The Montreal World Film Festival was set to launch its 43rd edition next month from August 23 to September 3. Now, however, the event has been cancelled.
According to an announcement directly from the festival, the event is "taking a break this year to prepare a great edition in 2020." There were no other details given as to why the fest wouldn't be happening, though the press release also said no films had been booked.
As the CBC reports, the Montreal World Film Festival has faced a number of hurdles in recent years. In 2014, the City of Montreal, SODEC and Telefilm all withdrew their funding. Then, in 2016 Cineplex pulled its support for the event.
That same year, a mass exodus of employees took place. In their resignation letter, the employees cited "financial uncertainty" and "incompetent leadership" as their reason for stepping down.
Last year, founder Serge Losique appeared in court to defend the festival against a Quebec government tax bill of $499,999. When asked for comment, he declined an interview with the CBC, citing "extreme tiredness."
According to an announcement directly from the festival, the event is "taking a break this year to prepare a great edition in 2020." There were no other details given as to why the fest wouldn't be happening, though the press release also said no films had been booked.
As the CBC reports, the Montreal World Film Festival has faced a number of hurdles in recent years. In 2014, the City of Montreal, SODEC and Telefilm all withdrew their funding. Then, in 2016 Cineplex pulled its support for the event.
That same year, a mass exodus of employees took place. In their resignation letter, the employees cited "financial uncertainty" and "incompetent leadership" as their reason for stepping down.
Last year, founder Serge Losique appeared in court to defend the festival against a Quebec government tax bill of $499,999. When asked for comment, he declined an interview with the CBC, citing "extreme tiredness."
