It is debatable whether Claude Chamberlan is a lunatic or a genius.

In three decades of interviewing the co-founder of Canada’s oldest film festival – Montreal’s Festival du nouveau cinéma – I have never heard the man finish a sentence.

And Chamberlan’s circular speaking structure also lacks obvious connect-the-dots points, so talking to him about the future of cinema in Montreal is like listening to a painter trying to describe brush strokes. Yet an image emerges.

Chamberlan’s current ‘vision’ is: ‘The world’s first subway dedicated to world cinema,’ meaning an ‘accessible’ and ‘dynamic’ moving picture ‘mecca’ in the heart of Montreal.

A proposed $40 million development would transform the existing Saint-Laurent subway station into a five-storey building (plus one level below ground), invigorating what is currently a dead zone in Montreal’s Quartier des Spectacles, the downtown core which increasingly caters to the city’s love affair with all things festival.

The mecca’s two most accessible floors are earmarked for moving pictures, the top floor is reserved for dance, and the other floors will be occupied by a number of different cultural groups, according to Société de Développement Angus, the huge ‘green space’ land developer which announced the project in September after striking a deal with the city.

‘Le Cinéma Parallèle [Chamberlan’s rep theater], which will become the landlord of the space, will be housed on the ground floor and basement levels of the building, and will initially include four or five screens with the potential to add new dimensions to its activities,’ says Angus in a release, adding that Montreal’s contemporary dance school, LADMMI, will move into the top floor so it can ‘benefit from space without floor-to-ceiling beams.’

The original Parallèle (founded in 1967 with Dimitri Eipides) is set to close, and former partner Daniel Langlois has decided to turn his Ex-Centris theater complex into more of a music space, ‘so there’s really a demand from the public,’ Chamberlan explains, getting cranked up over Turkish tea at a new local hot spot near ‘the Main’ in Montreal, a brief hike from the new site.

‘There’s no more home for cinema,’ he cries aloud, arms flailing. ‘It’s a disaster!’

The eccentric film lover cheers right up between bites of a wrap sandwich and film presentations at the hopping 38th edition of last month’s Nouveau fest, when he gets back to talking about film.

‘On the level of programming, it will explore every kind of cinema and new images you can dream of,’ he says enthusiastically. ‘There is something in it for everybody. And we’re timing it with the 40th anniversary of the festival in 2011,’ which also fits within the city’s target date of 2012 to complete its newly dubbed Quartier des Spectacles (which extends roughly from Place des Arts to St. Denis St.).

Chamberlan also plans that the complex will provide a home base for eager young filmmakers to experiment with techno innovations.

‘Primordially, it has to be a user-friendly place and have a very warm atmosphere,’ he ensures. But in terms of the toys, it will be ‘pretty Star Trek,’ he laughs, pointing to the photograph (inset) both taken and projected with his demo Nikon Coolpix as an example of the ‘dramatic changes’ coming in the world of moving pictures.

On a personal level, Chamberlan regards this opportunity as a ‘second chance to do something for Montreal,’ and notes that the mission of the new space will be similar to that of the Parallèle: ‘To defend the independent cinema of Quebec and Canada and let people discover new international cineastes.’

And even Chamberlan the lunatic-genius remembers to add that he’s only ‘one voice on the Parallèle board of directors,’ but he wagers that without the mecca, Montreal will lose the cinematic edge that the rest of Canada so envies.

‘Mark my words,’ he challenges: ‘If it’s not done by 2011, the distributors will stop buying foreign films,’ mainly due to a lack of venues, ‘which means we would lose the audience.’ But Chamberlan remains confident that one or more of the ‘multi-platform companies’ he’s approaching for financing will come through, and that Quebec will maintain its leading role in Canadian cinema.

And while no other partners or sponsors have been named (except Angus and the city), Chamberlan has reason to dream that financing will emerge. After all, the multi-platform media giant Quebecor became a major sponsor of the Nouveau fest for the first time this year.