The world premiere of Jenny Cartwright’s documentary Les perdants (A Losing Game, pictured) will open the 43rd annual Rendez-vous Québec Cinéma (RVQC).

Produced by Pierre-Mathieu Fortin for the National Film Board (NFB), the film follows three people who ran for office in the Quebec 2022 provincial election and casts a critical eye on the electoral system. Les perdants will have its Quebec theatrical release Feb. 28.

RVQC, presented by Hydro-Québec in collaboration with Radio-Canada, runs from Feb. 19 to 27 and is set to present 185 films. The festival will close with the world premiere of Serge Giguère’s doc Maurice (Films du Rapide-Blanc). Produced by Sylvie Van Brabant, Sylvie Krasker and Amélie Lambert Bouchard, the film paints an in-depth portrait of famed Montreal Canadiens right wing Maurice Richard. It is distributed in Canada by h264.

Other Canadian films making their world premieres at the festival include Olivier D. Asselin’s documentary La Pensée-Machine (OmFilm), which deals with the topic of technological invasion into everyday lives.

Dominique Leclerc’s documentary Posthumains (NFB) similarly deals with the impact of technology. Posthumains explores technological apprehensions and hopes through examining cyborgs, biohackers and transhumanists.

Bruno Boulianne’s doc Machine de rêve (Les productions de l’Épaule) tells the story of two men who look to pass on their passion and the culture of ice canoeing. It is distributed by Films du 3 Mars. Machine de rêve world premieres on Feb. 26 along with Julie Boisvert and Élise Ekker-Lambert’s Libres de choisir (Picbois Productions). The documentary follows the doctors and nurses that work in abortion clinics.

Coop Vidéo de Montréal co-founder James Gray’s mid-length documentary The Boxes (Black Pearl Productions) will make its world premiere on Feb. 21. It follows a man in his seventies who discovers his official adoption papers and goes to find his origins.

Éloi Baril’s 61-minute documentary Elle va crier will also have its world premiere at the festival. The film, produced by Baril, tells his mother’s story as she confronts her traumatic past.

Vincent Bolduc’s series Denis Danger (Trio Orange) will make its world bow at the festival as well. The 8 x 15-minute kids and youth series, written by Marie-Hélène Racine-Lacroix, Anne-Hélène Prévost and David Leblanc, follows a woman who learns she is the reincarnation of ’90s action star Denis Danger, a practitioner of the unique martial art Québekaraté. It stars Sacha Bolduc (Days of Happiness), Léanne Désilet (Makinium), Maxime Gervais (Claude Crest: La Balloune) and Mickaël Gouin (Underground). Télé-Québec is the broadcaster.

RVQC will also feature three short films making their world premiere, including Sophie Valcourt’s Jamais nulle part, produced by Mérédith Gonzalez-Bayard and David Dufresne-Denis’ Mon ami Batman Tremblay (DDDFilm).

Last is Héloïse Bargain’s experimental film Maman (Les films de l’autre).

The festival will also feature screenings of upcoming and popular films from francophone directors, including Denis Côté’s Berlinale-premiering Paul, Ricardo Trogi’s 1995 and Yan Lanouette-Turgeon’s Mlle Bottine.

The RVQC awards ceremony will take place on Feb. 27 and feature 11 awards presented among the 79 in-competition films. Included are the $5,000 prix Gilles-Carle, presented to the best first or second fiction feature, and the prix Pierre-et-Yolande-Perrault for best first or second documentary feature.

Image courtesy of the National Film Board