Full steam ahead for Montreal World Film Fest

The Montreal World Film Festival will go ahead as planned this year, says its president, despite a competing event and the loss of its Telefilm funding.

At a press conference scheduled to unveil details of the upcoming event including the members of the jury Serge Losique had to defend his festival, which is in its 29th year.

He downplayed the battle with federal funding agency Telefilm Canada and its Quebec counterpart SODEC as well as the effect of losing the funding from both agencies last summer.

"As usual, as always, we will have money," Losique said Wednesday.

"We have public support. We also have government support," he added, saying the festival continues to receive money both from Tourism Montreal and the city of Montreal. According to Losique, the Telefilm support only amounted to seven per cent of the festival's $6-million budget.

Last July, Telefilm and SODEC issued a report on the state of Canada's major film festivals and criticized the Montreal World Film Festival for being unaccountable to the local film community. The agencies then withdrew their subsidies, estimated at about $1 million annually, and began soliciting proposals for a new event.

At the time, Losique said he would continue with or without the government subsidies.

L'quipe Spectra a group which includes the organizers of the Montreal International Jazz Festival and other blockbuster Quebec events won the right to launch the New Montreal FilmFest. It has stacked its team with renowned movie insiders like programming head Moritz de Hadeln, former chief of the Berlin and Venice film festivals, directors Michel Brault and Robert Lepage and hit arts producer and Softimage founder Daniel Langlois.

Losique said this year's festival will showcase national cinemas from at least 70 countries. However, programmers are considering showing fewer films than usual.

Losique also announced a contest where a member of the public will be selected to join this year's jury, which includes Farewell My Concubine director Chen Kaige, Greek director Theo Angelopoulos, Russian director Pavel Lungin, Chilean director Silvio Caiozzi, Giffoni Film Festival founder Claudio Gubitosi and Jorgen Persson, Swedish director of photography.

Running Aug. 26 through Sept. 5, the 2005 event will pay special tribute to China, which is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its national cinema.