Montreal: The psychological drama Elles etaient cinq, directed by Ghyslaine Cote (Pin-Pon) and produced by Remstar and Forum Films, will open Montreal’s 2004 World Film Festival, the fest has announced.

Montreal: It’s quickly becoming Montreal’s premiere production house for Anglo thrillers. On May 25, JB Media started production on its tenth MOW, a $4-million feature called Over the Edge, starring Laura Leighton (Melrose Place, The Sky is Falling) and Canadians Al Goulem (Silent Night) and Frank Schorpion (Monica la mitraille).

Montreal: Overcoming the kind of tragedy that would paralyze some production companies, Galafilm is prepping 14 new episodes of 15/Love, its edgy teen drama about tennis prodigies living at a cutthroat sports academy. The new season comes just five months after two of the lead actors, Jaclyn Linetsky and Vadim Schneider, were killed in a car accident.

Montreal: ‘It isn’t widely known, but Canada’s fate was shaped by the big sugar lobby,’ says writer/director Brian McKenna, who started production April 19 on his new docudrama Big Sugar. ‘There are no doctoral theses on this topic, nothing.’

Montreal: The lovable rogues are back. Les Bougon, the hit series about an irreverent clan who milk Quebec’s social assistance programs, started shooting its second season on April 19.

Montreal: On April 6, Quebec cultural funder SODEC selected six feature films and four shorts for this year’s first round of funding.

The Outlander

Montreal: Struggling under $579,000 of debt, the internationally respected Cinematheque Quebecois is resorting to drastic financial measures. It’s cutting spending by 10%, with its 50 employees taking 20% pay cuts. While the popular Mediatheque room will be open this summer, screenings will be halted from May 15 until September to reallocate human resources.

Montreal: Montreal’s Festival of Films on Art welcomed 30,000 attendants this year, up from 28,000 in 2003, according to founding director Rene Rozon.

Montreal: It’s like receiving a liberal arts education, via 10 days of documentary films. The 22nd annual Festival of Films on Art, March 11-21 in Montreal, is a heady mix of everything from cine-painting and ballet to dance video and architecture. This year, the program includes 240 films and features a tribute to multidiscipline artist Robert Wilson, who will attend.

Montreal: ‘This is our Titanic,’ says producer Richard Goudreau, president of Melenny Productions, referring to the feature film Nouvelle France, his coproduction with Davis Films (France) and UKFS (U.K.). ‘It’s a great love story with an epic historical backdrop.’
Epic would also describe the $35-million budget, which makes it the biggest Quebec production to date.

Montreal: Some of Quebec’s top producers are asking Telefilm Canada: ‘Should we be punished for success?’