About

The Cinémathèque presents a captivating program of new and classic works daily in its two theatres, both of which are equipped to provide the highest quality screenings possible. Thematic programs, major retrospectives and meetings with filmmakers and professionals provide structure to the Cinémathèque’s film programs.

Since 2016, the Cinémathèque has showcased new art and experimental films thanks to the creation of the Centre d’art et d’essai de la Cinémathèque québécoise (CAECQ), a non-profit organization with the mission of promoting these types of films by programming documentaries and other independent works for the Cinémathèque’s theatres.

In addition to screenings, the Cinémathèque presents exhibitions featuring some of the most singular artists past and present, as well as the treasures in its collections. The latter works are a particularly rich and virtually inexhaustible source of raw material for artists in residence, whose work can be enjoyed through the institution’s exhibitions.

The Médiathèque Guy-L.-Coté is a wonderful source of inspiration for students, researchers and cinephiles. It is the gateway to all of the Cinémathèque’s collections, including a vast selection of works about cinema. Since 2017, the Médiathèque has opened its virtual doors through the Savoirs Communs du Cinéma initiative, which is aimed at making data and knowledge produced and carefully conserved by the Cinémathèque team freely available and usable.

The Cinémathèque has an exceptional collection dedicated to world animation, as well as related expertise, making it an international leader in this area. Each year, the institution reaffirms its enthusiasm for animated film by presenting an animation festival, The Sommets du cinéma d’animation, and by hosting residencies for young animators.

All of these initiatives and activities rely on conservation expertise developed at the Cinémathèque, and on efforts to collect and conserve our audio-visual heritage. The collections represent a priceless legacy for today’s society and future generations. Through its exhibition, interpretation, restoration and digitization activities, the Cinémathèque contributes significantly to transmitting and promoting culture. It celebrates the past while keeping a sharp focus on the future!

1966
The Cinémathèque joins the Fédération internationale des archives du film (FIAF), a professional network that provides access to an enormous number of films and documents, as well as leading-edge expertise in conservation, documentation, restoration and exhibition.
The Cinémathèque canadienne moves to 3685 Jeanne-Mance St. in Montreal.

1967
The Cinémathèque adopts two specializations: Canadian cinema and world animation.

1968
Launch of a bilingual periodical, Nouveau cinéma canadien / New Canadian Film.
Creation of a film pavilion at Man and His World, on the Expo67 site, at the request of the City of Montreal.
Françoise Jaubert becomes executive director.

1969
Presentation of public screenings at the Bibliothèque nationale, located at 1700 St-Denis St.
Acquisition of Guy L. Coté's personal collection, which becomes the foundation of the Cinémathèque’s Centre de documentation cinématographique, one of the largest facilities of its kind in North America.

1970
Françoise Jaubert is elected to the FIAF’s steering committee and the presidency of ASIFA, the International Animated Film Society.

1971
With the mission of preserving and exhibiting audio-visual heritage, the Cinémathèque canadienne is renamed the Cinémathèque québécoise.

1972
The office is relocated to 360 McGill St. The space includes the Cinémathèque’s first showroom.
Robert Daudelin is named executive director and curator.

1974
Filmmaker Pierre Moretti designs a new graphic look for the organization.
The 30^th congress is held in Ottawa at the Canadian Film Archives and in Montreal at the Cinémathèque québécoise.

1975
A conservation centre opens in Boucherville. It is designed for optimal storage and conservation of the Cinémathèque’s very large film and television archive.

1978
Signing of a framework agreement with the Quebec government, recognizing the Cinémathèque’s mandate.
The first issues of Les dossiers de la Cinémathèque are published.

1979
The Cinémathèque’s executive director, Robert Daudelin, is elected secretary general of FIAF. Mr. Daudelin is the first representative of a North American institution to be elected to the position.
Launch of the first issue of Copie Zéro, the Cinémathèque’s film magazine.

1980
Louise Beaudet, the Cinémathèque’s animation curator, is elected president of ASIFA Canada; she continues in that role for 10 years.

1981
The Cinémathèque relocates to 335 De Maisonneuve Blvd. E.

1982
Official opening of 335 De Maisonneuve Blvd. E., with a week of festivities attended by numerous film professionals. For the first time, the screening room, exhibition space and documentation centre are located in the same building.

1983
For the first time, Quebec’s Cinema Act recognizes the Cinémathèque québécoise as a cinematheque for purposes of applying the Act.

1988
A new graphic signature is adopted during celebrations of the 25^th anniversary of the Cinémathèque’s founding.

1989
Robert Daudelin is elected president of FIAF, and would hold the position until 1995.
La revue de la Cinémathèque is launched, with in-depth articles about the Cinémathèque’s programming initiatives.

1990
The Cinéma muet en musique series, presenting silent films with live music every Friday evening, is launched with Gabriel Thibaudeau, the Cinémathèque’s new pianist in residence.

1992
Official reopening of the Boucherville conservation centre after upgrades and expansions begun in 1989.

1994
Death of founder Guy L. Coté. The documentation centre becomes the Médiathèque Guy-L.-Coté.
The Cinémathèque québécoise officially expands its mandate to include television, and adds recordings of broadcasts by independent producers to its collections.

1996
Interior redesign of the Cinémathèque’s headquarters to make it more suitable for hosting events and meetings.
Acquisition of the Cinématographe Lumière No16 thanks to the generosity of philanthropist René Malo.

1997
Opening of the Fernand-Seguin screening room and two multi-purpose spaces, the Raoul-Barré and Norman-McLaren rooms, used for hosting a variety of public exhibitions and events.

2001
Publication of new acquisition and conservation policies for each collection: film, television, film-related collections and document collections.

