In the world of film festivals, this year's 19th annual World Film Festival of Montreal appeared like somewhat of a faded beauty queen. Increasingly passed over by both filmmakers and industry people, Montreal proudly maintains its title, as president and general director Serge Losique is quick to point out, as the single most important international competition in North America. Yet even with its over 400 films and the prestige garnered by the appearance of such international stars as Gérard Depardieu and beleaguered Chinese director Zhang Yimou, many North American filmmakers opt to wait and launch their films at the Toronto International Film Festival a few weeks later. Of the 20 films in this year's official competition, for example, only Georgia was (partially) American (a US/French co-production by Belgian director Ulu Grosbard), and only three were English-language films. But Hollywood and its English-speaking affiliates are not this festival's game - the world is. And an attentive local audience made good the bumper-sticker sentiment "Think Globally, Act Locally" by continually selling out many of the festival's offerings.

In addition to the in-and-out-of-Competition line up, Montreal spanned the film globe in two general programs ("Cinema of Today: Reflections of our Time" and "Cinema of Tomorrow: New Trends") and in other more focused selections ("Israeli Cinema Today," "Latin American Cinema" and "Panorama Canada"). Indeed a keen lesson in current real politics and international film financing could be garnered from a cursory glance at many of this year's coproductions. Consider the story behind, for example, the Mongolian-French Aldas, a tragic drama about a Mongolian boxer, or the U.S.-Taiwanese Where Is My Love, which dramatizes the struggle of a young Tapai writer about to come out as gay, or finally, the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Chronicles, a video diary of three Israeli and three Palestinian families.

But if this world doesn't interest you, try the next one. In Don't Die Without Telling Me Where You're Going, Argentian Eliseo Sublela, whose Dark Side of the Heart won the Grand Prize in 1992, unfurls an afterlife love story for the X-Files generation. Gary Fleder's Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead looks back on a caper that went terribly, fatally wrong. Another post-mortem, Carlo Rocha's In Heaven No One Can Hear You Cry follows a 41-year old prostitute discovering her mother's own sordid past on the way to her funeral. And finally in the French Xavier Beauvois' Don't Forget You're Going to Die, an army recruit abandons all hope and decorum after learning he's HIV+. While such the-end-is-near fare is in sync with the sobering mood of many festival favorites, like Matheiu Kassovitz's La Haine or Gregg Araki's The Doom Generation, Susanne Bier's surprise hit Like It Never Was Before, updates Bergman's Scandinavian magic realism with a charming yarn about a middle-age father who, while vacationing at a summer camp with his family, relearns desire and wonderment.

While many American independents (Todd Haynes' Safe, Tom Noonan's The Wife and Ed Burns' The Brothers McMullen, to name a few) were on the last leg of their festival tour, other indies found Montreal a happy beginning. For Peter Hall, who presented his first feature Delinquent, a low-budget drama about a troubled boy getting into even more trouble, Montreal was a "great place to really get to know what people thought." Having originally screened Delinquent at the Palm Springs Festival to mixed reviews ("love the story...needs technical work"), Hall went back and re-shot scenes, fixed the sound mix (which includes music by infamous Gang of Four) and got a top notch video transfer. "Toronto might be bigger, but I fear that my film could just get lost there. Here people really love film, and I have the time to talk about what I am doing." Weeks later Hall's enthusiasm had only increased. "My experience there was great. Because of its exposure, an Australian company, Beyond Films Limited, bought it for international distribution." Another American indie, Robby Henson, whose first feature Pharaoh's Army marked a departure from his television documentary work, sang another song of praise. Already bought by CFP, Canada's third biggest distributor, this Civil War period melodrama got, as Henson relates, "much more television and press coverage than I would have imagined."

In the end the difference between the Toronto and Montreal festivals echoes the character of the two towns. While Toronto may be Canada's lean, clean financial machine, Montreal retains the urbane grace and old world squalor of its Parisian ancestry. Only blocks away from both the red-light district and McGill University, the festival graciously weaves film into the fabric of everyday life. Almost every night, the traffic outside the festival's center was stopped to present an outdoor screening at the Place des Arts complex. And press conferences, rather than being hidden away in some private reception room, were conducted in the pit of a huge shopping mall for both press and pedestrians to witness. It seemed a tinge allegorical, even if just in my mind, that this year's Grand Prize went to Georgia, a musical melodrama about two sisters, one a successful country-folk singer and the other (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh), a failed performer who, tormented by her sister's cool commercial success, can't help stepping up to the microphone one more time. So too for Montreal. Despite the fickle favors of the world film market, it will go on screening.

International Thessaloniki Film Festival
Festival Internazionale Giovanni
Toronto International Film Festival
Montreal World Film Festival
V'iennale