Montreal’s International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA – Festival International du Film sur l’Art) is an annual event that features ten consecutive days of films on art. With almost 300 films from 30 countries showing at eight Montreal theatres, it is the largest annual festival of films on art in the world. FIFA’s mission is to increase public awareness and appreciation of art. It thus promotes artists and professionals working in the fields of cinema, television and video, as well as the world’s finest productions of media art and films on art.
The Purpose of International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA)
FIFA’s primary mission is to increase public awareness, knowledge and appreciation of the arts by promoting works by artists and professionals from the fields of film, television and video. FIFA encourages the film industry, both nationally and internationally, to increase its annual production of films on art. The festival strives to develop international markets by inviting both Canadian and foreign filmmakers, professionals and artists to participate in exchanges and networking forums.
History of the International Festival of Films on Art (FIFA)
Initially under the aegis of the International Council of Cinema and Television of UNESCO, and sponsored by Montreal’s Musée d’art contemporain, the 1st FIFA opened in 1981. Of a duration of 5 days, the 1st FIFA presented 50 films from 12 countries in one theatre, the Cinémathèque québécoise. Since then, the FIFA has presented films on various themes: mime, circus arts, tattoos and comics, attracting more and more spectators each year.
Films of the FIFA
FIFA receives close to 700 films annually. Of those, 290 films from some 30 countries are selected for the festival. These films represent around 27 disciplines: architecture, theatre, video art, dance, art history, painting, photography, etc.. Every year, the prizewinning films of the latest edition of FIFA are presented on an international circuit that includes the Louvre in Paris, the Studio national des arts contemporains Le Fresnoy in Tourcoing, the AIA/Center for Architecture, the Mid-Manhattan Library and the Morgan Library in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Musée national des beaux-arts in Quebec City, the National Gallery of Canada and the Tate Modern in London.
International Festival of Films on Art (artfifa.com)
