From November 6 to 15, 2026
CARLTON CINEMA – 20 CARLTON Street – TORONTO
GRAND PUBLIC FESTIVAL 2026
29th edition of Cinéfranco
The Grand Public Festival will take place from November 6 to 15, 2026, at the Carlton Cinema.
It is thanks to the support of Force 5, the Canada Council for the Arts, Canadian Heritage, the Ontario Arts Council, Telefilm Canada, Ontario Creates and OLG that Cinéfranco has been able to bring together these gems of international French-language cinema. The selected works come from the Maghreb—particularly Morocco—Central Africa, including the Congo, France, Belgium and many other European countries, as well as Quebec, Ontario and all corners of Canada.
When ?
Join us from November 6 to 15, 2026, for an unforgettable experience.
Location ?
CARLTON CINEMA
20 Carlton Street, Toronto, ON, M5B 2H5
Our Major Sponsors
Our Community Partners
Our Media Partners
Cinéfranco — Welcome Letter
In a world marked by manipulation, facial-recognition surveillance, algorithms, the potential dangers of artificial intelligence, fake news, as well as dictatorships and totalitarian regimes seeking to subjugate and impoverish peoples, Cinéfranco felt compelled to reflect.
Have great visionaries such as George Orwell predicted today’s world? Is their fiction becoming reality?
The selection committee—composed of Cécile Robertson, Hadley Foucher, Marcelle Lean and Wayne Gasner—explored many avenues in order to bring you films that illustrate the effects of power and its impunity; the relationship between truth and propaganda; injustice and resistance; lies at every level; and the control of bodies and minds.
The strong presence of the Second World War at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival also informed our reflections and guided the selection of films such as Le Faux Soir, Les Rayons et les ombres, and La Troisième Nuit, which bring these themes to light.
You will discover films that will leave you astonished, outrage you, make you laugh until you cry, but above all, make you think and leave no one indifferent.
It is thanks to the support of Force 5, the Canada Council for the Arts, Canadian Heritage, the Ontario Arts Council, Telefilm Canada, Ontario Creates and OLG that Cinéfranco has been able to bring together these gems of international French-language cinema. The selected works come from the Maghreb—particularly Morocco—Central Africa, including the Congo, France, Belgium and many other European countries, as well as Quebec, Ontario and all corners of Canada.
Cinéfranco is proud to celebrate Le Labo’s 20th anniversary and to continue its collaboration with RACCORD. Together, these organizations are dynamically contributing to the growth of the Franco-Canadian film industry.
Cinéfranco remains deeply grateful to all its community partners who co-present the films, as well as to its media partners who help promote the 2026 Public Festival.
And what can we say about Cinéfranco’s volunteers? Dedicated, generous with their time and always present, whatever the circumstances, they are the beating heart of Cinéfranco. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Hoping to welcome many of you to discover these cinematic gems—several of which will be presented in Toronto for the first time—I wish you an excellent festival.
ENJOY THE FILMS!
Marcelle Lean
on behalf of Cinéfranco’s dedicated team
The 20th Anniversary of the Toronto Francophone Media Arts Center
To mark the 20th anniversary of Toronto’s francophone media arts laboratory, this programme, created by artist-curator Laura Demers, brings together experimental works by artists and filmmakers from the artist-run centre’s community, along with pieces drawn from its archives. The programme traces a fragmented journey through formal explorations, intimate narratives, philosophical reflections, and ironic subversions—a fitting reflection of the flourishing and diverse artistic community that has animated it for two decades.
11 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Brunch
12 p.m. | Film screening
Followed by a Q&A with curator Laura Demers and artists Marie Dauverné, Nadine Valcin, and Benedit Simon.
PROGRAM
Explosion No. 2 (2007) | Julie Tremble
VHS, digital animation, 1:00 min
A man tries to escape an attack by circles and squares, but is caught when the entire world is destroyed. This video has something to do with filling out government forms.
Geometrika (2024) | Nicole Blundell
16 mm film animation, 4:02 min
Geometrika is a mathematical odyssey that invites viewers on an experimental journey through the geometric wonders of the universe, evoking the sensation of particles floating beneath the eyelids. Music composed by Kevin Blundell. Shot on 16 mm film, hand-painted and hand-developed.
HOW CAN WE ASSUME THAT GOD MEANT WELL, DESPITE THE AVALANCHES, THE MUSTACHES, AND THE LITTLE DAILY HASSLE (2019) | Marie Dauverné
Experimental video, 6:10 min
I am not a first name; I am not a square. I am a complicated polygon, a wobbly country standing on two feet—an unapologetic hexagonal embarrassment, barrels of Canadian promises for sale, a Quebec with paper borders. A hybrid assemblage of fragments of post-Charlie slam poetry and autofictional micro-narratives, “how can we assume that God meant well […]” is an experimental video punctuated by a variety of adjectives, superimposed printed images, animation, video, and glittery animated GIFs. A kitsch-performative collage in an era of identity crisis.
Archive (2018) | Simon M. Benedict
Video, 9:05 min
Archive, composed of dozens of images found in the archives of Toronto, Ontario, and Canada using keywords such as “Indian,” “Native American,” “Indigenous,” “Savage,” and “First Nation,” sheds light on a colonialist apparatus that persists in dominating both human beings and nature itself.
Behind the Image: A Portrait of Sylvie Bélanger (2007) | Nadine Valcin
Documentary, 8:00 min
A short documentary film about the artist Sylvie Bélanger. We stand before her screen, with a front-row view of a work we can only imagine: most of this artist’s video works are revealed only when installed in a specific space. We meet her at Bessarion Station on the Toronto subway, home to one of her rare permanent installations: a series of striking black-and-white photographs that reflect the lives and diversity of the station’s users. This film was produced in collaboration with the Ontario Arts Council.
data.deluge – flash flood (2026) | aenl
Single-channel video, mono sound, 4:57 min
A digital rocky landscape gradually disappears beneath rising waters and an accumulation of digital debris. Technomystical ASCII emojis—the evil eye, crystal balls, and mystical symbols—act as protective talismans against the flood, creating a dialogue between ancient apotropaic practices and contemporary digital imagery. As digital sediments gradually obstruct the view, the work explores ecological anxiety, protective magic, and the gradual loss of perspective within systems beyond individual control. This video is an adaptation of the real-time installation data.deluge (2026).
Films Screening at the 2026 Grand Public Festival
- All Posts
- Uncategorized
