Regard (film festival)
Canadian short film festival
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Regard – Saguenay International Short Film Festival (French: Festival Regard or Festival international du court métrage au Saguenay), also known as the Saguenay International Short Film Festival, or simply Regard (stylized as REGARD; lit. "Look"), is a short film festival taking place annually in March in the city of Saguenay, Quebec, Canada.[1] Founded in 1995 by Caravane Films Productions, it is one of the largest film festivals dedicated exclusively to short films in North America,[2] and serves as both a gateway to the Americas for international short cinema and a launch pad for Canadian filmmakers seeking international recognition.[1]
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| |
 28th edition of Regard, 2024 | |
| Location | Saguenay, Quebec, Canada |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1995 |
| Most recent | 2025 (29th edition) |
| Awards | Grand Prize, Canadian Grand Prize, Jury Prize |
| No. of films | ≈ 200 short films/year[1] |
| Language | French, English |
| Website | festivalregard |
The festival has been Academy Award-qualifying since 2017, meaning winners of its top prizes are automatically eligible for Oscar nominations in the short film categories.[3] It is also recognized by the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI).[4] The festival typically screens approximately 200 short films from over 50 countries during its five-day run and distributes over CAD$120,000 in prizes and grants to winning filmmakers.[1]
Since 2024, Marie-Michèle Plante has served as the festival's general director.[5]
History
Founding and early years (1995–2001)
Regard was founded in 1995 by Éric Bachand, a recently graduated art student from the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi.[6][7] Bachand conceived the idea for the festival while volunteering for the Festival du nouveau cinéma in Montreal.[7]
The festival was initially called "Regard sur la relève du cinéma québécois" (lit. "Look on the next generation of Quebec cinema"), and was later renamed "Regard sur le court métrage au Saguenay" (lit. "Look on the short film in Saguenay") before adopting its current name.[7] The first edition took place in the Le Ménestrel room of the Cégep de Chicoutimi; it screened both feature-length and short films and received an audience of approximately 30 people per projection.[8][7]
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In Regard's second year, filmmaker Sébastien Pilote—who would later become an acclaimed Quebec director known for films such as The Salesman (2011) and The Fireflies Are Gone (2018)—joined Bachand in developing the festival.[6] Bachand and Pilote conceived of the festival as a cultural bridge between the cities of Jonquière and Chicoutimi, which were subsequently merged into the city of Saguenay in 2002.[6] The two founders drew inspiration from the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France, as well as the Abitibi-Témiscamingue International Film Festival in Quebec.[6]
Growth and development (2001–2016)
The 6th edition of Regard marked a pivotal transition when the festival became exclusively focused on short films, abandoning feature-length programming.[7] The initial editions of the festival were also non-competitive, with awards being introduced at the 12th edition in 2008.[8]
By the 10th edition in 2006, Regard had grown significantly, receiving 10,000 audience members.[7] Under the leadership of general director Ian Gailer, the festival continued to expand, growing by approximately 4–5% annually through 2015.[9]
In 2015, Marie-Elaine Riou succeeded Gailer as general director, bringing international experience from her work in Barcelona and fluency in five languages to the role.[10]
International recognition (2017–present)
