September 16
Red carpet arrival: 6 pm
Screening of Starbuck: 7 pm
Find out what's happening in Hollywoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Reception: 9:30 pm
Egyptian Theatre: 6712 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, CA 90028
Find out what's happening in Hollywoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Opening Night
Québec in Hollywood's most prestigious night will take place on the opening of the Québec film festival at the Egyptian Theatre, in the heart of Hollywood. Some of the most prominent Québec celebrities living in the Hollywood area will be rocking the red carpet and attend the International Premiere of Starbuck, a comedy from Ken Scott. This screening will be followed by a reception and a D.J. night in the Egyptian Theatre’s courtyard.
International Premiere
Director: Ken Scott - Attending
At 42, David lives the life of an irresponsible adolescent. He coasts through life with minimal effort and maintains a complicated relationship with Valerie, a young policewoman. Just as she tells him she's pregnant, David's past resurfaces. Twenty years earlier, he began providing sperm to a fertility clinic in exchange for money. He discovers he's the father of 533 children, 142 of whom have filed a class action lawsuit to determine the identity of their biological father, known only by the pseudonym Starbuck.
Saturday, September 17, 7:30 pm
Saturday Double Feature: A Sense of Humour and Funkytown
Québec in Hollywood Films presents the International Premiere of A Sense of Humour and the California Premiere of Funkytown.
International Premiere
# 1 Québec Film at the 2011 Box Office
Director: Émile Gaudreault
Luke and Marco are two b-list stand up comedians who tour across Québec playing to small town crowds. Part of their shtick every night is to pick a victim and make fun of him, much to the audience’s delight. At Anse-au-Pic, a remote community which borders the Saguenay region, they choose Roger Gendron, a bashful cook who flips burgers at the local diner. Big mistake: Roger is a complete nut case.
California Premiere
Director: Daniel Roby - Attending
1976. Montreal was on the verge of becoming one of the biggest cities on the continent, Quebec was dreaming of becoming a country of its own, and a phenomenon called disco was sweeping the world. FUNKYTOWN is the story of seven characters who want to make their mark in an era when excess was the norm and when disco was king.
Sunday, September 18, 7:30 pm
Sunday Double Feature: The Salesman & Curling
Québec in Hollywood Films presents critics acclaimed and international awards winners The Salesman and Curling.
The Salesman
Director: Sébastien Pilote
Official Competition / Sundance 2011
International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Award / San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) 2011
Official Competition / Los Angeles Film Festival 2011
The perennial car salesman of the month, Marcel Lévesque (Gilbert Sicotte) takes great satisfaction in the ritual of persuasion. Selling is his calling and preoccupation—that and watching over his beloved daughter and grandson provide his sole raisons d’être. But in the working-class town of Lac Saint-Jean, Québec, where the impending paper plant closure is immobilizing the economy, car buying seems utterly absurd. As more men are laid off, precariousness and flux swoop into Marcel’s life, too, and he must come to terms with the consequences of his obsession. An astonishingly assured first feature, The Salesman elegantly applies restraint and precision to mount subtle, quotidian moments into an emotionally crushing story.
Curling
Director: Denis Côté
Best Direction & Best Actor / Locarno Film Festival
Best Canadian Film / Vancouver International Film Fest
Official Selection / Toronto Film Festival
“We’re lucky to live quietly,” Jean-Francois tells his 12-year-old daughter in a charged understatement. For years, the two have led a solitary life: he only leaving the house to go to one of his two jobs; she rarely leaving at all, not even for school. Gradually, however, even as life outside reveals itself as a curious and mysteriously violent thing, the two take their first steps into a strange new world of bowling alleys, pop songs and unexpected discoveries in the frozen fields of Quebec.
Part of the Quebec in Hollywood Festival
www.quebecinhollywood.com
Très chic Hollywood is set to become even more so this September when Québec In Hollywood kicks off a three week celebration of Québec's unique brand of creativity and flair. Prepare to be dazzled by the sights and sounds, artistry and flavors, of North America's own thriving slice of French-speaking culture. Slated events include a Québec film festival at the Egyptian Theatre, performances by top bands and comedy acts, a Montréal fashion runway show at Hollywood & Highland Center, special restaurant tastings with renowned Québecois chefs, a green transportation design symposium, gallery exhibitions and more. The festivities will culminate with the premiere of IRIS, a new resident show helmed by Québec's very own Cirque du Soleil and set to run through 2021 at the legendary Kodak Theatre.
