Meet FICFA's 26-year-old programmer Dominique Léger

Dominique Léger has come a long way since volunteering and selling tickets during the Festival International du Cinéma Francophone en Acadie.

The 26-year-old is this year’s programmer for the 32nd FICFA, one of the largest and most influential francophone film festivals in the North America. The 10-day festival features nearly 100 short and feature length independent French films with screenings throughout downtown Moncton and Dieppe, including the Aberdeen Cultural Centre, Cineplex Dieppe, the Capital Theatre and the newly added venue, Theatre L’ Escaouette. Léger got her start with FICFA as a volunteer in high school before moving to Montreal at 17. “FICFA is the festival that made me want to study film and it ultimately ignited my love for film.”

She received her undergraduate degree in film studies from Concordia University before moving back home to Moncton. “I was an angsty queer teenager, I wanted to leave,” she said. “It took two years from graduating and moving back to get a job.” “I was project coordinator my first year working at FICFA. My main job was tickets, logistics and things like that, but it wasn’t my passion.”

"FICFA is the festival that made me want to study film"

Léger worked closely with FICFA’s previous programmer, Marie-Renée Duguay before she stepped down last winter. Once Duguay left, Léger was told that she would be taking over the position.

“I was excited but scared. I have always wanted this but didn’t feel like I had enough experience. I maybe thought it would be ideal in five years.

I still feel young at times and insecure so I thought am I really ready to do this?”

The new role’s first assignment took Léger on a trip to the Cannes International Film Festival.

“My year started in Cannes, I was like, this is my job now. My job is seeking out films and promoting FICFA. Whenever I travel to other festivals I am the ambassador.

Meeting other filmmakers, meeting producers and distributors and having a face to face contact is really important.” With only days before FICFA 2018 launches, Léger is busy putting the finishing touches on a few of her favourite festival components which include VAM (Volet Arts Mediatiques,) a unique media arts platform that produces several short films annually. “We are a festival that exhibits but also produces films, roughly 20 short films every year.”

A fan favourite is Acadie Underground, a VAM event, which showcases a variety of short films created on Super 8 film by emerging or experienced filmmakers and artists.

“This is the 22nd year of Super 8 and is the longest running Super 8 activity in the world. It is the most popular FICFA event.” Audience members vote on their favourite film, and afterwards Moncton band The Gregories will launch their first record Offal Truth.

Another popular VAM event is Objectif Obliques which, in the past, it has produced Internationally recognized short films. “It’s based on a card game called oblique strategies, conceived to help writer’s block. Every year there’s teams of people who have never worked together before, they pick a card and make a film out of that with a budget of $500.”

“D’Objectif Oblique has become the main producer of Acadian short films, four short films produced during Objectif Obliques have made it to Cannes.”

“Most of the films are very young and dynamic and are a very refreshing take on youth, on the cusp of being an adult being awkward and vulnerable" Léger’s has her own film submitted called Courage, made alongside Moncton’s Julie Frigault.

Outside of watching and selecting films for the festival, there’s one thing Léger would like to work on as programmer –- to diminish the gap between English and French festival goers. “It’s difficult to get English people out to see films. Our mandate is to cater to the Francophone community of course because there’s no french films shown throughout the year,” she said.

“But it is a week to see independent films and whenever possible we do have English subtitles.”

As a young artist, she’s proud and excited to see emerging filmmakers showing their first feature films, and growing within FICFA. “Most of the films are very young and dynamic and are a very refreshing take on youth, on the cusp of being an adult being awkward and vulnerable. That is the majority of the films from Quebec this year and they are all subtitled in English.” This year over half the films being screened have English subtitles, including L'Amour, a psychological drama based on a true story of a young Quebec man who murdered sexual predators in 2006. "The mother of that man is coming to the screening she is doing the question and answer period at the end."

Léger wants FICFA to be reflected the way she has always seen it, a 10 day celebration showcasing creativity, talent and an appreciation for independent films. “When I volunteered, it was the highlight of my year, “I don’t really go out. I’m very much a matante, I go to bed very early, but FICFA is the one time during the year where I go all out."

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The festival runs from November 15 to November 23. Tickets to all screenings can be bought online or at Spin It. Full FICFA schedule here.

All photos courtesy of FICFA.