Quebec cinema continues to make a splash on the festival circuit south of the border, where the Santa Barbara International Film Festival is spotlighting 13 films from la belle province, seven of which are in official competition.

‘Quebec film is increasingly making its mark in California,’ says Yanick Godbout of the L.A.-based Quebec International office, which promotes the province’s culture and commerce in the U.S. ‘They are interested in our films because they are firmly rooted in North America but have a touch of something else. Perhaps they are a bit European, but not quite.’

The festival runs until Feb. 14 and includes a mix of auteur and popular flicks, including Andre Forcier`s Je me souviens (I Remember), Slamdance award-winner The Wild Hunt, Émile Gaudreault’s hit cop-comedy Father and Guns and Ken Scott’s Sticky Fingers, about a group of cons hoping to reform themselves by walking Spain’s famous Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

Kim Nguyen’s tale of a doctor working in Africa’s Aurès Mountains, City of Shadows, will screen on Feb. 8 along with Xavier Dolan’s I Killed My Mother. Sophie Deraspe’s Vital Signs, Bernard Émond’s The Legacy, Ricardo Trogi’s semi-autobiographical 1981 and the doc Last Train Home by Lixin Fan will also screen

Part of the reason for the showcase is the international buzz generated by Quebec films over the past year. I Killed My Mother will soon screen in L.A. as will the suburban teen drama L’ouest de Pluton.

Filmmakers on hand for the fete include Deraspe, Fan, Franchi and Trogi.