-28, with the ‘best of the year’ award ceremony slated for the evening of Feb. 27.

Five feature-length films from among the 36 eligible ’97 productions are nominated for the $5,000 Prix aqcc-sodec for best feature film.

The nominees include two dramatic features, Denis Chouinard and Nicolas Wadimoff’s Clandestins (a coproduction between Productions du Regard, Dschoint Ventschr, Films de la Cassine and Morgane Films) and Andre Forcier’s La Comtesse de Baton Rouge (Max Films).

Also in the running for the best feature prize are three point-of-view documentaries: Benoit Pilon’s Rosaire et la petite-nation (Films de l’Autre), the Sylvie Van Brabant doc on street kids, Seul dans mon put ain d’univers (Productions Rapide-Blanc/National Film Board), and Anne Claire Poirier’s Tu as crie Let me go (nfb).

Prize highlights include two new $10,000 Super Ecran screenwriting bursaries, the sardec screenwriting prize, a new Tele-Quebec award for best video doc, and two aqcc/Telefilm Canada awards for best medium and short film, valued at $4,000 and $3,000, respectively.

The nfb has 23 films in this year’s program including 18 French Program documentaries and animation titles.

The opening night film is the Paul Tana feature drama La Deroute, a story about a father/daughter relationship and an immigrant’s solitude produced by acpav and distributed by Lions Gate Films.

Program highlights include an homage to late director Jean-Claude Lauzon (Feb. 24), a public debate session on the creative role of television (Feb. 25) and the annual cifc-Quebec auction (Feb. 23).

Selected highlights from the ’98 Rendez-vous program will be screened in Vancouver (March 3-8), Quebec City (March 1-15), Chicoutimi (March 19) and in Ottawa-Hull (April 1-3).

Michel Coulombe is the Rendez-vous’ director general. Roger Frappier is president of the ’98 retrospective.