The year 2017 marked a significant milestone when two of the festival's awards—the Grand Prize and the Canadian Grand Prize—were designated as Academy Award-qualifying by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[3] This status means that films winning these prizes are automatically eligible for nomination for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film, Best Documentary Short Film, or Best Animated Short Film.[3]
That same year, Regard became the third North American festival—after the Palm Springs International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival—to host a jury from the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI).[4] The festival was also named one of the "25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World" by MovieMaker magazine.[11]
The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the festival. The 2020 edition was cancelled on its second day due to the pandemic's progression in Canada.[12] The 2021 edition, celebrating the festival's 25th anniversary, was postponed to June and made innovative use of drive-in theaters and outdoor screenings.[13]
In 2023, the 27th edition of Regard achieved record attendance with 30,000 audience members, cementing its position as the cultural event attracting the most tourists annually to the Saguenay region.[14][15]
Programming
Official Competition
The Official Competition is open to all Canadian and international short film directors and producers. Films must be under 40 minutes in length, with priority given to works completed after March of the previous year, independently-produced auteur films, and national, North American, and world premieres. All genres—fiction, animation, documentary, and experimental—are eligible.[16]
Focus Competition
The Focus Competition encompasses several specialized sections:[17]
- Tourner à tout prix! (Shoot No Matter What) – showcases films by promising Quebec filmmakers
- 100% Régions (Philippe Belley Award) – highlights regional filmmaking
- Americana – features first and second films from filmmakers across the Americas
- Short & Queer – LGBTQ+-focused programming
- Indigenous Perspectives (Alanis-Obomsawin Award) – celebrates Indigenous filmmakers
Youth Competition
The Youth Competition presents programming tailored to various age groups from preschool through high school:[18]
- Regarderie – cultural outings for daycare centres
- P'tites vues (ages 3–7) – programs for preschool to 2nd grade
- Grandes vues (ages 8+) – programs for 3rd to 6th grade
- High school programs for junior and senior cycles
- #13-17 – teen-curated programming
The festival's youth section reaches approximately 12,000–17,000 students annually through school screenings.[14]
Additional Programming
The festival also features carte blanche programs given to foreign festivals, retrospectives, panorama screenings, and various thematic programs. Special outdoor activities include the traditional sugaring-off party and community events in the "Ruelle du court métrage" (Short Film Alley).[1]
Short Film Market
Regard hosts Quebec's only short film market, an industry event that gathers approximately 400 professionals annually, including directors, producers, distributors, domestic and international buyers, journalists, and screenwriters.[1] The market provides networking opportunities through discussion workshops, roundtables, forums, master classes, and a video library containing all films submitted to the festival.[16] Activities are free and open to both professionals and the general public.[17]
Awards
The festival has been competitive since its 12th edition in 2008. As of 2025, 15 awards are presented:[19][20]
Academy Award-Qualifying Awards
- Grand Prize – CAD$5,000 cash plus post-production services
- Canadian Grand Prize – CAD$5,000 cash plus production services
Jury Awards
- Jury Prize – CAD$3,000 cash plus post-production services
- Best Animation Short Film Award
- Best Documentary Short Film Award
- International FIPRESCI Critic's Award
- Quebec Critics Award (AQCC)
Focus Competition Awards
- Tourner à tout prix! Award (Shoot No Matter What)
