The mission of the Centre d'art et essai de la Cinémathèque québécoise (CAECQ) is to primary program Quebec-made documentaries and independent fiction, as well as international documentaries, animated and foreign films, while encouraging opportunities for meetings between the public and the artists. Its programming is presented in conjunction with the Cinémathèque québécoise’s under the label New releases.
Official Selection, CINEMANIA 2025
Frantz Fanon, a French psychiatrist from Martinique, has just been appointed head of department at the psychiatric hospital in Blida, Algeria. His methods contrast with those of the other doctors in a context of colonization. A biopic in the heart of the Algerian war where a fight is waged in the name of Humanity.
Jean-Claude Barny
Jean-Claude Barny is a French filmmaker from from Guadeloupe and Trinidad & Tobago, bridging the gap between European auteur cinema and the American entertainment industry. A self-taught director, he started at 16 by analyzing arthouse, action, and fiction films. In 1994, he directed Putain de porte starring Vincent Cassel and Mathieu Kassovitz, before collaborating on the casting for La Haine. He then trained with Jacques Audiard and directed music videos for the French urban scene and Caribbean artists. In 2003, Jean-Claude Barny moved to Guadeloupe and directed his first feature, Nèg maron (2005), which explores the struggles of Caribbean youth disconnected from their history. Noticed by Elizabeth Arnac, he directed Bitter Tropics, a series on slavery filmed in Cuba. In 2014, he directed the TV movie Rose and the Soldier, set in Martinique during World War II. His second feature film, Gang of the Caribbean (2016), revisits the life of Loïc Lery, a Martinican robber in the 1970s. His third feature, Fanon (2025), explores the life of the writer and psychiatrist who fought for Algerian independence.
Bio & photo: Axia Films
