THE WORLD FILM FESTIVAL AND SERGE LOSIQUE- 2019

THE WORLD FILM FESTIVAL AND SERGE LOSIQUE- 2019 
By Bernard Bujold -
If there is one event that has made my life in recent decades more culturally enriching, it is the Montreal World Film Festival. 
I started attending the event as a spectator in the early 1990s when the festivities were in full swing Montreal and the opening party was held with all the fireworks at the Mont Royal chalet. Later, in the early 2000s, I covered the FFM as a journalist. I met wonderful people there, including Isabelle Adjani (2004 and 2016), Gérard Depardieu (2002, 2005 and 2010) and his daughter Julie (2003), and several other film stars. 
Slowly, I unfortunately also observed the decline as the event began to move away from the grandiose lustre of Place des Arts towards Imperial Cinema around the 2010's. The 2018 edition was the most sober and the most reduced...
We must acknowledge and appreciate the enormous courage of Serge Losique, who never gave up despite the attacks of other event organizers such as Alain Simard of Spectra in 2005, who tried to replace the FFM with his own festival, or many public servants such as Monique Simard of SODEQ, who did everything possible to eliminate public funding for the FFM. Serge Losique never gave up in front of his opponents' attacks. One could conclude that it is the opponents who are responsible for the death of the FFM. Personally, I have always defended the character Serge Losique. 
I will always be grateful to him for allowing me to get to know the Adjani, Depardieu and others through his event, even if only for the duration of a festival. 
Sadness must be deep for Serge, 87 years old. Another acquaintance of mine, Frank Stronach, also 87, said in an interview during the last weekend (July 20, 2019) about his own life: "You can only die in peace if you know you have done the right thing." (To die in peace, you have to believe that you have fulfilled your destiny well.) Serge Losique saw his destiny transformed and his work destroyed by enemies who appeared for no reason other than the desire to conquer him and take his place. 
The press release announcing the absence of the 2019 Festival mentions the return in 2020... 
To be continued! 
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