- Philippe Belley Award (100% Régions)
- Americana Award
- Short & Queer Award
- Indigenous Perspectives Award (Alanis-Obomsawin Award)
Audience and Youth Awards
- Public Award – Official Competition
- Public Award – Focus Competition
- Best Youth Short Film
Award winners
Grand Prize
The Grand Prize has been awarded since the 12th edition in 2008. It became Academy Award-qualifying in 2017.[3]
| Year | Edition | Film | Director(s) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 12th | Don't Let It All Unravel | Sarah Cox | United Kingdom |
| 2009 | 13th | Two Birds (Smáfuglar) | Rúnar Rúnarsson | Iceland |
| 2010 | 14th | The Ballad of Marie Nord and Her Clients (Balladen om Marie Nord och hennes klienter) | Alexander Onofri | Sweden |
| 2011 | 15th | Garagouz | Abdenour Zahzah | Algeria |
| 2012 | 16th | Silent River | Anca Miruna Lazarescu | Germany, Romania |
| 2013 | 17th | On Suffocation | Jenifer Malmqvist | Sweden |
| 2014 | 18th | The Mass of Men | Gabriel Gauchet | United Kingdom |
| 2015 | 19th | Listen | Hamy Ramezan, Rungano Nyoni | Finland, Zambia |
| 2016 | 20th | Everything Will Be Okay (Alles wird gut) | Patrick Vollrath | Austria, Germany |
| 2017 | 21st | Home | Daniel Mulloy | United Kingdom |
| 2018 | 22nd | Black Line (Ligne Noire) | Mark Olexa, Francesca Scalisi | Switzerland |
| 2019 | 23rd | Riviera | Jonas Schloesing | France |
| 2020 | 24th | Atkurimas | Laurynas Bareiša | Lithuania |
| 2021 | 25th | Free Fall | Emmanuel Tenenbaum | France |
| 2022 | 26th | Vlekkloos | Emma Branderhorst | Netherlands |
| 2023 | 27th | Natureza Humana | Mónica Lima | Portugal, Germany |
| 2024 | 28th | Cross My Heart and Hope To Die | Sam Manacsa | Philippines |
| 2025 | 29th | Shadows | Rand Beiruty | France, Jordan |
| 2026 | 30th | A Shot at Art | Ilke Paddenburg | Netherlands |
Canadian Grand Prize
The Canadian Grand Prize has been awarded since 2008, and is Academy Award-qualifying.[3]
| Year | Film | Director(s) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | My Name Is Victor Gazon (Mon nom est Victor Gazon) | Patrick Gazé | Canada |
| 2009 | Rains (L'Ondée) | David Coquard-Dassault | Canada, France |
| 2010 | Danse Macabre | Pedro Pires | Canada |
| 2011 | Mokhtar | Halima Ouardiri | Canada |
| 2012 | The Near Future (Le futur proche) | Sophie Goyette | Canada |
| 2013 | Edmond Was a Donkey (Edmond était un âne) | Franck Dion | Canada, France |
| 2014 | An Extraordinary Person (Quelqu'un d'extraordinaire) | Monia Chokri | Canada |
| 2015 | On Cement (Sur le ciment) | Robin Aubert | Canada |
| 2016 | The Voice (La Voce) | David Uloth | Canada |
| 2017 | My Last Summer (Mon dernier été) | Claude Demers | Canada |
| 2018 | Fauve | Jérémy Comte | Canada |
| 2019 | Just Me and You (Juste moi et toi) | Sandrine Brodeur-Desrosiers | Canada |
| 2020 | Cayenne | Simon Gionet | Canada |
| 2021 | Like the Ones I Used to Know (Les Grandes Claques) | Annie St-Pierre | Canada |
| 2022 | Sikiitu | Gabriel Allard | Canada |
| 2023 | Thirty-Second Season (La trente-deuxième saison) | Charles-Émile Lafrance | Canada |
| 2024 | EarthWorm | Phillip Barker | Canada |
| Losing Your Home (Juste un toit) | Emmanuel Rioux | ||
| 2025 | Orbits (Orbites) | Sarah Seené | Canada |
| 2026 | A Wolf in the Suburbs | Amélie Hardy | Canada |
Jury Prize
| Year | Film | Director(s) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Sovdagari | Tamta Cabrichidze | Georgia |
| 2019 | A Sister (Une sœur) | Delphine Girard | Belgium |
| 2020 | Postcards from the End of the World | Konstantinos Antonopoulos | Greece |
| 2021 | White Eye | Tomer Shushan | Israel |
| 2022 | Warsha | Dania Bdeir | France, Lebanon |
| 2023 | Invincible | Vincent René-Lortie | Canada |
| 2024 | An Example (Et eksempel: Dem på gulvet) | Selma Sunniva | Denmark |
| 2025 | What If They Bomb Here Tonight | Samir Syriani | Lebanon |
| 2026 | Les Âmes du Fouta | Alpha Diallo | France, Senegal |
Best Animation Short Film
