Best Foreign Language Film Academy Awards 2018
Montréal – September 25, 2017 – Seville International is pleased to announce that François Girard’s HOCHELAGA, LAND OF SOULS has been selected to represent Canada in the Best Foreign Language category at the 2018 Academy Awards.
Written and directed by Girard (Boychoir, The Red Violin and Silk) and produced by Roger Frappier (Two Lovers and a Bear, Seducing Doctor Lewis, The Decline of the American Empire and Jesus of Montreal) under his MAX Films banner, the large ensemble cast includes French Canadian rapper Samian, Vincent Perez, Wahiakeron Gilbert, Raoul Trujillo, Sébastien Ricard, Siân Phillips, Linus Roache, Emmanuel Schwartz, David La Haye, Tanaya Beatty, Gilles Renaud & Naïade Aoun, among others.
HOCHELAGA, LAND OF SOULS marks the sixth feature from François Girard who has earned critical and public acclaim over his long career as a film, opera and theater director. In 1998, his feature film THE RED VIOLIN, featuring Samuel L. Jackson, received an Academy Award for best original score and enshrined Girard as an important player on the international movie scene. The film also won eight Genie Awards and nine Jutra Awards. For the stage, Girard directed Alessandro Barrico’s NOVECENTO, Kafka’s TRIAL and Yasushi Inoue’s HUNTING GUN. He also directed PARSIFAL for the Opera de Lyon in 2012 and for the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 2013. In recent years, Cirque du Soleil commissioned Girard to write and direct ZED, their first permanent show in Tokyo; and ZARKANA which opened at Radio City Music Hall, played at the Kremlin Theatre and has become a resident show in Las Vegas.
“We are delighted to have François’s sweeping, beautiful and unique story HOCHELAGA, LAND OF SOULS represent Canada at the 2018 Academy Awards. He’s a fantastic and talented storyteller and director, and I’m excited that his latest feature has been recognized and will be in contention for such a prestigious award,” said Anick Poirier, Senior Vice President, International Sales, Seville International.
A tremendous downpour hits Montreal, and a spectacular sinkhole opens up in Percival-Molson Stadium in the middle of a football game. The stadium is evacuated, and a few hours later, it becomes a protected archaeological site. Centuries of history are revealed beneath the field. Mohawk archaeologist Baptiste Asigny begins investigating, and he will discover the multitude of generations who have occupied this land, each with buried secrets. Baptiste then sets out to find what he has spent his career searching for: the vestiges of the village of Hochelaga where his Iroquoian ancestors met French explorer Jacques Cartier in October 1535. HOCHELAGA, LAND OF SOULS explores 750 years of history in one single spot where the souls of all centuries and all cultures come together
“This is a great honour that reflects on HOCHELAGA, LAND OF SOULS and on all those who worked on the film, starting with my dear friend and producer Roger Frappier. In the film, French is heard alongside Mohawk and Algonquin, the languages of the two great founding nations of our people.” said director François Girard.
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About Entertainment One
Entertainment One Ltd. (LSE:ETO) is a global independent studio that specialises in the development, acquisition, production, financing, distribution and sales of entertainment content. The Company’s diversified expertise spans across film, television and music production and sales, family programming, merchandising and licensing, and digital content. Through its global reach and expansive scale, powered by deep local market knowledge, the Company delivers the best content to the world.
Entertainment One’s robust network includes film and television studio The Mark Gordon Company; content creation venture Amblin Partners with Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks Studios, Participant Media, Reliance Entertainment, Alibaba Pictures and Universal Filmed Entertainment; newly-launched MAKEREADY with Brad Weston; leading feature film production and global sales company Sierra Pictures; unscripted television production company Renegade 83; world-class music labels Dualtone Music Group and Last Gang; and award-winning digital agency Secret Location.
The Company’s rights library is exploited across all media formats and includes more than 100,000 hours of film and television content and approximately 40,000 music tracks.
Seville International is the company’s Montréal-based international film distribution arm specializing in strong independent films with crossover potential and arthouse films with award pedigree from Québec, Canada and around the world.
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Jackie Rubin
Entertainment One
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