Filmmaker Denys Arcand made movie history yesterday when he added the only prize that that had always escaped him—an Oscar—to his vast collection of international awards.

For the first time, a Québec film received an Oscar from the Academy in the Best Foreign Film category, an honour that Arcand had been deprived of on two previous occasions.

"We’re so thankful that Lord of the Rings did not qualify in this category,” said producer Denise Robert on the stage of the Kodak Theater, referring to the triumphal sweep by Peter Jackson’s third and final installment of Tolkein’s trilogy.

Denise Robert climbed on stage with coproducer Daniel Louis, her partner in Cinémaginaire, and with her husband Denys Arcand, who didn’t have time to say anything on air. “My time is up… as usual,” joked Arcand, a large smile lighting up his face.

The tone was upbeat at the 6th annual Jutra Awards ceremony — and with good reason, given the impressive success of Québec cinema here and elsewhere in 2003.

There has been no lack of Seductive choices over the past year. Indeed, thanks to Québec cinema’s Invasion of movie theatres, no one in the industry has the Blues these days! La Grande Séduction (Seducing Doctor Lewis), Les Invasions Barbares (Barbarian Invasions) and Gaz Bar Blues dominated the awards ceremony, with 13, 12 and 10 nominations, respectively, in the 56 Jutra categories. Barbarian Invasions and Seducing Doctor Lewis were the evening’s big winners, leaving Gaz Bar Blues with just two prizes: Best Music (created by Guy Bélanger and Claude Fradette) and Best Actor, which went to Serge Thériault, the movie’s disconcerting gas bar boss. Mobbed by journalists, Thériault appeared to be highly moved by the honour. He stressed the good mutual understanding between himself and director Louis Bélanger, as well as how much he had enjoyed playing the character. “I was so surprised they wanted me for the role. I really wanted it.”

With a week to go until the Oscars, director Denys Arcand and producer Nicole Robert doubled their winnings from the previous evening’s César Awards ceremony, held in France. For the second day in a row, Barbarian Invasions was singled out for top honours: Best Screenplay, Best Director, Best Film and Best Actress (Marie-Josée Croze). In addition to these distinctions, it was picked as the film with the greatest impact outside Québec — a choice that came as no surprise. At the start of the gala evening, Denys Arcand received another tribute that had slipped past him at the César Awards: an ovation from his peers.

With just a few days to go before France’s César ceremony (equivalent to Oscar evening in the United States), the Académie des Lumières, made up of foreign journalists posted to Paris, singled out Denis Arcand’s Invasions barbares (Barbarian Invasions) yesterday for its Best Film in French award.

The Académie des Lumières was created in 1996. The choice of Invasions barbares by its 200-odd members was close to unanimous, according to an academy spokesperson.

The award for Best Film went to the remarkable animated feature Triplettes de Belleville (Belleville Rendez-vous), by Frenchman Sylvain Chomet. Most of the animation for Belleville, a France-Québec coproduction, was carried out in a large studio in Old Montréal.

 Double Shot for The Barbarian Invasions

Odile Tremblay,  Le Devoir – January 28,  2004 

One expected that the film by Denys Arcand, "The Barbarian Invasions", so popular in the movie world, would land a nomination for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. It can also be found in the Best Original Scenario category, to the great joy of the Québecois writer. Arcand sees it as an honour for him as well as for his country, and he will feel the weight of Québec on his shoulders up until February 29, during an evening full of spangles and verdicts at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. "The Barbarian Invasions" was propelled into the United States by the powerful Mirimax distribution house.

We must recall that "The Barbarian Invasions" won the Best Scenario prize and was worth the praises for interpretation by Marie-Josée Croze at the last Cannes Festival. It is the third time that a work by Arcand will compete for Best Foreign Language Film, after "The Decline of the American Empire" and "Jesus of Montreal", but he was never nominated for Scenario Writer.

Les Invasions barbares (Barbarian Invasions), by Québec film maker Denys Arcand, was nominated yesterday in two different categories for the upcoming British Academy Film Awards, the British equivalent of the Oscars. The awards ceremony will be held on February 15.

Arcand’s film, a definite success, is in the running for the original screenplay award — a category in which Arcand took home the top prize from the 2003 Cannes film festival. Les Invasions barbares has also been nominated for the award for best film in a language other than English, along with movies such as France’s Les Triplettes de Belleville (Belleville Rendez-vous) and Être et Avoir (To Be and to Have).

Arcand film wins award in Berlin

Anne-Christine Loranger,  La Presse – December 7,  2003 

Beaming with pride, Denys Arcand accepted the award yesterday evening for the best non-European film at the European Film Awards, held this year in Berlin. The Québec film-maker was clearly moved and surprised by the choice of his film over competitors such as Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River and Kill Bill, directed by Quentin Tarantino.

