A rich and accessible program for all audiences, and all moods!

The online short film festival Plein(s) Écran(s) is proud to unveil the complete program for its 9^th edition which will be held from January 23 to February 1^st, 2025. With a selection of 40 films, including 36 presented online for free across Canada, and public events offered in Montreal at Cinéma Beaubien, the Cinémathèque québécoise, Cinéma Moderne, the Salle Jean-Claude-Lauzon of the École des médias de l’UQAM, and at L'inis, this edition once again promises to highlight the unique and daring talent of Quebec short-films directors.

General director Ariane Roy-Poirier and the entire Plein(s) Écran(s) team are pleased to welcome comedian, author and director Jean-François Provençal as spokesperson for the festival this year. Jean-François will participate in several activities including the public reading of screenplays led by Alec Pronovost. He will also share his favourites during the first episode of a podcast series with participating filmmakers which will be broadcast daily, in partnership with CISM and the Caisse de la Culture Desjardins.

Film buffs from across Quebec and elsewhere will have the chance to watch four films per day, available for 24 hours on the festival website and its social networks. Carefully chosen by a selection committee composed this year of Raquel Sancinetti (filmmaker), Pascale Drevillon (actress and multidisciplinary artist) and Will Niava (filmmaker), under the direction of Ariane Roy-Poirier, the 24 Quebec films in official competition and the 8 other local shorts in the Impression(s) section are grouped under four themes that clearly define this new edition: explosive, heartbreaking, unsettling and sweet. The result is a varied program, specially designed to please all audiences and adapt to their full range of emotions!

TRAILER 2025

EXPLOSIVE, films that stir things up

The opening film of the 9^th edition, Sandrine Brodeur-Desrosiers’s explosive Bail bail (January 23), will launch the festivities on this key theme of Plein(s) Écran(s). Six other films from the official competition presented on Facebook also stand out thanks to their explosive style, which won’t leave anyone indifferent, namely À toi les oreilles by Alexandre Isabelle (January 24), Lumen by Stéphanie Bélanger (January 25), Extras by Marc-Antoine Lemire (January 27), Summer 2000 by Virginie Nolin and Laurence Olivier (January 28), The Little Shopping Trolley by Laurence Ly (January 29), My Tomato Heart by Benoît Le Rouzès Ménard (January 30) and The Sparkle by Isabelle Grignon-Francke (January 31).

HEARTBREAKING, gut-wrenching films 

Short films with remarkable emotional intensity will be presented to festival-goers, who will have the chance to be moved by the magnificent animated films A Crab in the Pool by Jean-Sébastien Hamel and Alexandra Myotte (January 23), as well as Beaupré The Giant by Alain Fournier (January 25). The public will also be able to discover the touching documentaries Clémence by Myriam Ben Saïd (January 27), Hello Stranger by Amélie Hardy (January 28), Losing your home by Emmanuel Rioux (January 29) and Here and There by Chadi Bennani (January 30), as well as the fiction Katshinau by Julien G. Marcotte and Jani Bellefleur-Kaltush (January 31). While these films will be presented in official competition, the sensitive Your Call Is Important To Us by Romy Boutin St-Pierre and Joe Nadeau (January 24) will be presented in Impression(s), a section broadcast on Instagram.

UNSETTLING, films that disorient

With their particularly disruptive proposals, the films presented in official competition such as Zug Island by Nicolas Lachapelle (January 23), L’été des chaleurs by Marie-Pier Dupuis (January 24), Unclean by Simon Chouinard (January 25), UWD by Brigitte Poupart and Myriam Verreault (January 28), Mothers & Monsters by Edith Jorisch (January 30) and Someone's Trying to Get In by Colin Nixon (January 31) clearly give the tone of this third section. Suggesting a cinematic experience where uncertainty reigns supreme, the animated films screened in the Impression(s) section, In the Shallows by Arash Akhgari (January 27) and Itch by Maggie Zeng (January 29), complete this mysterious category.