| Year | Film | Director(s) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Skhizein | Jérémy Clapin | France |
| 2010 | Logorama | François Alaux, Ludovic Houplain, Hervé de Crécy | France |
| 2011 | White Tape | Michelle and Uri Kranot | Denmark |
| 2012 | Not presented | ||
| 2013 | |||
| 2014 | Supervenus | Frédéric Doazan | France |
| 2015 | Hipopotamy | Piotr Dumala | Poland |
| 2016 | Sunday Lunch (Le repas dominical) | Céline Devaux | France |
| 2017 | Cipka | Renata Gasiorowska | Poland |
| 2018 | The Burden (Min Börda) | Niki Lindroth von Bahr | Sweden |
| 2019 | Riviera | Jonas Schloesing | France |
| 2020 | Girl in the Hallway | Valerie Barnhart | Canada |
| 2021 | The Passerby | Pieter Coudyzer | Belgium |
| 2022 | Night | Ahmad Saleh | Jordan, Palestine, Germany, Qatar |
| 2023 | Ice Merchants | João Gonzalez | Portugal, United Kingdom, France |
| 2024 | A Kind of Testament | Stephen Vuillemin | France |
| 2025 | Sans voix | Samuel Patthey | Switzerland |
| 2026 | Boundaries | Seun Yee | South Korea |
Best Documentary Short Film
| Year | Film | Director(s) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Wagah | Supriyo Sen | India |
| 2011 | Smolarze | Piotr Zlotorowicz | Poland |
| 2012 | Flying Anne | Catherine Van Campen | Netherlands |
| 2013 | Story for the Modlins | Sergio Oksman | Spain |
| 2014 | Jack, vétéran du Vietnam | François Pesant | Canada |
| 2015 | Un royaume démémage | Terence Chotard, Raphael J. Dostie | Canada |
| 2016 | Bacon and God's Wrath | Sol Friedman | Canada |
| 2017 | The Marmot's Cry (Le cri de la marmotte) | Colin Nixon | Canada |
| 2018 | Rewind Forward | Justin Stoneham | Switzerland |
| 2019 | Suspension d'audience | Nina Marissiaux | Belgium |
| 2020 | All Cats Are Grey in the Dark (Nachts sind alle katzen grau) | Lasse Linder | Switzerland |
| 2021 | Joe Buffalo | Amar Chebib | Canada |
| 2022 | Nuisance Bear | Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osio Vanden | Canada |
| 2023 | Buurman Abdi | Douwe Dijkstra | Netherlands |
| 2024 | O Gün Bu Gündür, Uçuyorum | Aylin Gökmen | Switzerland |
| Our Grandmother the Inlet | Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos, Kayah George | Canada | |
| 2025 | Who Loves the Sun | Arshia Shakiba | Canada |
| 2026 | Ndjimu | Petna Ndaliko Katondolo | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
FIPRESCI International Critics' Prize
Awarded to a Canadian filmmaker in the Official Competition by a jury from the International Federation of Film Critics.[4]
| Year | Film | Director(s) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | An Other (Un autre) | Nils Caneele | Canada |
| 2018 | Go Play Outside (Va jouer dehors) | Adib Alkhalidey | Canada |
| 2019 | The Colour of Your Lips (La couleur de tes lèvres) | Annick Blanc | Canada |
| 2020 | Nitrate | Yousra Benziane | Canada |
| 2021 | Ain't No Time for Women (Y'a pas d'heure pour les femmes) | Sarra El Abed | Canada |
| 2022 | Nuisance Bear | Jack Weisman, Gabriela Osio Vanden | Canada |
| 2023 | Madeleine | Raquel Sancinetti | Canada |
| 2024 | Extras | Marc-Antoine Lemire | Canada |
| 2025 | Orbits (Orbites) | Sarah Seené | Canada |
| 2026 | A Wolf in the Suburbs | Amélie Hardy | Canada |
AQCC Quebec Critics' Award
| Year | Film | Director(s) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Mother (Madre) | Rodrigo Sorogoyen | Spain |
| 2019 | Le champ de maïs | Sandhya Suri | France, United Kingdom, India |
| 2020 | The Manila Lover | Johanna Pyykkö | Philippines, Norway |
| 2021 | Maalbeek | Ismaël Joffroy Chandoutis | France |
| 2022 | Soft Animals | Renée Zhan | United Kingdom |
| 2023 | Se dit d'un cerf qui quitte son bois | Salomé Crickx | Belgium |
| 2024 | The Miracle | Nienke Deutz | Belgium, Netherlands, France |
| 2025 | O | Rúnar Rúnarsson | Iceland, Sweden |
| 2026 | Sixty-Seven Milliseconds (Soixante-sept millisecondes) | Fleury Fontaine | France |
Tourner à tout prix! (Shoot No Matter What) Award
Awarded to an independent Quebec short film produced without institutional financial assistance.