“When I saw that the ceremony was going to be held in an arena, a place normally used for hockey, I knew that you could only award this prize to a Canadian director,” Arcand told the audience of film professionals and journalists from all over Europe. This was the 16th edition of the European Film Awards, which are aimed at counterbalancing the all-powerful U.S. movie machine and its steamroller effect on the European film industry.

At a press conference, Arcand refused to talk about his next movie. He implied, however, that it will be a “highly personal” project. He also declined to say anything about the chances that Les Invasions barbares (The Barbarian Invasions), which has been chosen to represent Canada at the upcoming Oscars ceremony, will earn him a golden statuette. “I never set my hopes on anything,” he said. “It’s the best way of not being disappointed.”  

National Board of Review picks Arcand film as best foreign feature

Marc-André Lussier,  La Presse – December 4,  2003 

The awards season got under way officially yesterday with the announcement by the National Board of Review, an association of about 150 industry professionals, of its choices. The members chose Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River as the year’s best film, just ahead of The Last Samurai, by Edward Zwick, who was singled out for the best director award. The future looks promising from the awards viewpoint for Denys Arcand’s Les Invasions barbares (The Barbarian Invasions), which was chosen by the National Board of Review as the year’s best foreign feature.

Québec’s fifteen minutes of fame

Louis-Bernard Robitaille ,  La Presse – November 29,  2003 

The success of Les Invasions barbares and the talk at the Cannes Festival have renewed the interest of film professionals in Québec productions. You could call it “Québec’s fifteen minutes of cinematographic fame.”

For the first time in its seven year history, Cinéma du Québec, which takes over the modest Cinéma des cinéastes in Place Clichy for a week, may finally have the chance to play a leading role—to merit a few brief comments in the media, to get people talking, even if only briefly, about one of the feature films on the program, and most importantly, to spark collaborations and coproductions between Québec and French filmmakers.

While the Germans posted their first box-office triumph with Good Bye Lenin (1.2 million in ticket sales in France), Québec, or at least Denys Arcand, found favour with the public again. Despite devastating reviews from three or four bizarre ayatollahs of the intellectual fringe, Les Invasions barbares had a triumphant reception at Cannes. With over 1.2 million in ticket sales and still showing in 70 movie theatres, Les Invasions should top the 1.3 million mark.

"It is a phenomenal success,” said Laurence Gachet, program director at Pyramide, the film coproducer and distributor. “Less than two films a year that are neither French nor American sell over one million tickets.”

Québec films are suddenly experiencing what the Germans are experiencing. Professionals, buyers, distributors, and virtual coproducers are showing renewed interest in films that come out of Berlin and Montréal in the hopes they will be the one to uncover next season’s unexpected hit.

In addition to Arcand’s triumph, a few modest productions with potential have been shown at the Cannes film festival. Jean-François Pouliot’s film, La Grande séduction, which was selected for the Quinzaine des réalisateurs, was very warmly received by the public and critics alike, while 20h17, rue Darling caused a brief flutter during La Semaine de la critique. A number of professionals also noted that Claude Miller’s La Petite Lili was a France/Québec coproduction. Special mention should be made of the animated cartoon Les Triplettes de Belleville, which received much creative input from Québec, notably the original music by Ben Charest.

 Arcand film in 90 German cinemas

Anne-Christine Loranger,  La Presse – November 28,  2003 

Touted as a refreshing alternative to Hollywood productions, Les Invasions barbares (The Barbarian Invasions) continues to draw audiences around the world. On the heels of last Sunday’s New York launch, the movie by Denys Arcand has now hit Germany.

The German première of Les Invasions barbares was held yesterday in Munich before a selected audience of 400. Further to an initial July 2 screening as part of the Munich international film festival, the movie received positive reviews. Munich-based Prokino, which has acquired the distribution rights for the entire German market (83 million people), has put the movie on 90 screens across the country. Most cinemas are showing the dubbed German version.

Reviews by the West-German press have been enthusiastic. Süddeutsche Zeitung, a major Bavarian newspaper, has called the film “a sentimental, incredibly funny and highly intelligent sequel.” The prestigious magazine Der Spiegel (circulation of 1.1 million) devoted a full page to the movie and said that it could reactivate the euthanasia debate. It described Denys Arcand as “a European at heart.”

Another honour for “Les Invasions barbares” (The Barbarian Invasions): Denys Arcand’s feature film has been picked to represent Canada in the preliminary race for the Best Foreign Film prize at the upcoming Oscar awards ceremony in Hollywood.

This is only a first step. The members of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will choose five of the foreign movies submitted for consideration, and announce its short list of nominated films on January 27.

Americans will be able to see Arcand’s film starting November 21 in New York and Los Angeles, and the movie will be released across the U.S. in December.

Denys Arcand’s “Les Invasions barbares” (The Barbarian Invasions) was singled out yesterday at the 28th Toronto International Film Festival as Best Canadian Feature Film.

Winner of the Best Screenplay award at this year’s Cannes festival, “Les Invasions barbares” tells the story of a terminal cancer patient. It is a sequel to Arcand’s “Le Déclin de l’empire américain” (Decline of the American Empire), made in the 1980s.

