25/03/2025 - We spoke to the head of Canada’s only short-film market, which hosts a number of public activities, and networking events for local and international industry guests

(© Festival Regard)

Last week, Cineuropa sat down with Mireille Tremblay-Caron, head of the Marché du court at Regard – Saguenay International Short Film Festival. One of North America’s most prominent events of its kind, the Canadian gathering ran from 19-23 March and hosts the country’s only short-film market. During our chat, we covered topics such as the market’s core activities and the process of fostering partnerships with Europe.

Cineuropa: Could you please talk us through the mission of Regard’s Marché du court?
Mireille Tremblay-Caron: The Marché du court is a particularly interesting place for new filmmakers, who have the opportunity to meet more established ones. What we try to do is separate the event into two sections. The first is made up of public activities, which are free and open to everyone, and which are great for those curious to know more about certain cinema professions and some filmmakers’ experiences in the field. For example, on 20 March, we hosted a panel titled “Navigating Short Film Distribution”. There were about 100 attendees, and it was great for everyone to find out more about distributing shorts in Quebec. On the same day, we had Philippe Lesage host a talk about his career.

The other section consists of dedicated networking events, including two networking brunches during which about 100 people try to connect – they hail from all fields of the industry, encompassing newcomers and established professionals. It’s a small industry event, but it’s growing steadily every year. There’s also a networking event dedicated to screenwriters and producers, which helps them meet and share common ideas, and of course, these meetings can potentially lead to collaborations. On 22 March, scriptwriters who are also filmmakers pitched some of their new projects to selected industry attendees.

How many industry guests attend Regard and the Marché du court?
We welcome about 450 guests every year. This year, we had 480 registered guests.

And obviously, there’s a strong francophone delegation among them, right?
Yes, of course. It’s not so easy, because we’re the only short-film market in Canada, so it’s challenging to form connections with all of the other provinces in the country. We’re kind of apart here because of our language, but when you’re outside of Canada, you tend to know more about Quebec cinema and culture.

Are you seeking any new European partners?
What we’re trying to do is strengthen our relationships with the Short Film Conference and Talking Shorts. We are sometimes seen as the little brother on the other side of the ocean. In Europe, all of the countries are so close to each other, and the industry is very strong – people know each other and visit each other’s festivals. For us, it’s harder to get people on a plane and get them to commit to coming to this festival. I’m trying to pursue some new projects with the partners I just mentioned, but I’m also open to new European collaborations. Moreover, I’d like to develop some relationships with the likes of MUBI and other VoD platforms streaming shorts as well.

Are you working on any other long-term goals?
When you go to Clermont-Ferrand, there are a lot of “business transactions” taking place. People are there to see if they can find some buyers – and that’s not something we really do here. Buyers come here after TIFF and Clermont-Ferrand, and they don’t usually look for more [content]. I’d like to expand on this, to help filmmakers understand how the system works and, one day, see if we can have some VoD options for our short films – to keep track of the shorts we screen, on which filmmakers have expended so much effort, and distribute them all year round.

The market is saturated, of course, but I believe this remains a great place, especially for non-Canadian programmers, to visit. There are many great Canadian and Quebec-made films that premiere here, with European and Asian premieres available, for example…
This is something we’re trying to work on. Each year, we aim to form a delegation of 20-25 international guests, and I’m inviting many programmers to come here and discover our titles. If a festival is coming up, it’s great for them; if it’s just passed, not so much.

On 20 March, we had this activity called “Meet with our Filmmakers”. I selected filmmakers whose works were having their premiere at Regard, and they came with their producers to meet all of the international programmers present here. I think it works well – they gain attention for their films, and there’s always a chance they will be programmed by those people’s festivals.

Generally speaking, I’m always very open and ask people if they have recommendations on how to improve the event. I do this [job] for the people attending, and I’m very curious to find ways to help filmmakers get what they want.