| Year | Film | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Un an déjà | Claudia Chabot |
| 2009 | Chère Rosalia | Aude Maltais-Landry, Iphigénie Marcoux-Fortier, Karine Van Ameringen |
| 2010 | Crudités | Lawrence Côté-Collins |
| 2011 | Fuck That | Lawrence Côté-Collins |
| 2012 | Il ne fait pas soleil | Xavier Beauchesne-Rondeau |
| 2013 | Ô Divin Bovin | Alexandre Ruffin |
| 2014 | Lespouère | Moïse Marcoux-Chabot |
| 2015 | Le Truck | Sandrine Brodeur-Desrosiers |
| 2016 | Papa Trouble | Cécile Gariépy |
| 2017 | Quand je serai parti | Justin Richard-Dostie |
| 2018 | L'Appartement | Justine Gauthier |
| 2019 | Le déménagement | Gabriel Vilandré |
| 2020 | Mon père, Elvis | Éric Piccoli |
| 2021 | L'Expiration | Joris Cottin |
| 2022 | Do Butterflies Remember Being Caterpillars? | Caraz |
| 2023 | Bergen, Norvège | Alexia Roc |
| 2024 | Unclean | Simon Chouinard |
| 2025 | Ma sœur | Rosalie Pelletier |
| 2026 | Fan | Philippe Berthelet |
Americana Award
Awarded to an emerging filmmaker from the Americas.
| Year | Film | Director(s) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Quebramar | Cris Lyra | Brazil |
| 2021 | Cumbres y cenizas | Fernando Criollo | Peru |
| 2022 | Pilona | July Naters | Peru |
| 2023 | Entre dos islas | Hideki Nakazaki | Cuba, Spain |
| 2024 | AliEN0089 | Valeria Hofmann | Chile, Argentina |
| 2025 | Servicio necrológico para usted | María Salafranca | Cuba |
| 2026 | Niña Chilapa | Juana Lotero López | Colombia |
Philippe Belley Award (100% Régions)
Awarded to a filmmaker based outside of Montreal, honouring the memory of Saguenay filmmaker Philippe Belley.
| Year | Film | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Girls Shouldn't Walk Alone at Night (Les filles ne marchent pas seules la nuit) | Katerine Martineau |
| 2022 | Rencontre avec Robert Dole | François Harvey |
| 2023 | Au bout du monde | William Pagé |
| 2025 | Interurbain | Marc-Olivier Huard |
| 2026 | Au cœur du remous | Mélanie Saint-Germain |
Short & Queer Award
| Year | Film | Director(s) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Blond Night (Nuit blonde) | Gabrielle Demers | Canada |
| 2024 | Dildotectonics | Tomás Paula Marques | Portugal |
| 2025 | The Eating of an Orange | May Kindred-Boothby | United Kingdom |
| 2026 | Bleifrei 95 | Tina Muffler, Emma Hütt | Germany, Austria |
Indigenous Perspectives Award (Alanis Obomsawin Award)
| Year | Film | Director(s) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Dipped in Black (Marungka tjalatjunu) | Derik Lynch, Matthew Thorne | Australia |
| 2026 | The Great Cherokee Grandmother | Anthony Sneed | United States |
Public Award – Official Competition
| Year | Film | Director(s) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | J'viendrai t'chercher | Sophie Dupuis | Canada |
| 2009 | Belle maman | Sébastien Trahan, Simon Lamontagne | Canada |
| 2010 | Toute ma vie | Pierre Ferrière | France |
| 2011 | Born Sweet | Cynthia Wade | United States |
| 2012 | L'Accordeur | Olivier Treiner | France |
| 2013 | Délivre-moi | Antoine Duquesne | Belgium |
| 2014 | An Extraordinary Person (Quelqu'un d'extraordinaire) | Monia Chokri | Canada |
| 2015 | Aubabe | Mauro Carraro | Switzerland |
| 2016 | The Voice (La voce) | David Uloth | Canada |
| 2017 | Law of Lamb (La laine sur le dos) | Lotfi Achour | France, Tunisia |
| 2018 | Trois pages | Roger Gariépy | Canada |