2002
After 30 years leading the Cinémathèque, Robert Daudelin steps down. Robert Boivin becomes the new executive director.
Inaugural edition of the Cinémathèque’s animation festival, the Sommets du cinéma d’animation.

2004
Departure of executive director Robert Boivin. Kevin Tierney, the chair, takes over on an interim basis.

2005
Yolande Racine is named executive director.

2006
A long-running exhibition opens: N’ajustez pas votre appareil ! is produced by the Cinémathèque in collaboration with the MZTV Museum (Toronto), featuring an exceptional collection of vintage television sets donated by television impresario Moses Znaimer of Olympus Management.
Legal deposit begins for films in Quebec: Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec delegates the mandate to the Cinémathèque, which handles conservation and coordination.

2008
A review of the Cinémathèque’s mission leads to its expansion to include moving images of all kinds, including new media.

2011
Departure of Yolande Racine; Iolande Cadrin-Rossignol becomes interim executive director.
The Cinémathèque québécoise acquires the Daniel Langlois Foundation Collection. The collection contains numerous documents related to media and technological arts, from the 1950s to 2010.

2013
The institution celebrates its 50^th anniversary. Actress Caroline Dhavernas is spokesperson and host for the festivities, which include special screenings and the opening of a permanent exhibition about special effects, Secrets et illusions.

2015
Marcel Jean becomes executive director.
A new visual identity is adopted.
The two theatres are retrofitted with 3D digital projectors.

2016
Creation of the Centre d’art et d’essai de la Cinémathèque québécoise (CAECQ), a non-profit whose mission is to promote, for strictly cultural purposes, art and experimental films by programming documentaries and other independent productions in the Cinémathèque’s theatres.
Two artistic residencies are created. One hosts six young animators each year, the other is for young Quebec artists from a variety of disciplines who have unique perspectives on cinema.
A policy is adopted for the preservation and management of archived digital materials.

2017
Start of a massive film digitization and restoration project as part of the Plan culturel numérique du Québec. Inclusion of the documentary series Le son des Français d’Amérique, by Michel Brault and André Gladu, in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register thanks to the hard work of the collections team.
Launch of participatory activities aimed at making our vast collections and databases more accessible and promoting their use by citizens, as part of Wikimedia projects.

2019
Adoption and publication of a data-access policy as part of the Savoirs Communs du Cinéma initiative, dedicated to making information about film, produced and carefully preserved by the Cinémathèque team since 1963, freely accessible and usable.

2021
Implementation of the second phase of our digitization and restoration program for films, videos, and soundtracks part of Quebec’s audiovisual heritage. Launched in 2018, the first phase of the project resulted in the digitization of several hundred videotapes and the digital restoration of about thirty titles. This initiative is made possible as part of the implementation of a measure from the Quebec Digital Culture Plan. The second phase involved the digitization and restoration of nearly twenty works and 280 video and audio tapes.

Our new website has launched. Created by Deux Huit Huit, this new platform enhances the user experience with exclusive content and highlights our collections.

2022
It’s official: the Cinémathèque québécoise will host the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) conference in 2025! Following Prague, Lausanne, and Budapest, Montreal will host this flagship event for professionals in the field of film conservation and archiving. The Sommets du cinéma d’animation, produced by the Cinémathèque, will take place in May and will dedicate its official competition to Canadian productions, featuring an international retrospective section.

2023
We are celebrating our 60th anniversary. A special program is planned for the entire year, including, amongst other things, a presentation of Ernst Lubitsch’s Madame du Barry (1919) accompanied by a specially composed score for piano and harpsichord by Gabriel Thibodeau. We have also commissioned Montreal artist Felipe Arriagada-Nunez, alias Chien Champion, to design a festive visual to mark the occasion. The resulting illustration is a true celebration of cinema in all its color, past and present, and above all, a celebration of an institution and its team that preserves and promotes works from here and abroad: within a triangle symbolizing the rays of a projector, a universe where films by Agnès Varda, Spike Lee, Monia Chokri, Pedro Almodóvar, Wong Kar-wai, Quentin Tarantino, André Forcier, Park Chan-wook, Myriam Verreault, Alfonso Cuarón, and Katsuhiro Ōtomo coexist. This imagery reflects both the richness and diversity of the Cinémathèque’s programming!

2024
Following its success at the Musée-Château d’Annecy, where it drew more than 80,000 visitors, Theodore Ushev, The Matter of Memory arrives at the Cinémathèque for its Canadian premiere. The exhibition, featuring more than 200 original works, posters, several films, objects as unique as they are astonishing, and a monumental installation—presented by the two institutions in collaboration with the National Film Board of Canada—occupies three spaces at the Cinémathèque and attracts tens of thousands of visitors. In an effort to make the Cinémathèque québécoise an equitable and inclusive workplace, senior management implements a series of concrete measures involving all staff, such as the adoption of an EDI policy.

2025
Delegates of the Annual Congress of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) arrive in Montreal at the end of April. The event features a symposium titled “Film Archives Beget Films,” offering two days of lectures with some 30 speakers from here and abroad. The Cinémathèque’s regular programming takes on the spirit of the conference as well, featuring screenings that highlight the key themes of its collections and its mission: animation gems, world-premiere commissioned works, newly restored fiction films, and documentaries exploring heritage issues and the reuse of archival material. The public can also take part in the festivities thanks to this special program, complemented by four new exhibitions. From April 27 to May 2, 350 delegates—archivists, students, professors, academic researchers, and audiovisual professionals—from 48 countries exchanged expertise, experiences, and projects, while also enjoying local businesses and everything the city has to offer during six days of networking.