MONTREAL — Like so many media events put on by Quebec’s film and television industry since the start of the federal election campaign, the official launch of the 37th annual Festival du nouveau cinéma got political.

‘These are difficult times,’ said France-born FNC director Nicolas Girard-Deltruc on Tuesday, at a press conference attended by more than 200 at philanthropist Daniel Langois’s sleek downtown rep cinema Ex-Centris. ‘We are anticipating major cutbacks. Creators need our support more than ever. And the public has to be made aware of the contribution creators make.’

The 11-day festival, which will screen nearly 250 films from 60 countries, opens Oct. 8 with the premiere of director Olivier Asselin’s A Sentimental Capitalism, produced by local prodco Arrimage Productions.

Clad in a large black T-shirt with an image of a silver wolf on the front, FNC co-director Claude Chamberlan said this year’s festival was programmed to please a wide range of tastes. ‘There is something for everyone,’ said Chamberlan, as he read from a hand-written list of his favorite picks. ‘And I mean everyone.’

Among the English- and French-Canadian films to watch for, said Chamberlan, are director Michael Mackenzie’s feature Adam’s Wall and the docs The Man Who Crossed the Sahara, helmed by Korbett Matthews, and La mémoire des anges, a film about Montreal directed by Luc Bourdon.

Atom Egoyan will bring Adoration to the FNC. Wim Wenders (Palermo Shooting) will also attend the festival. Also, directors John Boorman and Ken Scott (Seducing Doctor Lewis) will give master classes.

The FNC will pay tribute to Boorman, who will present his latest film, The Tiger’s Tail. Three other Boorman films will also be screened: 1974’s Zardoz, 1972’s Deliverance and 1970’s Leo the Last. The FNC will also honor the late avant-garde filmmaker Bruce Conner.

Chamberlan later quipped that the election call was a blessing because organizers weren’t obliged to include the ‘mot de Harper’ — the usual letter from the Prime Minister — in the introductory part of the festival program.

Although the festival’s major sponsor is the cell phone company Fido, FNC is supported by the federal government through Canadian Heritage, Telefilm Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts. The festival wraps Oct. 19.

___________________________

This story has been corrected. Nicolas Girard-Deltruc was born in France, not Quebec as originally reported.