| 2019 | Nursery Rhymes | Tom Noakes | Australia |
| 2020 | La petite Floride | Tim Bouvette | Canada |
| 2021 | Pharmakon | Jean-Martin Gagnon | Canada |
| 2022 | Suzanne & Chantal | Rachel Graton | Canada |
| 2023 | An Avocado Pit | Ary Zara | Portugal |
| 2024 | Extras | Marc-Antoine Lemire | Canada |
| 2025 | The Punk of Natashquan (Le punk de Natashquan) | Nicolas Lachapelle | Canada |
| 2026 | Diego | Melissa Silveira | France |
Public Award – Parallel/Focus Competition
| Year | Film | Director(s) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | A Shore Away (L'Autre rive) | Gaëlle Graton | Canada |
| 2023 | Bonne fête, le désordre! | Jean-Martin Gagnon, Guillaume Harvey | Canada |
| 2024 | Audio y el Caimán | Andres I. Estrada | Canada, Venezuela |
| 2025 | Le patenteux | Maude Petel-Légaré | Canada |
Best Youth Short Film
| Year | Film | Director(s) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | The Painter of Jalouzzi | Bryn Moser, David Darg | Haiti |
| 2017 | Blind Vaysha | Theodore Ushev | Canada |
| 2018 | Fauve | Jérémy Comte | Canada |
| 2019 | Irony | Radheya Jegatheva | Australia |
| 2020 | Poustet Draka | Martin Smatana | Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia |
| 2021 | Only a Child | Simone Giampaolo | Switzerland |
| 2023 | Death to the Bikini! (À mort le bikini !) | Justine Gauthier | Canada |
| 2024 | My Name Is Edgar and I Have a Cow | Filip Diviak | Slovakia, Czech Republic |
| 2025 | Game Rules | Christian Zetterberg | Sweden |
| 2026 | La Légende du Colibri | Morgan Devos | France |
Best Quebec Youth Short Film
| Year | Film | Director(s) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | C'est ma sœur | Zoé Pelchat | Canada |
Bourse à la création du Saguenay
A prize for local filmmakers from the Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean region.
| Year | Film | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Madame Dubois et les cyclo-machines | Claudia Chabot |
| 2012 | Haut-Fond prince | Martin Rodolphe Villeneuve |
| 2013 | Award not presented | |
| 2014 | Joggin | Yohann Gasse |
| 2015 | Blue Thunder (Bleu tonnerre) | Jean-Marc E. Roy, Philippe David Gagné |
| 2016 | Le Passage | Alexa Tremblay-Francoeur |
| 2017 | Brutes Are Afraid of Silence (Le silence fait peur aux brutes) | Étienne Boulanger |
| 2018 | Crème de menthe | Jean-Marc E. Roy, Philippe David Gagné |
| 2019 | À l'aube | Anaë Bilodeau, Louis-Pierre Cossette |
| 2020 | Playeros: travailleurs des plages | Alexandre Beaumont-Vachon |
| 2021 | Girls Shouldn't Walk Alone at Night (Les filles ne marchent pas seules la nuit) | Katerine Martineau |
Best Direction
Award presented from 2008 to 2017 for the best direction in a Quebec short film.
| Year | Film | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Madame Tutli-Putli | Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski |
| 2009 | Beyond the Walls (La Battue) | Guy Édoin |
| 2010 | The Delian Mode | Kara Blake |
| 2011 | Opasatica | Éric Morin |
| 2012 | Solar Wind (Vent solaire) | Ian Lagarde |
| 2013 | Struggle (Faillir) | Sophie Dupuis |
| 2014 | The Cut (La Coupe) | Geneviève Dulude-De Celles |
| 2015 | Nan Lakou Kanaval | Kaveh Nabatian |
| 2016 | Overpass (Viaduc) | Patrice Laliberté |
| 2017 | The Beep Test (La Course navette) | Maxime Aubert |
Best Screenplay
Award presented from 2008 to 2017 for the best screenplay in a Quebec short film.