SWEET, films that warm the heart

Films imbued with sweetness and which are pleasant to watch are brought together under this theme. The three short films presented in the official competition, Audio y el Caimán by Andrés I. Estrada (January 24), Three Screaming Vaginas by Alexia Roc (January 27), as well as Dead Cat by Danick Audet and Annie-Claude Caron (January 29) will bring comfort to viewers. Likewise, Wild Flowers by Rodolphe Saint-Gelais and Thierry Sirois (January 23), Stae by Justin Tran (January 25), The Lemonade Stand - Making Medicines by Paul O'Bomsawin (January 28), Caniculaire by Camille Pépin (January 30) and Blue Dreams of The Wind by Emma Beyaert-Meisels (January 31), screened in Impression(s) within this category, also present charming stories.

CARTE BLANCHE

This year, the Brussels Short Film Festival (BSFF) has been given carte blanche to celebrate the beauty of Belgian cinema with a selection of creative, funny and stirring short films. On January 26, the public will be able to discover Alice and the Sunflowers by Théo Degen and Charlotte Muller, With Thelma by Raphaël Balboni and Anne Sirot, as well as Si-G by Frederike Migom on Facebook, and Voyage en amnésie by Anouk Kilian-Debord on Instagram.

PLEIN(S) ÉCRAN(S) PODCAST

The essential Plein(s) Écran(s) podcast is back for the 9^th edition of the festival. Once again this year, Alex Mendel hosts the discussions which bring together the filmmakers of the shorts presented in the program. The discussions will focus on their artistic approach, behind-the-scenes secrets and much more! All in a relaxed atmosphere which will make the public want to watch (and rewatch) the works presented online during the festival.

IN-PERSON EVENTS 

• Opening night and screening of four short films in the presence of the filmmakers (January 22 at 7 p.m. at Cinéma Beaubien). Tickets available online.
• The projection that spanks! which brings together four crazy films that Meta couldn't stand (January 24 at 8 p.m. at the Cinémathèque québécoise). Free admission.
• Screenplay reading evening hosted by Alec Pronovost and featuring Jean-François Provençal, Sophie Cadieux, Naïla Louidort, Étienne Galloy and François Ruel-Côté (January 26 at 7 p.m. at Cinéma Moderne). Tickets available online.
• Master(s) class with filmmakers Denis Côté and Myriam Verreault, presented by ARRQ (January 28 at 7 p.m. at the Salle Jean-Claude-Lauzon of the École des médias de l'UQAM). Free admission.
• Screening with live commentary of the short film Mothers & Monsters, in the presence of filmmaker Édith Jorisch and some members of her team, presented by L'inis (January 30 at 7 p.m. at L'inis). Free admission.

On February 1^st, after eight days of discovering the 32 Quebec short films presented in competition this year, the public will have the chance to vote for their favorites among the six films that received the most interactions during the festival.

From 8 p.m., festival-goers are invited to Bar North Star (3908 Boul. Saint-Laurent, Montreal) for a carnival-themed evening in honour of the closing film The Sparkle. It will begin with the unveiling of the winning films of the 9^th edition, in the presence of the filmmakers and members of the jury. Then, on the menu: pinball, photo booth and other fun games to immerse yourself head first in your best teenage memories. This festive evening will continue with DJ André Bazin on the decks.

A collection of all the films from the 9^th edition will be offered from February 1^st to 28, 2025 on the Ciné-Club Plein(s) Écran(s) at a cost of $15.

For all the details of the 2025 program, go to pleinsecrans.com.

About Plein(s) Écran(s)

Plein(s) Écran(s) is a broadcasting organization whose mission is the discoverability and democratization of short content among the general public through the promotion and influence of short film talents in Quebec, in the region and internationally. Its various activities aim to use the interactivity and immense reach of social networks and new innovative initiatives to offer short films an exceptional showcase.