Francophone Cinema of the World Comes to Ottawa

By Hank Reardon

Films from across the French-speaking world are coming to Ottawa at the 11^th annual DiverCiné – les écrans de la Francophonie du monde film festival running from March 8^th to March 17^th at the Bytowne Cinema.

Organized by the Embassy of France to Canada and the Department of Canadian Heritage, in partnership with the Canadian Film Institute and the ByTowne Cinema, this year’s festival will feature 11 first-release films from Africa (Algeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Senegal), Asia (Viet Nam), Europe (Belgium, France, Romania and Switzerland), the Middle East (Egypt) and Canada.

Award-winning films from the past year are being screened for the first time in Ottawa, including:

La Pirogue, a Senegalese entry, which competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival;

Rebelle, a Canadian film that competed in the Best Foreign Language Film category at this year’s Oscars;

and L’enfant d’en haut, which received a special mention from the jury at the 2012 Berlin Film Festival.

Other noteworthy films will be shown at the festival, including:

A special Canadian Short Film Program, featuring a diverse body of French-Canadian works, is also scheduled for Tuesday, March 12^th, at Club Saw. This special program is being offered free of charge.

For complete details visit www.divercine.com as well as the festival’s Facebook page for interactive content, trailers and updates at facebook.com/DiverCineFestival.