Another Montreal was also honoured in Toronto. Film maker Constant Mentzas’s “Aspiration” was chosen as Best Canadian Short Film.

Denys Arcand’s latest film, "The Barbarian Invasions", has received an invitation to participate in the prestigious New York Film Festival in October.

Very few foreign films obtain a screening at the festival, which is considered a jumping-off point for the American market. This year’s festival will be held from October 2 to 19.

Arcand’s film was launched in the U.S. in November, and will be shown in over 400 cinemas in France in the fall.

The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions barbares) easily passed muster with the demanding New York public. Last week, 97% of the 300 people who saw Denys Arcand’s film in a sneak preview at a multi-theatre complex in Manhattan described it as "excellent," "very, very good," or "very good."

As a result, Miramax decided to release The Barbarian Invasions across the United States for the Thanksgiving holiday and Christmas, two of the biggest film weekends of the year. The Québec film, which won two awards at this year’s Cannes Film Festival (best screenplay and best actress for Marie-Josée Croze), will be released on November 21 in New York and Los Angeles, to start the grapevine humming, noted producer Denise Robert from Cinémaginaire, and on December 19 throughout the States. This is the first time in the history of Québec cinema that a film will come out during those two crucial periods for the film industry.

While Les Invasions barbares didn’t win the Golden Palm as some people were hoping against hope it would, it was honoured by two other awards at the Cannes Film Festival.

Denys Arcand took home the prize for Best Screenplay, and Marie-Josée Croze was the surprise winner of the Best Actress award, beating out a number of stars. Ever since the start of the festival, people had been speculating that Nicole Kidman would be singled out for her performance in Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier’s Dogville. The names of Charlotte Rampling (Swimming Pool), Emmanuelle Béart (Les égarés) and Elsa Zylberstein (Ce jour-là) had also been on festival-goers’ lips.

Critics took out their hankies to wipe their tears as the images rolled across the screen. The public had obviously been won over. The spectators were moved. They were laughing in all the right places. The film was warmly applauded, not once, but twice (despite some discreet booing). Denys Arcand’s Les invasions barbares was acclaimed with enthusiasm yesterday in Cannes. During the official evening screening, the public’s enthusiasm turned into a veritable triumph with a 10-minute-long standing ovation, a phenomenon not seen in Cannes since Roberto Benigni’s La vie est belle.

One reporter at a press conference predicted that Arcand would received the Palme d’Or. Arcand himself said he refused to get his hopes up. "When you think something is bound to work, you always hit a wall," he said, "like I did with Stardom, which encountered general incomprehension. But Cannes has always been good to me. I have only had happy endings here."

There was no denying, though, that the telephone rang throughout the day for foreign bookings. Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Japan and the United Kingdom have already got their orders in. Germany, the United States and Australia have make their offers. The market is in a frenzy and Les invasions barbares, which will open in France in September, is set to conquer the world.

After numerous lean years, Québec cinema is making a comeback at the 56th Cannes Festival with three films, including Denys Arcand’s Les Invasions barbares, which is in the lists for the Golden Palm.

Whether this is an invasion or not, it has been 25 years since the most prestigious festival in the world, to be held from May 14 to 25, has seen such a wave of Québec films.

In addition to Les Invasions barbares, Bernard Émond’s 20h17 rue Darling will be screened during Critics Week, while La Grande Séduction, Jean-François Pouliot’s first film, has been selected for the Directors’ Fortnight.

There have not been so many Québec films at the Cannes Festival since 1979. Between times, Québec cinema has made do with one or two films a year in Cannes, if any.

The finalists for the Prix Jutra awards were announced yesterday. This year, 15 out of 24 feature-length films are finalists in all categories combined, while six of them received the greatest number of nominations.

The Jutra for best film will be awarded to one of the following four films: Le Dernier souffle, Emporte-moi, Post Mortem or Souvenirs intimes, while the Jutra for best direction will go to Louise Bélanger (Post Mortem), François Bouvier (Histoires d’hiver), Jean-Philippe Duval (Matroni et moi) or Léa Pool (Emporte-moi).

The finalists in the Best Female Actor category are Ginette Reno, Pierrette Robitaille and Guylaine Tremblay for their respective roles in Laura Cadieux…la suite, and Karine Vanasse (Emporte-moi). In the Best Male Actor category are Gabriel Arcand (Post Mortem), Sébastien Huberdeau (Île de sable), Pierre Lebeau (Matroni et moi) and Luc Picard (Le Dernier souffle).

Jutras will be awarded in 15 categories, including the new Best Animated Film category. A new trophy will also be awarded to the film that won fame outside Québec.

The Jutra ceremonies will be rebroadcast around the world on TV5, reaching 120 million households. This made Pierre Curzi, president of La Grande nuit du cinéma gala evening, say it was a wonderful way to confirm all over the world that the Québec cinema exists.