| Year | Film | Director(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | J'viendrai t'chercher | Sophie Dupuis | |
| 2009 | Rosa, Rosa | Félix Dufour-Laperrière | |
| 2010 | Snow Hides the Shade of Fig Trees (La neige cache l'ombre des figuiers) | Samer Najari | |
| 2011 | Light in the Night (Lumière dans la nuit) | Pierre-Luc Lafontaine | |
| 2012 | Surveillant | Yan Giroux | |
| 2013 | Edmond Was a Donkey (Edmond était un âne) | Franck Dion | |
| 2014 | Remember Me (Mémorable moi) | Jean-François Asselin | |
| 2015 | Award not presented | ||
| 2016 | Jean-Marc Vallée | Annie St-Pierre | |
| 2017 | Comme les dinosaures | Emilie Rosas | |
Coup de cœur BravoFACT
| Year | Film | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | I Met the Walrus | John Raskin |
Notable alumni
Several filmmakers have launched or advanced their careers through Regard before achieving international recognition:
- Meryam Joobeur – Her short film Born in the Maelstrom (2017) screened at Regard. Her subsequent short Brotherhood (2018) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, and her feature debut Who Do I Belong To (2024) premiered at the Berlinale.[2][21]
- Charlotte Le Bon – The actress-turned-director made award-winning shorts before her feature directorial debut Falcon Lake (2022) premiered at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight.[2]
- Sébastien Pilote – Co-founded the festival in its second year and went on to become an acclaimed Quebec filmmaker, with works including The Salesman (2011) and Maria Chapdelaine (2021).[6]
- Annick Blanc and Jean-François Leblanc – Made award-winning shorts at Regard before transitioning to feature filmmaking.[2]
- Caroline Monnet – Her experimental short Pidikwe (2025), mixing Indigenous traditional and contemporary dance, was highlighted at the festival.[2]
Organization
The festival is produced by Caravane Films Productions, a non-profit organization with the mission of producing Regard and its related activities. The organization contributes to film education for youth, promotes and disseminates short films to the general public, facilitates professional networking, and supports film creation.[1]
Educational outreach
Through its Caravane du court métrage (Short Film Caravan) program, the organization conducts year-round school tours, bringing short film screenings and cinema workshops to thousands of elementary and high school students across the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region.[22]
Leadership
The festival has had several general directors:
Honorary presidents
Since 1998, the festival has featured honorary presidents (présidents d'honneur), typically notable figures from Quebec cinema and television:
- 1998–2001: David La Haye
- 2002: Robert Brouillette
- 2003: Germain Houde
- 2004: Geneviève Brouillette
- 2005: Jean-Nicolas Verreault
- 2006: Isabelle Blais
- 2007: Sylvain Marcel
- 2008: Rémi-Pierre Paquin
- 2009: Julie Le Breton
- 2010: Anne-Marie Cadieux
- 2011: Simon-Olivier Fecteau
- 2012: Sophie Cadieux
- 2013: Luc Picard
- 2014: Sébastien Huberdeau
- 2015: Sandrine Bisson
- 2016: Anne-Élisabeth Bossé
- 2017: Émile Proulx-Cloutier
- 2018: Sarah-Jeanne Labrosse
- 2019: Rémy Girard
- 2020: Guillaume Lambert
- 2021: Louis-David Morasse
- 2022: Charlotte Aubin
- 2023: Florence Longpré
- 2024: Étienne Galloy
- 2025: Marilyn Castonguay
- 2026: Pier-Luc Funk
Cultural impact
Regard has become the cultural event attracting the most tourists annually to the Saguenay region.[15] The festival is known for its distinctive atmosphere, combining the warmth of a sugar shack with the excitement of a film festival despite the challenging winter conditions—with temperatures well below zero and snowbanks reaching several feet high during the March event.[2]
In 2021, the City of Saguenay allocated a budget of CAD$25,000 to Caravane Films Productions for the construction of a creation residence in memory of Philippe Belley, a Saguenay filmmaker who died in 2021 while training for a crossing of Lac Saint-Jean. The Philippe Belley Award at the festival now honors his memory.[24]