Telefilm Canada announces that Louise Archambault's Gabrielle is Canada's selection for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar

For the third time in four years, a film produced by micro_scope is selected to represent Canada in the Oscar race

MONTREAL, Sept. 24, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Telefilm Canada, which chairs the pan-Canadian Oscar selection committee, is pleased to announce that the feature film Gabrielle, directed by Louise Archambault, has been selected to represent Canada for consideration as a possible nominee in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 86^th Academy Awards, to be held in Hollywood on February 27, 2014.

"Over the last several years, Canada's film industry has done our country proud, with three nominations for Best Foreign Language Film three years running," said Carolle Brabant, Executive Director of Telefilm Canada. "The selection committee certainly got it right these last three years, and we're confident that we once again have a strong and very competitive candidate for the upcoming Oscar race. Gabrielle has won over audiences internationally, and there's no question that the Academy members will succumb to its charms as well."

"We are very pleased and sincerely honoured to represent Canada in the Oscar race. We hope to make it as far as possible with the film," said Louise Archambault, Luc Déry and Kim McCraw when Telefilm announced the good news over the phone.

Gabrielle wows international audiences
This past August, Gabrielle was warmly greeted by some 7,000 moviegoers at a screening at the celebrated Piazza Grande during the Locarno Film Festival. After winning the audience award (Prix du Public UBS) at Locarno, the film was shown at the Festival du film francophone d'Angoulême, where it won the Valois award for best actor as well as the Valois Magelis award from the student jury. Along nine filmmakers, director Louise Archambault was honoured at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) during the Birks Diamond Tribute to the Year's Women in Film, in partnership with Telefilm Canada. Gabrielle is Louise Archambault's second feature. Her first feature, Familia (2005), was in official competition at the Locarno Film Festival and also screened at TIFF.

Gabrielle was funded through the Telefilm's Canada Feature Film Fund. Produced by Luc Déry and Kim McCraw of the production company micro_scope, the film is distributed by Les Films Christal (sub-distributed by Les Films Séville,  subsidiary of Entertainment One). International sales are handled by Entertainment One Films International. As mentioned, this is the third time that a micro_scope film has been selected to represent Canada in the Oscar race. Philippe Falardeau's Monsieur Lazhar was a foreign-language film nominee at the 84^th Academy Awards and Denis Villeneuve's Incendies was a nominee at the 83^rd Academy Awards.

Selection process for the Best Foreign Language Film category
Telefilm coordinates and chairs the pan-Canadian Oscar selection committee, which comprises 22 voting members representing major government agencies and national film industry associations.

In 2012, a record 71 countries submitted a film for consideration as a possible nominee in the Foreign Language Film category to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Only one film per country is accepted, and the selected film must have been produced outside the United States, be primarily in a language other than English, and have been shown in a movie theatre for at least seven consecutive days in its country of origin between October 1, 2012, and September 30, 2013. A shortlist of nine films will be announced eventually, and on January 16, 2014, the nominations for the 86^th Academy Awards will be revealed.

Canada in the Best Foreign Language Film category
In the history of the Oscars, seven Canadian films have been nominated in the Foreign Language Film category: Kim Nguyen's Rebelle (War Witch), at the 2013 Oscars; Philippe Falardeau's Monsieur Lazhar and Agnieszka Holland's In Darkness, in 2012; Denis Villeneuve's Incendies, in 2011; Deepa Mehta's Water, in 2007; and three films by Denys Arcand: Le Déclin de l'empire américain (The Decline of the American Empire) in 1987, Jésus de Montréal (Jesus of Montreal) in 1990, and Les Invasions barbares (The Barbarian Invasions), which won the coveted award in 2004.

Canadian selection committee - 86th annual Academy Awards
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (ACCT)
Alberta Media Production Industries Association (AMPIA)
Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA)
Alliance québécoise des techniciens de l'image et du son (AQTIS)
Association québécoise de la production médiatique (AQPM)
Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma (AQCC)
Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Québec (ARRQ)
Canada Council for the Arts
Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA)
Creative BC
Directors Guild of Canada
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
Manitoba Film and Music
National Film Board of Canada
New Brunswick Film
Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation
Ontario Media Development Corporation
SaskFilm and Video Development Corporation
Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC)
Société des auteurs de radio, télévision et cinéma du Québec (SARTEC)
Union des artistes
Yukon Film & Sound Commission

About Telefilm Canada
Telefilm is dedicated to the cultural, commercial and industrial success of Canada's audiovisual industry. Through its various funding and promotion programs, Telefilm supports dynamic companies and creative talent here at home and around the world. Telefilm also administers the programs of the Canada Media Fund. Visit www.telefilm.ca and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/telefilm_canada.

SOURCE: Telefilm Canada

Media enquiries
Andréane Leblanc
Advisor, External Communications, Telefilm Canada
514-283-0838, ext. 2066 or 1-800-567-0890
[email protected]