Cinéma Public comes to Casa d’Italia - 12 screenings per week, from September 1st

Montréal, Friday, August 20, 2021 - Cinéma Public is thrilled to announce that it will occupy a new venue starting September 1st. Keen to lay down roots in a neighbourhood, the organization will present its fall line-up in Villeray, on the big screen at Casa d’Italia (505 Jean-Talon Street East). The program features new releases, classics, Quebec premieres, exclusive bookings, family films, and several guests. About 20 films will be presented every month, with 12 screenings per week, every day from Wednesday to Sunday.

Launch Party

The Quebec film Il n’y a pas de faux métier will kick things off at the launch party on Wednesday, September 1st. First seen at the Festival du nouveau cinéma last fall, this latest film from director Olivier Godin is a playful, quirky tale with many twists.

Local Cinema

Cinéma Public will present several recent films such as Stateless by Michèle Stephenson (starting September 4), which reveals the depth of racial hatred and institutionalized oppression that is tearing apart Haiti and the Dominican Republic; and Wuhan Wuhan by Yung Chang (starting September 8), an essential portrait of a city uniting to overcome a crisis. By popular demand, some of the top Quebec and Canadian films from this summer's outdoor screenings at Livart will also be featured at Casa d'Italia. In September, the returning films include Beans by Tracey Deer (starting September 1st), and La déesse des mouches à feu by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette (starting September 2).

International Cinema

There's something for everyone in Cinéma Public's new program, as international cinema is well represented. This month, the period drama Malmkrog (starting September 5) by Romanian filmmaker Cristi Puiu, who won the Best Director Award in the Encounters category at the 2020 Berlinale; Zola (starting September 15), an American indie comedy by Janicza Bravo; and Eyimofe (This Is My Desire) by Chuko Esiri & Arie Esiri, a Nigerian drama from the Forum program at the 2020 Berlinale, which follows the characters of Mofe and Rosa as they experience inequality, injustice and indifference.

Films for the Whole Family

Every Sunday, families are invited to discover this new gathering place at special screenings intended for young audiences. On the first weekend, Cinéma Public will present Pinocchio by Matteo Garrone, starring Roberto Benigni (starting September 5). This new take on a literary classic is filled with magic and adventure, as well as the unique aesthetic of Garrone, who mixes fantasy and realism to perfection.

Restored Classics

This fall, Cinéma Public will present a restored version of Beau Travail by Claire Denis (starting September 3). First shown at the Venice Film Festival in 1999, it explores the repressed longing of a French Foreign Legion sergeant for one of his fellow legionnaires, which fills him with jealousy and destructive thoughts. Denis Lavant delivers one of the greatest performances of his career.

The imminent release of Denis Villeneuve’s new film offers the perfect excuse to revisit a divisive classic, Dune by David Lynch (1984), which will be presented from September 4 onwards.

Babylon by Franco Rosso (1980; starting September 8) is a cult film about a group of British African-Caribbean people who are stripped of their rights in an England gripped by racist, violent turmoil. Banned in the UK and the US for 39 years, this film was recently restored and rescued from oblivion.

Collaborations With Festivals, at Home and Abroad

In collaboration with the Goethe-Institut, Cinéma Public is happy to showcase the frontrunners of the Oberhausen International Short Film Festival, based in Germany. The festival’s award-winners will be rolled out from September 9, while the films in its international competition start September 16. From September 10 to 19, Cinéma Public is also hosting the 13th edition of Festival Stop Motion Montréal, which will present its program online. Cinephiles around the world will have the chance to discover some of the very best stop-motion creations via this platform — more than 90 films in total.

On September 18, there is a one-time screening of the short film Desire Forever by Farid Kassouf. Shot in Nunavut, it’s a visual companion to the songs of the shoegaze band le vaisseau d’or, who released their new EP Desire Forever on August 13.

Online Programming That’s Always Fresh

In addition to the big-screen showings at Casa d’Italia, Cinéma Public is continuously renewing its digital offerings in order to reach Montrealers, and cinephiles across Canada. For example: from September 3, the documentary Notturno by Gianfranco Rosi, as featured in the 2020 Venice Film Festival, will be available online. To explore the list of films currently available, visit cinemapublic.ca.

Tickets and Information

General admission to a Cinéma Public screening at Casa d’Italia will be $12; online ticket reservations are recommended. For more information, visit cinemapublic.ca.

Cinéma Public thanks its institutional partners: the Secrétariat à la région métropolitaine du ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation via the Fonds d’initiative et de rayonnement de la métropole, the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC), the Ministère du Travail, de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, Telefilm Canada, and Canadian Heritage, as well as Casa d’Italia. 

CINÉMA PUBLIC

cinemapublic.ca | Facebook | Instagram | Letterboxd 

To request interviews, Vimeo links or visual material, please contact:

Caroline Rompré | pixelleX communications | 514-778-9294 | caroline@pixellex.ca