Supporting new voices, championing boldness and revealing fresh perspectives – these are the watchwords of the Premières Œuvres Pitches section, part of the Nouveau Marché at Montréal’s Festival du Nouveau Cinéma (FNC). A dedicated talent incubator, this strand shines a light on six first-feature projects by a new generation of Canadian-based filmmakers, each with a distinctive, self-assured voice, seeking national and international partners.

The jury – Rémi Bigot (Cannes Critics’ Week), Jacques-Henri Bronckart (Versus Production) and Daniela Mujica (Productions Ocho) – discovered a raft of singular works in which intimate topics meet social reflection. In the end, it was Tears of My Enemies and Des fleurs en hiver that walked away with the prizes (see the the news).

Here are details of the projects:

Tears of My Enemies – Holly Brace Lavoie (Canada)
Production: Patrick Bilodeau (UGO Media)
Holly Brace Lavoie’s Tears of My Enemies, backed by Patrick Bilodeau (UGO Media), offers a sensorial exploration of violence and forgiveness through a fragmented narrative. For its visual maturity and the depth of its world, the project won the Premières Œuvres Pitches Grand Prix (endowed with CA$10,000, or €6,145).

Des fleurs en hiver – Alexia Roc (Canada)
Production: Jérémie Battaglia (Films Extérieur Jour)
In Des fleurs en hiver, Québecoise-Haitian filmmaker Alexia Roc, with producer Jérémie Battaglia (Films Extérieur Jour), crafts a poetic, visceral drama about Mimi, a young woman haunted by her father’s death, caused by police misconduct. Her quest for justice gradually isolates her, as she is caught between memory and activism. The film scooped the SLA Location Prize (CA$1,200, or €740, in equipment rental) for the strength of its direction and for its visceral approach to portraying resilience.

La Copie Carbone – Étienne Lacelle (Canada)
Production: Isabelle Grignon-Francke (Les Productions Club Vidéo)
Étienne Lacelle’s La Copie Carbone, produced by Isabelle Grignon-Francke (Les Productions Club Vidéo Inc), tackles doppelgangers and artificial memory, blending existential drama with a meditation on digital identity.

Madhaus – Clara Milo (Canada)
Production: Léonie Hurtubise (Colonelle Films)
With Madhaus, Clara Milo and producer Léonie Hurtubise (Colonelle Films) plunge us into the fight against wildfires, using a handheld style of camerawork. As humans confront nature, what emerges is a subjective documentary gaze, highlighting how the experience of danger reshapes our relationship with faith, fear and beauty.

Heart Peaks – A Laurel Lawrence (Canada)
Production: Kate Solar (Vanishing Tide Films)
A Laurel Lawrence’s Heart Peaks, produced by Kate Solar (Vanishing Tide Films), leads us on a geological and emotional odyssey, involving an extinct volcano and love reduced to ashes. In a dialogue between bodies, nature and memory, the project explores the passage of time through the slow erosion of feeling.

Severed – Lauren Marsden (Canada)
Lauren Marsden’s Severed is rooted in the landscapes of British Columbia, following a surgeon who gradually loses her sense of vocation after a personal tragedy. Balancing psychological tension and low-key surrealism, this genre project stands out for its organic, introspective mise-en-scène.