The Festival du nouveau cinéma (FNC) is an annual independent film festival held in Montreal and features independent films from around the world. Over 160,000 people make their way to Montreal to attend the prestigious festival each year. The festival is an Academy Award qualifying festival for short films. Founded in 1971 by Claude Chamberlan and Dimitri Eipidès as Festival international du cinéma en 16mm de Montréal (Montreal International 16mm Film Festival), the festival went through several name changes before adopting its current name in 2004.
FNC and FIFM
In 2004 Daniel Langlois, director of FNC since 1999, left the organization to begin the Festival International de Films de Montréal (known in English as New Montreal FilmFest), which was initiated and created with the support of SODEC (Société de développement des entreprises culturelles) and Telefilm Canada after a dispute between these Canadian government sponsors and the Montreal World Film Festival.
Langlois initially programmed the Festival International de Films de Montréal (New Montreal FilmFest) to coincide with the Montreal Festival of New Cinema and New Media (FCMM). According to press reports pertaining to the controversy between the Montreal World Film Festival and the New Montreal FilmFest, Langlois planned to merge the two festivals, but failed to do so when the FCMM refused any such merger. The dates for the inaugural New Montreal FilmFest were ultimately changed to avoid conflicting with the dates of the FCMM.
In 2005 both the FNC and the New Montreal FilmFest came under new management. In early 2006, the New Montreal FilmFest folded after the failure of its inaugural festival. Both the FNC and the Montreal World Film Festival continue to exist.